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I want to get a new pipe. I have seen mixed reviews for the FMF Gnarly pipes. I ride in the woods, and if I am not in the woods I rarely get out of 4th gear. Is the woods pipe better or the desert for this type of riding. I saw on another site not to put the woods pipe on a 220. Only they called it a torque.

There is a lot of information about those on this site. Woods pipe is great in the woods! From single track to fire roads it performs great. I do not have one but my dad had one on his KDX and it was fast, with a blip of the throttle you could wheelie over mud holes or logs NO problem. That Gnarly pipe wakes the bike up a ton, but it may be less forgiving on throttle control than stock. The more experienced riders here will know more about that than myself. Of course re-jetting is required but thats a fun way to get more familiar with the nature and mechanics of the bike.

Re: 'Is the woods pipe better or the desert for this type of riding.'

The FmF 'woods' pipe (torque profile) enhances the bottom end of things at the expense of the top end of things.

The FmF 'desert' pipe (rev profile) enhances the top end of things at the expense of the bottom end of things.

Decide what it is you want to do, choose accordingly.


Keep in mind some things go better together than do others. If more 'top' is what you're after and your choice is a rev/desert, that choice of pipe won't work as well with the KDX220 OEM 220 carb (33mm) as it would with a larger carb on the same bike.

To say, 'Don't put a woods/torque pipe on a 220' is an expression of someone's opinion. It's not some kind of 100% true-all-the-time truth-of-the-ages commandment.

I run the "desert" or rev pipe on my 220 and it has all kinds of bottom end hit. Enough so that I opted to add an aftermarket flywheel weight to help control wheel-spin. It wheelies easily. It will wheelie easily off bottom with stock reeds and stock head and a rev pipe. Some fiddling with jetting is recommended.
I ride slower single-track trails, mostly 2nd and 3rd gear - the rev pipe simply broadens increased torque over a much greater range of rpm when compared to the stock pipe

I have the Woods pipe, the bike has so much low end its almost a 4 stroke thumper!

It's a personnal choice.

I rode a Woods on my 220 and after the Rev.

Woods = better torque, but not change the feeling of the bike a lot.
Rev= so much top end and rev, exactly what a 220 don't have stock. It's a radical change!

I believe if you are an intermediate/pro rider, you will LOVE the rev because you will be able to compensate the less bottom (clutch, uphill techniques, body position, handling skills, etc) and you will win so much top end (better acceleration, easy wheelie/jump, faster burn cornering, etc).

On a 200, my friends prefer the woods.

Other comments I wrote on this website is quoted:

My opinion for a 220;

I rode 2 years my 220 with a Woods pipe in heavy section at low speed (rocks, trees, woods, hard hills to climb) and since I have my Rev, it's hard to ride so easily (the Woods is like an autoclutch... you never stall, the motor never dead, is always alive).

BUT, I have so much Top End and so much punch with the Rev, I have to be a better rider in slow-speed with the Rev, BUT I have an upgrade (top rev) that I NEVER have with the Woods.

KDX220 FMF =
Beginner and intermediate rider = Woods/Torque
Intermediate an pro rider = Desert/Rev

«keeping that rev will teach you clutch control and make you better.»

I have two KDX 220's. I have the rev pipe on one and the woods pipe on the other. The woods pipe makes the low end very smooth with almost no hit, just even power. great for really slow sloppy terrain. It won't rev very high though and will simply stop accelerating abruptly. However, the rev pipe is more fun. Still good low end but with a more pipey feel, more like a toned down MX bike. It will keep reving and is a good pipe if you like to dance around and ride with some aggression. The rev pipe is good if you ride in more than just tight woods.

I don't know about the 220... but a woods pipe on the 200 works just fine.... I can still go 65 to 70 mph.... too fast for the woods.... so I would say that it revs out just fine.

The woods pipe on the 220 will quickly fall flat and stop reving. It's not really noticeable in the woods but when you hit a fire road or if you take it to an open area (MX track, etc.) it's really obvious. The rev pipe makes the power more like my KX 250 only toned down. Handy when it's your spare track (or loaner) bike.

I prefer the feel of the rev pipe most of the time but I'll admit that when it's really sloppy the woods pipe is the more relaxing choice.

Experiment: Someone with money do the reverse-torque-ring on their 220 woods pipe. Cut the flange off, cut 1/4" off the pipe, weld flange back on.

I've run both pipes also. I think the best overall setup is the rev pipe with an aftermarket flywheel weight. Best of both worlds - less stalling, smoother in rocks, mud and still has that great rev-out. People can't believe it's a 220 kdx when it pulls so strongly on big hillclimbs.

How do you tell the difference between the woods pipe and the dessert pit? The 200 I bought had the FMF Gnarly installed. It has decent low end and great high end power.

I am also running a Fredette torque ring and a Boysen Rad Valve.

Does your pipe sit like this around the shroud area or sit higher?

If it sits higher... it is a Desert. If it looks just like this... It is a Woods.

Have any of you guys had any experience with the Pro Circuit Pipe on the 220?

jtranger_1 wrote:How do you tell the difference between the woods pipe and the dessert pit?

If you look on the top pipe mount, just below the tank, from the back (left side of the bike), you'll see a number. The last 2 numbers will be a 56, or 57. Look at the part numbers on the FMF site to see which is which.

Mine says it's a Desert.... it's not.

The part numbers are wrong?
How do you know that?

It's stamped K-30... which is a Desert pipe. K-35 is a Woods pipe.

It is well documented on the site of all the problems I went through with a e-line carbon fiber pipe guard that in the end had to be returned due to the wrong designation being stamped on the pipe.

is it a 56, or 57?

That designation is not stamped on the pipe....

A long long time ago in a land of smoke and sleep... FMF did not stamp them 56 or 57... they were stamped K-30 and K-35.