1977 XS650 glasspack exhaust

[Tyrus]

I thought maybe a few of you might be interested in this little exhaust mod. Thrush 1.75 in and out glasspacks, stock headpipes, and a bit of welding. The only modification to the bike itself was cutting off the studs that the passenger pegs bolt to, then drilling those brackets out to allow a bolt to run through to a nut welded to the mufflers. I'll let the pictures do more of the talking.

For the bend, simply took a straight piece of pipe, slit it in 4 places, and bolted up the glasspack. Tacked it while it was on the bike, and then finished it off the bike.

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Better view of the slits. Screwdriver to keep the pipe centered on the headpipe.

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Finished product, saw a little heat.

Yes, the right side sticks out a tad more than the left. I need to shave a bit off the mounting bolt so it pulls it in a bit more.

Figured I'd throw this idea out there! it took about half a day and it was tig welded by my father, as my welding skills are slim to none. from the headpipe back will soon be painted flat black and probably more wrap from the headpipe back to the front of the glasspack body. Turned out better than planned though! And it sounds wonderful. Cheers folks!

 

[gggGary]

Nice bends! I have done a few similar bends to "upsweep" the mufflers.

 

[jaydett]

Can you post video so we can all hear it bark?

 

[Tomterrific]

Did you position the louvers inside the glasspack to face toward the engine or toward the exit?

Did you try the mufflers both ways? And how did each way sound?

You've got a cool exhaust for little money. Good job!

Thanks,
Tom

 

[XSLeo]

Looks good. About the only thing I might have done differently is to not weld the muffler to the pipe. The mufflers will wear out before the pipe.
Leo

 

[blknoel]

Agreed, I would slit the exhaust where it joins the headpipe and hose clamp it down tightly. Provided the muffler has a weld-on tab for bolting to the rear peg bracket.

Makes for easy removal, repacking.

 

[Tyrus]

Thanks Gary! Jay, I'll get one uploaded as soon as I can find one of my devices that doesn't have a broken mic. Tom, I've got no idea anymore which way we put them. I did try flipping them and it seemed to make no difference soundwise, so I just threw them on. Leo and Noel, I did think of that...when looking it over after finishing welding... They are mounted with a nut welded onto the glasspack, so it'd be tough to duplicate. I figure by the time it all wears out, I'll be ready to invest in a nice 2-1 headpipe and have a plan ready for a muffler by then. A bit more well thought out, perhaps. Overall, idle is quieter than my old rusted out ones, but when it comes off idle, it really crackles. 3.5k-5.5k comes a very noticeable increase in power though. Seems to pull harder and rev up much quicker now. I'll get a video for you folks soon!

Tyrus