I'm not sure about the stator, however the pipes could be part of the problem.

Make sure they are sealed, use sealant and strong springs. Triple spring them if you can , I did mine that way from the pipe the the engine and to the silencer.

The other thing to check would be your carbs and carb flanges. Sometimes backfiring is from a lean condition.

Make sure the idle mixture screw is set where it is supposed to be and the jets and carbs are clean.

If you need the specs I can scan them in later today for you.

 

Tek pointed out carb flanges... If it's a 97 and have never been replaced, it's probably time.

Spray some thin aerosol type of oil onto the carb boots (WD40 maybe?). Run the engine. If the oil seems to disappear, the carb flanges are leaking through millions of microscopic cracks in the rubber.

If the rubber carb flanges are cracked and leaking... While riding, the engine is sucking air through the carb flanges/boots, and this leans out the fuel/air ratio, and will eventually begin to melt pistons.

I suppose the stator is a possibility, but leaking carb flanges are a much more dangerous risk to the pistons IMO. You gotta check those flanges before you ride again!!!

:chug:

 

I had a 96 ZRT 600 and had reed problems causing the backfires, it eventually wouldn't run very good at all. Ceck your reeds, especially if the are v-force's, you may have killed a reed.

 

Are the throttle saftey switches by passed ? Water in the fuel can also make it pop. Though the stator is unlikly, it is not impossible.