Header pipes

[funky]

Hi all i am after some header pipes new ones to replace my taty old ones they dont seem to be any new or oem ones available i can get stainless ones from the netherlands but wonder if anyone in the U.K know of anyone who can make me a set.
If i Buy from the U.S .A there is almost a 60 percent import tax on them

 

[joeluvs2fish]

Wow! Sorry about the trade war. There's a couple posts about making stubby baffled pipes on here. I adjusted the plans to work on my 2-1 exhaust. Around $30 in parts and a fun afternoon of fabricating. Good luck

 

[joeluvs2fish]

DogBunny had the plans posted but the all the pics have been deleted. Search "baffles for short pipes". Hope this saves you some cash.

Here is a baffle I made for a friend's XS650 that uses a slash-cut stock double-wall header pipe for the exhaust.

The baffle is constructed of 3/4" trade size EMT (Electrical Metallic Tubing), also know as "thinwall." Three slots were cut into each end allowing me to bend out three wings on each end. You can cut two or four slots if you want to make two or four wings. Three 1/4" nuts and bolts have been put in each baffle for anti-reversion and to provide "back pressure." The nuts and screw-heads have been ground down a little for clearance.
All wings are over-spread, and the baffle is forced and hammered into the pipe. Friction keeps the baffle in place. There is no need to screw or bolt it in.

The baffle was made as long as possible, based on the straight length of the header that existed. On longer pipes, I have made baffles up to 14" long.
The bike runs excellent, and was easy to tune. I am not an engineer, and I am not an expert on reversion or pipe design, but I know that baffles like mine lower the power band, and make a bike with short pipes a lot more enjoyable to ride in town. This bike runs great in all riding situations.
This bike is still plenty loud. If you want to quiet it down, you can wrap fiberglass or Chore-Boy around the baffle before you insert it.
I have made plenty of these home-made baffles for long pipes, but this was my first for short pipes. For long pipes you may only need a single screw and nut.

EDIT: I rode this bike recently, and I know think that the 3 bolts in the baffle are too much. I'm trying to get the owner to pull the baffles and just use the last bolt.

EDIT: The owner finally removed 2 of the bolts, just leaving the one closest to the end in, and bike runs even better than before. One thing, he has had problems with is the baffles blowing out. This has only been happening on bikes just running headers, so if that's what you are doing, then run a self-tapping screw through the baffle and pipe.

 

[XSLeo]

I built my own header pipes. I shopped around online and found a place that sells bent tubing. I bought two 90* bends, one 180* bend and two 2 foot straight pieces. Try to get the 90* bends to match the stock bend radius. I used 1.5 inch tubing. I think I got 4 inch radius for the 90* and a 6 inch for the 180*.
The stock pipes are dual wall pipes. Where they come out from the head I cut them off just before the first bend. Gives a bit of working room. This cut was through both inner and out pipes.
I then cut just the outer off up close to where it welds to the inner. This will leave you a stub of the old header that has the ring and a bit of pipe that the finned clamp pushes into the head.
I then trimmed the inner pipes so they matched in length and came out from the ring about two inches. You want to have some of this inner pipe sticking out. This make it work like those fancy store bout inversion cone people sell. And won't cost much.
Now install the stubs you made into the head. Hold the 90* bends up so one end goes in near the stubs. Eye ball these up to decide how much they need to be trimmed back so the down part of the bend come along the frame down tubes as looks good for you.
Once you get them trimmed remove the stubs from the engine. You may need to trim the ring a bit or expand the pipe a bit. Depends on the tubing size. You want the new tubing to just slip over the old. Now weld the stubs into the new tubing.
Install these new partial pipes in the head. Adjust them so they run along the frame as you like them to.
Now hold up one of the 180* bends so one leg runs along the bottom of the frame as you like it. Some where on the bend the pipes you built should come somewhere on the bend of the 180*. Mark this. Cut at the make. Now hold this in place along the bike. so it lines up with the pipe. Tack weld to the first part of the header you built.
Remove the pipe from engine. Finish weld the two pipes together. The joint can be adjusted a bit to improve the looks.
The leg of the 189* bend will be used on the other side.
The straight pieces are used to extend your new header as far back as you need them to go.
I also cut the mounts off the stock header pipes so I could weld them to the new header pipes. This way they are supported the same as the stock headers.
On the headers you may want the rear of them to tip up a bit. Mark where you want them to bend. I use a 4in angle grinder with cut off wheels to cut my tubing. Make a cut down, from what will be the top, into the tubing at your mark. If you do this about 3/4's of the way through you can bend them by hand enough to close the cut. A bit of a tack weld to hold it.
Fit it back to bike. Is the tip up enough? If o then finish weld, If not make a cut beside your first cut so the pipe can bend more.
Tack, check fit adjust as needed till it looks right, Finish weld.
Repeat on the other side.
Once it fits right you can smooth out the welds till they are not to noticeable, then paint.
I build this set to replace the ones I bought from Mike's XS. They are not bent the same as stock and didn't provide clearance for the external oil filter/cooler fitting on the front corner of the right side engine cover.
I may rebuild the using 1 1/2 inch tubing at head and just past the first bend them go up to 1 5/8 tubing down to just past the second bend then the last few inches go up to 1 3/4 tubing.
I don't know if this will improve the performance but have heard that stepped pipes will.
One thing it will do is get a better seal wear the mufflers clamp on.
I have found that the 1 3/4 clamp Harley uses are the strongest out there and don't really cost much.
Leo

 

[650Skull]

Wow! Sorry about the trade war.

England has a consumption tax or VAT tax and this is very high............I don't think England has slapped tariffs on the US...........Trade war will not contribute to the price of someone buying from the Us only selling to the US and then it is only on some things not across the board

 

[funky]

If you buy goods online from outside the EU for delivery to the UK, you’ll have to pay Customs Duty (if over £120 value) and Import VAT (if over £18) on top of the purchase price (including duties), though Customs Duty is waived if the amount of the calculated duty payable is £7 or less. Please note there is also an £8 Parcel Force Fee for collecting the Import VAT.

If you’re ordering goods from outside the EU, any Customs Duty must be paid by the recipient once the goods have arrived in the UK but before the goods are delivered.

If i buy from the U.S.A they send it to a bonded wearhouse then the U.K slapp (Value Added Tax) VAT 24% + processing fee and a import Duty 4% plus postage fees from the USA and a further proceesing fee from the courier to your address which is roughly another 20%
£ 200.00 worth of goods end up £ 286.00 we call it Rip off England
Our fuel Tax is 75% we pay Tax at source on our wages 33% roughly
then we pay VAT on anything we buy at 20% including food, clothes, gas ,electric,Fuel
so if we earn £100.00 I actually get £77.00 £33.00 Tax
and if I buy petrol £40.00 actual amount of fuel £10.00 £30.00 Tax
then some food with what i have left which is £37.00 20% of that is tax which is £07.40 Tax
So from £100.00 total tax to the goverment is £70.40 tax .......value of good £29.60
Conclusion is we get legally and financially well and truley F***KED becuse in real terms we only see 30% of what we earn .
You see slavery has not gone they just replaced the metal chains with financial ones.
So it is not the good old USofA to blame its the UK Government Where is Robin Hood when you need him

 

[MartinNC]

If you buy goods online from outside the EU for delivery to the UK, you’ll have to pay Customs Duty (if over £120 value) and Import VAT (if over £18) on top of the purchase price (including duties), though Customs Duty is waived if the amount of the calculated duty payable is £7 or less. Please note there is also an £8 Parcel Force Fee for collecting the Import VAT.

If you’re ordering goods from outside the EU, any Customs Duty must be paid by the recipient once the goods have arrived in the UK but before the goods are delivered.

If i buy from the U.S.A they send it to a bonded wearhouse then the U.K slapp (Value Added Tax) VAT 24% + processing fee and a import Duty 4% plus postage fees from the USA and a further proceesing fee from the courier to your address which is roughly another 20%
£ 200.00 worth of goods end up £ 286.00 we call it Rip off England
Our fuel Tax is 75% we pay Tax at source on our wages 33% roughly
then we pay VAT on anything we buy at 20% including food, clothes, gas ,electric,Fuel
so if we earn £100.00 I actually get £77.00 £33.00 Tax
and if I buy petrol £40.00 actual amount of fuel £10.00 £30.00 Tax
then some food with what i have left which is £37.00 20% of that is tax which is £07.40 Tax
So from £100.00 total tax to the goverment is £70.40 tax .......value of good £29.60
Conclusion is we get legally and financially well and truley F***KED becuse in real terms we only see 30% of what we earn .
You see slavery has not gone they just replaced the metal chains with financial ones.
So it is not the good old USofA to blame its the UK Government Where is Robin Hood when you need him

 

[MartinNC]

There is a guy in UK called Ants, link attached. He is on xs650 UK Forum and makes pipes
http://xs650.freeforums.net/thread/509/stainless-steel-pipes-cans

 

[funky]

Thanks for that MartinNC