lcrken
VIP MEMBER
- Joined
- Mar 15, 2009
- Messages
- 5,040
Just thought I'd pass on this picture of what I had to do to remove the crossover pipe and connectors from my 850 balanced exhaust system, so I could try to reuse them.
Just to remove the pipes from the bike originally, I had to cut the crossover tube in the middle. Then, to remove them from the exhaust pipes, I had to weld a chunk of angle iron on to the cut ends of the pipe, clamp that in a vise, and heat the connector until I could finally twist the exhaust down tube off the connector. I was careful not to overheat it and ruin the chrome plating. I then tried using heat to remove the connector, but had no luck. Finally, to remove the remaining bit of the crossover pipe from the coupling, I cut the angle iron bits off, and chucked it in the lathe, so I could carefully bore out the pipe until it was thin enough that I could remove the connector. I was worried about catching the pipe on the boring tool and twisting it all into an unusable mess, but by taking very small cuts, it worked fine.
I'm now in the process of trying to sand out the inside of the connectors enough that I can slide them over the new balance pipe (cut out of an old down tube). My fallback option if this doesn't work is to weld caps on the crossover openings on the down pipes just for the rally, and sort it out when I get back.
The only reason I'm going to all this trouble is that the connectors and balance pipe don't seem to be available from vendors, including Andover and Old Brits. I tried standard 750 roadster pipes, but had clearance issues with the sidestand bolt and the Mk III primary cover. Given more time, I could have done something about the sidestand bolt and primary case, but I'm on a pretty short schedule trying to get the bike ready for the rally. The other option that looked good was ordering a set of the unbalanced pipes from Commado Specialties that have the same clearance as the balanced pipes, but they wouldn't get here in time, so I'm back to making the stock pipes work.
The reason I'm posting this is to see what other options forum members might have come up with in similar circumstances. I'd really prefer to get rid of the balanced pipe. All the ones I've used in the past have either cracked or also been impossible to remove without damage.
Ken
Just to remove the pipes from the bike originally, I had to cut the crossover tube in the middle. Then, to remove them from the exhaust pipes, I had to weld a chunk of angle iron on to the cut ends of the pipe, clamp that in a vise, and heat the connector until I could finally twist the exhaust down tube off the connector. I was careful not to overheat it and ruin the chrome plating. I then tried using heat to remove the connector, but had no luck. Finally, to remove the remaining bit of the crossover pipe from the coupling, I cut the angle iron bits off, and chucked it in the lathe, so I could carefully bore out the pipe until it was thin enough that I could remove the connector. I was worried about catching the pipe on the boring tool and twisting it all into an unusable mess, but by taking very small cuts, it worked fine.
I'm now in the process of trying to sand out the inside of the connectors enough that I can slide them over the new balance pipe (cut out of an old down tube). My fallback option if this doesn't work is to weld caps on the crossover openings on the down pipes just for the rally, and sort it out when I get back.
The only reason I'm going to all this trouble is that the connectors and balance pipe don't seem to be available from vendors, including Andover and Old Brits. I tried standard 750 roadster pipes, but had clearance issues with the sidestand bolt and the Mk III primary cover. Given more time, I could have done something about the sidestand bolt and primary case, but I'm on a pretty short schedule trying to get the bike ready for the rally. The other option that looked good was ordering a set of the unbalanced pipes from Commado Specialties that have the same clearance as the balanced pipes, but they wouldn't get here in time, so I'm back to making the stock pipes work.
The reason I'm posting this is to see what other options forum members might have come up with in similar circumstances. I'd really prefer to get rid of the balanced pipe. All the ones I've used in the past have either cracked or also been impossible to remove without damage.
Ken
