Same dumb question, different motorcycle!

Grewth

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Are there any reproduction silencers available for the '74 and '75 bikes ?
I'm thinking about a '75 for my next project, but the silencers would seem to be the sticking point.
I'm pleasantly surprised to find my XS1B well catered for, with full replica systems available, likewise for the '76 to '79 Roadsters if you've got €1075 to spare :yikes: for a nice stainless steel replica system.
But I can't find anything for the '74 and '75 bikes except header pipes.
 
Well in that case my pockets aren't deep enough to pay some sheet metal wizard to make a pair from scratch.
Buying used 50 yr old silencers from a breakers is a pretty pointless exercise in my estimation.
For '76 the factory moved to silencers that seem to have started life on the TX750 (I suppose they had to salvage something from the TX750 tooling costs)
I might just substitute '76 type silencers, as there are quite a few options.
But at selling time the tyre kickers would still be tut-tutting about the wrong exhaust, so I think maybe something in keeping with the styling, but with a little more rasp.
Maybe Commando peashooters, or maybe brit short export type silencers as fitted in the late '60's.
The shrouded rear units are a nice touch too.
Screenshot_20220918-105529.jpg
 
Baseball bats as used on the 70-73 an option.
The repos are IMO very good quality, have great sound, (not loud) and have the XS650 LOOK.
WJL spring 2020.jpg


If you ever do find a correct set of 74-75 muffs these have good to great resale value.
 
Baseball bats as used on the 70-73 an option.
The repos are IMO very good quality, have great sound, (not loud) and have the XS650 LOOK.
View attachment 225529

If you ever do find a correct set of 74-75 muffs these have good to great resale value.
I've taken a really good look at a couple of the XS1/XS2 pattern systems and I concur that the quality seems to be as good as original, although I think the headers might only be single skin.
The annoying thing is that nobody imports them into the UK.
So they've already been shipped half way around the world, been through customs, had import duty levied on them, and then I have to pay for yet more international shipping, and yet more customs duties.
Halco tuning is sadly missed.
 
But at selling time the tyre kickers would still be tut-tutting about the wrong exhaust, so I think maybe something in keeping with the styling, but with a little more rasp.
Maybe Commando peashooters, or maybe brit short export type silencers as fitted in the late '60's.
The shrouded rear units are a nice touch too.View attachment 225527
I got a pair of "big bore" Norton peashooters, and I really cannot recommend them at all. On a stock XS they sound awful. Nothing like on a Commando 750 or 850. Just a tinny, raspy sound. I guess this has to do with exhaust valve size, small bore/long stroke, or cam timing.

Maybe Triumph or BSA mufflers would work better, as those bikes are closer to the XS with regards to bore and stroke? I definitely like that look, with a Lucas taillight and Triumph style mufflers!

(FYI, standard Norton Commando exhaust systems have 1 3/8" (35 mm) headpipes, while most aftermarket XS headers are 1 1/2" or 38 mm. So the "big bore" Peashooters I got were made for 1 1/2" or 38 mm pipes)
 
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One thing to keep in mind on those early xs baseball bat muffler, is that their inlet is the same diameter as the original xs headpipes. Not to say they cannot be made to fit, but they are not a direct bolt on replacement for the '75 pipes.. Also, the mufflers may impact your center stand more than the '75's do. Just things to keep in mind when considering your options.
 
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Good point about stand clearance issues.
Something to bear in mind although I could make a modified stand if really needed.
One thing I think I need to consider is serviceability.
If I buy a £1000 stainless system and then drop the bike, can I buy just one silencer ?
I'm guessing not.
Buy another new system. Ouch!
The '70-'73 systems seem to be sold as pairs of headers, and pairs of silencers, so again you get stung and end up with parts you don't need.
At least with the Triumph type you can buy just one can as needed.
Not sure about pipe sizes yet, but I know the original design is glass packed around a perforated steel tube, so nice and loud, but not very restrictive
 
Personally I dont like the 75 mufflers. They are HUGE. But mine are in good shape so I’m hanging on to them so that when I sell the bike I have the option to go back to original.
 
Personally I dont like the 75 mufflers. They are HUGE. But mine are in good shape so I’m hanging on to them so that when I sell the bike I have the option to go back to original.
There seemed to be a worldwide vendetta against anything that made a noise in the early '70's.
Nearly every model of motorcycle got bigger or more restrictive exhausts, even the air filters needed to be quietened down.
Yamaha's response was more elegant than cash strapped Triumph, who simply added an ugly extension onto their '71 silencers, resulting in something that stuck out past the rear tyre.
I think you've got the right idea about hanging on to those '74-'75 silencers.
At selling time convert everything back to OE spec, and don't give the tyre kickers a reason to knock down your price.
I'm still undecided myself.
I might go for the '60's British style.
Alternatively, there are some chinese copies of the Dunstall type silencers about.
Dead ringers in fact, right down to the seven little outlet tubes.
That might preserve the '70's styling at minimum cost, and easily replaced if I damage them.
I suppose their effect on performance will be the deciding factor
 
There are two Dunstall replicas out there, one with fixed baffles, one with removable ones. I started out with the fixed baffle type and they are junk. The baffles are just tack welded in and one blew out within a few hundred miles. I didn't think they sounded too bad until I got the Commandos from Mike's. I mounted one along with one Dunstall and fired the bike up. A side by side sound comparison like this showed just how awful the Dunstall sounded.

I put those big bore Norton Peashooter replicas on my other 650 and have grown to quite like them. They were too loud when first mounted because they're basically a straight through pipe .....

Peashooter2.jpg


So, I added baffles to quiet them down. I didn't actually install the baffles in the mufflers but rather in the ends of the headpipes .....

83Baffles3.jpg


The full end cap the baffles came with proved to be too quiet so I changed to a couple bolts .....

83Baffles4.jpg


Now, after a thousand miles or so, the sound seems to be mellowing out some, maybe due to carbon build-up, so I may pull one of the bolts out of the baffle. I do like the looks, they're a beautiful muffler .....

NewWheelMounted4.jpg
 
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