Commando Exhaust Installation

[diab]

Hi all,

I'm installing the commando exhaust from Mikes. Installation was going smoothly until I attempted to attach the hanger to the frame at the passenger foot peg. But the peg design and hanger design are incompatible. The peg has a metal tab that keeps it from rotating on the stud. How have other people that have the commando exhaust dealt with the issue? Its a 1980 special. Thanks.

 

[gggGary]

IIRC cut, grind, fit the end of hanger till the tab will clear the hanger and let the footpeg sit properly.

 

[diab]

IIRC cut, grind, fit the end of hanger till the tab will clear the hanger and let the footpeg sit properly.

That doesn't harm the integrity of the exhaust hanger does it? I don't have to worry about it failing?

 

[gggGary]

Some fabbing is part of mounting an aftermarket muffler. I have had to modify the brackets on every muffler I have hung on an XS650. No failures for me yet.

 

[5twins]

On my buddy's 1980 Special, we dealt with the passenger peg problem by simply leaving them off, lol .....

Although I don't think it would have been too much trouble to grind a slot in the factory hanger so the peg would mount. On the couple sets I've mounted, the sliding track on the muffler was always too far back to match up with the factory hanger. On this Special, that didn't prove to be too much of a problem. We simply ran the hanger strap included with the muffler straight back from the factory bracket to the sliding track .....

If you really must have the passenger pegs, another option would be to use the hanger bracket from an early 650 or an XS500. These have the peg mount integrated into the hanger, welded right to it .....

 

[diab]

grinding away a bit of the hanger did the trick. Thanks guys.

 

[Chris 650]

Hey 5 Twins
Is the pics you have above the upswept commando pipes from Mike xs?

cheers

 

[5twins]

I don't think so. This system runs pretty straight back. I don't have a good pic of my buddy's bike directly from the side but I can tell you his mufflers don't sweep up as much as mine and one will need to be removed to pull the rear axle. On mine, the axle slides right out under the muffler .....

But I can't say for sure that a Mike's upswept system will match mine. Mine is MAC headpipes combined with Commando mufflers, not a full Mike's Commando system.

 

[MacMcMacmac]

I have commando mufflers with the upswept head pipes. Fitting was a bit of a pain, as the mufflers had to be pushed very far onto the head pipes to get the mounting slots on the mufflers anywhere near the rear footpeg mounting plates. By that time, the upsweep of the end of the pipes was beginning to foul the inside wall of the muffler, so it was touch and go to get it to work. I remember having to drill new holes in the mounting bar that came with the pipes. It worked out ok in the end, but if you can get straight pipes, I would go that route. Well worth the effort for the sound though. I got these mufflers off of a guy in town who took them off of a V65 Magna he bought to restore. They actually had XS650 stamped into them. The mouth was too wide for the headpipes, so I had to neck them down with the bushings from Mike's/XS650 Direct that I had previously used for a set of Britpipe mufflers. I like the look, but I will have to pull them off to remove the rear wheel when the time comes.

 

[Chris 650]

Hi Mac

Did the head pipes have the bracket near the foot brake that secures the head pipe to the frame. On my 81SH there is bolt holes to secure the original head pipes in this position.
Is your system from Mikes xs?

thanks in advance Chris

 

[pago cruiser]

Lets resurrect another thread...

So based upon the posters above, is there an off-the-shelf system that will put the Commando mufflers above the axle line like 5Twins?

I've checked with MAC, and their current offerings (Mac 2 into 2 Standard Headpipes with Reverse Cone Mufflers) have 1.75" headpipes, and appear too flat; ie, the muffler will conflict with axle removal. I have this situation on another bike, and it's a pita.

The only option I can see would be do get the set from Mikes (Commando 2 into 2 Exhaust System), and then get out the hacksaw (to cut the headpipe and make the aft bend more pronounced) and then the welder to patch the hole.