Jet Kit Stage 1, Worth it?

[mepasha]

I am a fairly new rider (1 year).
I've been studying under many mentors and have learned much, yet am still fine tuning every aspect of my skills.
I ride a '90 NT650 Hawk GT, only 10k miles, in excellent condition.
Question, are Stage 1 Jet Kits a good investment to consider?
How much increase in performance is really there to expect?
What are the potential problems?
If your answers lead to me going down this path, which would you recommend, DynoJet, Factory, etc.?
Lastly, if I do get Stage 1 kit installed, what happens when I want to upgrade to Stage 2?
Thanks
pk

[old-n-slow]

If you are running stock exhuasts and the bike is running good leave it alone. If you changed the exhaust pipes and altered the backpressure (removed baffles etc) and the bike is backfireing and otherwise running rough then you may need to rejet to get proper fuel air ratios and a smooth running bike. If you want to richen the mixture you could drill out the blanks to gain access to the adjustment screws (they are set lean at the factory) and that may be sufficient to give you the adjustment you are looking for.

My personal policy is if it ain't broke don't try to fix it.

[poppygene]

The performance gain will likely be neglgible. However, if your bike sometimes surges while trying to maintain a constant highway speed, a Stage 1 kit should cure it. You'd probably notice the bike is not quite as cold-natured as before, which on some bikes would be kinda nice.
For the downside, the bigger jets may cause a drop in fuel mileage and can actually cause a loss in peak HP, depending on how lean the bike was running beforehand. Probably the worst case scenario is that the job gets attempted by a relatively unskilled mechanic, carburetor-wise. Just because a guy can change your oil, sparkplugs and tires doesn't mean he's a decent carburetor mechanic.

[mepasha]

Thanks for the feedback.
A slight alteration in the question:
I need to have my carbs worked on anyway. They currently are not synching correctly. To compensate my idle has been pushed up a bit. The bike runs well overall, I (my newness to riding included) would never have noticed that there was anything wrong. I only found out at the 8k mi service.
1) At any rate, seeing as though the carbs are going to be opened up soon anyway, is this a time to consider installing a new jet kit? (btw, I completely trust my mechanic, I did countless hours of research to find him among the dozens of Honda guys here in NYC)
Also, I've been considering replacing the stock pipe.
2) Should I only consider the Jet Kit simultaneously with a new pipe and can setup?
3) Should I simply stop worrying about Jet Kits entirely until I'm a more experienced rider and have potentially bought a more substantial bike?
4) When considering a new exhaust system, should I be concerned with performance, or in the end (particularly for a rider of my experience) is it really just about the sound?
5) So far, for my bike (NT650 Hawk GT), I've found the M4 and the D&D systems. Any preferences out there?
Many thanks again in advance,
pk

[poppygene]

Actually, synchronizing the carburetors in itself doesn't require them to be opened up - it's just a semi-complicated adjustment sequence. There may be other issues though that the mechanic may want to investigate. I suppose since you trust the guy I'd let him decide whether he needs to take off the carb rack and pull the bowls, etc. He may advise a good carb cleaning, since the bike apparently has seen its share of downtime. This is notorious for gumming up the carb internals.

Really, the decision is up to you regarding the exhaust and jet kit. It just depends on how you intend to use the bike and what your goals are. In the right tuner's hands, a pipe and kit can give you noticeably more top-end power along with that gnarly sound. On the other hand, you can lose a little low-end torque since the fat part of the power band almost always moves up the RPM scale somewhat. If you decide to go with the pipe, the benefits of the kit will become more desirable, maybe even necessary, to keep the bike running smoothly with the proper mix.

No offense intended, but I doubt your skills are approaching the limits of the Hawk's cababilities. Truth be told, very, very few riders' skills are. With that in mind, my humble opinion is you should just keep the bike properly maintained and enjoy the ride.

[mepasha]

Thanks so much for the reply.
No offense taken. I'm well aware that this bike is capable of far more than I. I'm also aware that my questions rightfully make evident my beginner's knowledge of bike mechanics. I'm simply collecting as much information along the way.
I'm interested in changing the pipe on the bike only because I don't really like the sound of the stock pipe. I'm not going to do it anytime soon, as I've go other needs requiring available funds.
However, as a start, can you recommend any pipe systems for the Hawk?
Supertrap, M4, D&D, Kerker?
I've heard the D&D systems are famous for approaching legality. That is not what I'm interested in. I'm not looking for just loudness, rather I'm interested in throatyness and roundness to the sound. Totally unfair, I know, but I want it to sound like a Ducati .

[poppygene]

I'm interested in changing the pipe on the bike only because I don't really like the sound of the stock pipe.
However, as a start, can you recommend any pipe systems for the Hawk?
Supertrap, M4, D&D, Kerker?
I'm not looking for just loudness, rather I'm interested in throatyness and roundness to the sound.

That's cool. Most everyone enjoys hearing a bike's, errrm..., personality!

Sorry I can't recommend one over the other - maybe another poster will have a suggestion for you.

Good luck in your quest!

[oldnslo]

Supertrap used to make an external disc slip-on, allowing changes in flow and loudness. I had a set on my 900 Ninja, and with 10 discs, it would almost break glass. Unbelievably loud. I also had stage 3 jetting on it. Best performance was had with 5 or 6 discs, as I recall, and the stage 3 made the engine a bit more sensitive to ambient temperature.

[BuzZz]

I got a SuperTrapp on my GSXR. John is right, with 12 discs in mine, it is rediculusly loud. Removing some discs fixes that. It also has a fairly pleasing sound to it.

I just wish it wasn't chrome. Even so, it is possibly the ugliest chunk of field artillery ever slung off a bike. Looks like a big, shiny drainage pipe. But that's just me.......

[9000white]

unless you have got plenty of time to tinker with the carbs to finally get the jetting right i would leave it stock.i have never installed a jet kit that performed like the advertisement claims,it is trial and error over and over unless you have access to a dynamometer.the performance gain is a joke most of the time.you trade your low and midrange power where most of us ride for wide open power.and after a few miles the loud exhaust sucks.