I’ve been stalling this idea for a few months after I got the bike in April.
I wanted to install a Decat pipe (no catalytic converter), and even told you so in the video Honda NC700X – My Bike Modifications! (opens in new tab).
It was not that week that I bought it, but just last week on a Sunday.
So here’s my experience with researching, buying and installing the NC700X Blackwidow decat pipe.
Research!
As you may know, there aren’t a lot of manufacturers that produce decat pipes for the Honda NC700X/S.
Here is a very short list of those who make decat pipes, including links to purchase them:
1. Leovince
2. Arrow
3. Blackwidow
Since I’m a cheapskate, I went with the cheapest option, which is offcourse Blackwidow.
It’s a relatively new and unheard of exhaust manufacturer, which probably stocks exhausts for almost every make and model of bike there is.
I already found out that Blackwidow made a pipe for the NC, but no-one ever tried it out.
It made me feel quite sceptical about the site too.
The one thing that pushed me over the barrier to purchase it was Premises187. He had made a video about the install of the Blackwidow Decat pipe for his NC700, and the sound that you hear in his video doesn’t justify the sheer goodness of the full system.
Buying!
So now I was primed to buy one, but since I live in Belgium, and the pipe has to be bought in the UK, I had to pay conversion fees. It still was cheaper than expected. I saved about 24 cents on this purchase.
You can only pay with creditcard or PayPal on the Blackwidow site. I had a Maestro card, but that one needed a CVC code, which I didn’t have. So I pulled out my prepaid CC, load charged it up and paid for the decat pipe.
The processing took about 1 day. Then it got shipped by DPD
I ordered it on Sunday and got it on Wednesday before noon.
Unboxing!
The decat came in a cardboard box, but it was so light I thought it was empty.
In the box there is:
– Pipe (front piece)
– Pipe (rear piece)
– Assembly putty/gun gum
– Keychain & merchandise (stickers)
– Manual and invoice
The pipes are packaged in plastic, with bubble wrap and Blackwidow tape around it, so It’s protected from dings and bangs.
Installation!
Install was quite easy, because I watched Premises’ install video.
However, I did have some problems concerning the fit of the pipe.
The pipe is a bit off, so my Ixil muffler sat askew in the bracket. Other than that, the fitment is perfect.
Don’t forget to remove the ground cable from the exhaust hanger first, because if you don’t you’ll risk damaging it.
Sound!
You have to hear it in person to hear the sheer loudness, raspyness, deep sounding roar that the NC now produces. It’s a big difference if you ask me.
I didn’t change the airfilter to K&N because Premises didn’t too.
However, you need to reset the ECU or you risk running too lean, doing damage to the bike in the long run.
I have made a video about the pipe here:
cda441.wordpress.com 