Micron hydroformed

[agressor]

Hey People,

have question about old company named Micron.
Would like to know if their hydroformed headers are so great as they mentioned back in a day.

Why nobody is making such if they so good?

Do You have any kind of info?

 

Best Regards

Tom

Edited July 21, 2021 by agressor

[Superdunc]

50 minutes ago, agressor said:

Hey People,

have question about old company named Micron.
Would like to know if their hydroformed headers are so great as they mentioned back in a day.

Why nobody is making such if they so good?

Do You have any kind of info?

 

Best Regards

Tom

I think the cost of tooling is prohibitive for what would be relatively small runs.

[ssray]

From what I heard they bought expensive equipment to do the hydroforming but then the crash happened and they went under 

[426hemi]

There’s still micron in the USA, they still advertise the hydra tech headers.

[TLRS]

Any of such fancy headers in high end racing? Usually a benchmark for stuff that works..

[David W]

I think Superdunc nailed it. Expensive way to produce a product that doesn’t show any real gains over more traditional methods.

Micron never had the racetrack cool people like Termignoni and Akrapovic had too.

[agressor]

I have read their advertising and was wondering why nobody use this method.

No one use this technology in motorsport. However their headers are interesting with this uncommon shape.

[TLRS]

They certainly are interesting.. Could be a nice visual thing if you run without bottom fairings?

Is it for the zx12?

[agressor]

33 minutes ago, TLRS said:

They certainly are interesting.. Could be a nice visual thing if you run without bottom fairings?

Is it for the zx12?

It's not, but from what I have seen every piece have such flatten tubes.

They claim that hydrofroming has more option to gain pefromance in every RPM range.

Something You couldn't achive with normal tubes.

This is funny because no one use this technology even when money is not a key.

I have opportunity to buy those headers, however Im running Ti Akrapovic and those Microns are SS.

 

[heds954]

Personally, I'd stick with the Akra. It's a known quantity, Akra know what they're doing, good material and construction, perform well, resale value holds well - there's no downsides.

With the Micron's, they may be marginally better, but could potentially worse, good construction (I had a set for a CBR600f3), probably heavier than the Akra - but the one downside is that your resale value won't be great, as the market for people wanting a set will be much smaller than those after an Akra when it comes to parting out the machine.

It all depends what you want from it. If you want unusual aesthetics, knock yourself out, they look decent. If you want light weight and known performance, I'd stick with the Akra, and concentrate your efforts elsewhere on the bike.

[agressor]

29 minutes ago, heds954 said:

Personally, I'd stick with the Akra. It's a known quantity, Akra know what they're doing, good material and construction, perform well, resale value holds well - there's no downsides.

With the Micron's, they may be marginally better, but could potentially worse, good construction (I had a set for a CBR600f3), probably heavier than the Akra - but the one downside is that your resale value won't be great, as the market for people wanting a set will be much smaller than those after an Akra when it comes to parting out the machine.

It all depends what you want from it. If you want unusual aesthetics, knock yourself out, they look decent. If you want light weight and known performance, I'd stick with the Akra, and concentrate your efforts elsewhere on the bike.

Thanks for good input, will stay with Akra. Especially I have some thing to do with bike and can spend money elsewhere. Anyhow Micron have some unusual desing.

It remembers me discussion I have read years ago if paradoxically making head ports smaller make its better.

[heds954]

Just now, agressor said:

Thanks for good input, will stay with Akra. Especially I have some thing to do with bike and can spend money elsewhere. Anyhow Micron have some unusual desing.

It remembers me discussion I have read years ago if paradoxically making head ports smaller make its better.

No probs, though I should point out that I'm not a medical an exhaust expert, so take my logic with a pinch of salt. But if you're looking for gains in performance, be that weight and / or bhps, then I'd wager that the gains are marginal, if at all (over your Akra system).

Hey, I know what it's like when you've got a ruck of cash, and the internet's just there, with lots of shiny geegaws on it (he says, looking across the room at the KTM PP machined yokes and PP rearsets for his 790). But you have to make a judgement on what the best bang for buck gains are going to be, and ask yourself, "Is this exhaust really going to be significantly better than the one I've already got?".

[agressor]

6 minutes ago, heds954 said:

No probs, though I should point out that I'm not a medical an exhaust expert, so take my logic with a pinch of salt. But if you're looking for gains in performance, be that weight and / or bhps, then I'd wager that the gains are marginal, if at all (over your Akra system).

Hey, I know what it's like when you've got a ruck of cash, and the internet's just there, with lots of shiny geegaws on it (he says, looking across the room at the KTM PP machined yokes and PP rearsets for his 790). But you have to make a judgement on what the best bang for buck gains are going to be, and ask yourself, "Is this exhaust really going to be significantly better than the one I've already got?".

I have some knowledge about exhausts.

But no is using this hydro technology (exept Corvette frame). That why is asked.

 

[Phlik]

I've got a micron hydroformed system on my track bike. Good quality, light and gives good power on the two different motors and builds it's been dynoed on.

[heds954]

6 minutes ago, agressor said:

But no is using this hydro technology (exept Corvette frame). That why is asked.

Oh, I get it, I have tons of my own questions to ask.  

As you put it in your OP, "Why nobody is making such if they so good?".

If the hydroformed tech was significantly better than traditional round exhaust they'd be using them in prototype racing, such as MotoGP, where there's the budget for such exploratory engineering, and they're not.

[agressor]

6 minutes ago, heds954 said:

If the hydroformed tech was significantly better than traditional round exhaust they'd be using them in prototype racing, such as MotoGP, where there's the budget for such exploratory engineering, and they're not.

That's my thoughts.

[heds954]

Just now, agressor said:

That's my thoughts.

Instead the MotoGP bikes have all got wings, and now road bikes have wings...

 

 

 

 

 

 

...you don't need a different exhaust, you need wings!!! 

[coombehouse]

I seem to recall reading that they were problematic on some bikes, making them difficult to set up the carburetion. 

[agressor]

1 hour ago, coombehouse said:

I seem to recall reading that they were problematic on some bikes, making them difficult to set up the carburetion. 

Hmmm... interesting. Couldn't find any info how they perform. Well I guess this is some kind of ancient alien racing technology 😁

[426hemi]

I know from when we had new gas heating installed at work that any corner a gas flows around slows it by a certain % and the gas wants to flatten out as it hits the pipe work, micron used that principle for the serpent headers which is why they flatten out and become wider.

[hawkati]

2 hours ago, 426hemi said:

I know from when we had new gas heating installed at work that any corner a gas flows around slows it by a certain % and the gas wants to flatten out as it hits the pipe work, micron used that principle for the serpent headers which is why they flatten out and become wider.

Something along the lines of the flattened cross section causing the flow to speed up, slinging fumes round the bend fasterer.

[Pat]

Out of curiosity, would something trick like titanium respond well to hydroforming? My understanding is that it's a lot harder than mild steel.

[bazzer107]

Whilst i was chatting to Mark Hill of MHP exhausts back in 2006 as he modified my Micron serpent system to fit an Akro end can, he said that he had an ex WSS R6 in and was playing around with different configurations and found the Micron serpent headers out performed the WSS spec headers and any other system\configuration he had tried to date.

 

[heds954]

Interesting.

[hybrid400]

Mmmmm,interesting info,got my eye on a thundercat full race system at not silly money.

[426hemi]

As David W said micron suffered from not having the cool image, fantastic product but the name didn’t fit with the in crowd sadly. I think Tractor use hydro forming for the frames on the v rods.

[marvin]

Think HP Corse make some hydro formed systems still. 

[agressor]

1 hour ago, marvin said:

Think HP Corse make some hydro formed systems still. 

Indeed they are, I pretty like their design.

[lambretta1970]

I had a full micron system on my 07 Zx6r, it did indeed look lovely however the flanges rotted away after several years. Replaced with an arrow system and the bike never felt as quick.

I still remember riding down to George whites in Swindon and seeing a whole wall of micron systems being sold ridiculously cheap when they closed down, wish I'd bought more as mine was £50 minus the can

[bazzer107]

2 hours ago, sev said:

So you’re still waiting to get it back- anytime now yea?

It was that long ago he was still based in Stevenage at the time