Twins in the hills
I don't want to get in the middle of a weiner measuring contest so leave me out of it. I don't know the 700 very well (800 I do know better) but I do know this - I run Jaws twins in the hills and they make more power hands down than the stock single. Without re-jetting, I was able to ride to places I couldn't with the stock single on, easily added 10-15 HP as advertised. Not seat of the pants riding - actually being able to climb higher. I actually found the opposite of what everyone said - they made my sled less finicky and more user friendly. Where I would bog and have to re-jet before, I would ride right past that spot and not have to re-jet (even though I maybe should have stopped and re-jetted) I will still able to run with decent power where my stock single would have fallen on its face.
Last spring I rode from 2500 ft to 9300 ft in one morning and did not re-jet once with a 10 degree temp change to the warmer as well. At 9300 ft I really should have re-jetted but since we were not staying that high very long I didn't bother. Sled bogged out climbing one hill and that was it. Installed power jets last year and jetting problems are all but gone. If she get's boggy at all I just tighten the screws down and go, never bother to even shut the sled off anymore, crack them open at about the same place on the way down.
Some people say twins are finicky, but their temperment can be easily overcome with a little knowledge. Many people are still using the old ideals that twins/triples are fussy - just like they were in the mid-late 90's when the mountain segment was in its infancy - until then, pipes were only made for similar elevations out east. Then guys started adapting them to the 580 XLT's out west and the attitude stuck - triple pipes suck. I remember one guy with a set of Hooper? drag pipes on his 617 Mach - that thing would never run right and we would all curse him for riding it. I had the same attitude as most. This is no longer the case. Yes the big old 800 Ultra big bore HTG motor with triple pipes or the PSI pipes were hard to tune, but its not the case anymore. Gone are the peaky, high strung pipes on the triples that we used to ride, they have been replaced with more forgiving products. Believe me - I remember every jetting change on the little 600 triples, with pipes more suited for grass drags launches at 8500 rpm than hillclimbing, but the twin is a far more tolerant motor and handles pipes much better and the pipe builders today are building better pipes with broader curves that go away from this stigma. The single pipe delivers far more consistent performance across the board for most riders who do not want to look under the hood all day (and there is nothing wrong with that - some guys just want to ride and never touch a thing). Some pipes work better than others and some guys have had bad luck with twin pipes and it turns them off for good - fair enough. The bigger the bore on the twin too - the more tolerant the pipes are IMO. Ask the 1150-1160+ crowd, not too many of them run single pipes and most of these big twins are big power curves (not peaky) and very tolerant of twin pipes.
My big triple (with triple pipes) is still more finicky than my twin - but again, powerjets and its not that bad. I like being able to grab every ounce of HP from the motor, even if it means lifting the hood and cranking a dial 4 times a day, it only takes me about 30 seconds to dial them in, and the performance difference between them and a single pipe is amazing.
not saying anyone is wrong or right - everyone has had different experiences with pipes. this is just my $0.02.
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