MXA TEAM TESTED: SCALVINI KTM 125SX CONE PIPE/SILENCER

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WHAT IS IT? An exotic looking, Italian, handmade, cone pipe and silencer.

WHAT’S IT COST? $329.00 (cone pipe), $175.00 (silencer aluminum/carbon), $225.00 (silencer all carbon).

CONTACT? www.scalvinipipes.com or 760-949-0941.

WHAT STANDS OUT? Here’s a list of things that stand out with Scalvini’s KTM 125SX pipe and silencer.

(1) Construction. Cone pipes like the Scalvini are painstakingly made by hand. Piece by piece, the steel segments are welded together to shape the expansion chamber; sometimes the inlet and head pipe are done this way too. Scalvini saved some work by using a stamped head pipe for the first, and most difficult, section.

(2) Works part. Cone pipes have faded away since the early days of two-strokes, because stampings made the job quicker, easier and cheaper. The rarity makes Scalvini cone pipes the epitome of cool.

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(3) Installation. The silencer’s P-clamp hanger design is lightweight and practical?plus, it doesn’t require any welding. The MXA wrecking crew was initially stymied because the Scalvini silencer came with parts that didn’t fit. It turns out that they sent us parts for a 2010 or earlier KTM 125SX.

(4) Performance. Not only does it look like a works pipe, but the Scalvini pipe gives the 125SX the personality of a works bike too. The KTM 125SX has remarkable low-to-mid power by 125 standards. The stocker has its charms, but most MXA testers wanted a more traditional mid-and-up powerband — and were willing to give up bottom for more top-end. The Scalvini lost a bit down low, but came back with a vengeance in the midrange. The Scalvini-equipped 125SX hit harder and pulled farther up into the rpm range, but it was also peakier and harder to keep in the sweet spot.

(5) Dyno. On the dyno, the Scalvini pipe gave up about a half horsepower at each 1000 rpm increment below 10,000 rpm. Once above 10,000 rpm, the Scalvini pipe started to take off. The Scalvini peaked out at 36.80 horsepower at 11,600 rpm (the stocker peaked at 35.17 at 11,200 rpm). Even better, at 12,000 rpm, the stocker had given up the ghost and dropped to 27.67 horsepower while the Scalvini was still making 35.36 horsepower. That is top-end power that a 125 pilot can use.

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(6) Silencer. The Scalvini silencer was no better than the stock KTM silencer. Save yourself the money.

(7) Price. The Scalvini pipe is labor-intensive to produce and hampered by the weak U.S. dollar against the euro. Scalvini’s KTM 125SX pipe costs $50 more than the stamped Pro Circuit and FMF models. Scalvini makes cone pipes for most modern two-stroke brands (including Yamaha, Honda  Kawasaki, Suzuki, TM, Beta, Gas Gas, Cobra and Husky) and you can special order Scalvini cone pipes for four-strokes also.

WHAT’S THE SQUAWK?
Two quibbles: (1) The correct bolts and spacers are a problem that will most likely be solved at the factory before you order your Scalvini pipe. (2) The Scalvini silencer looked cool but brought nothing to the party.

This is a very good KTM125SX two-stroke pipe, but most of all it fulfills the dream of having an old-school, cone pipe — just like the works bikes of the olden days.

 

 

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