Short and simple exhaust

Dave From Maine

XS650 Member
Messages
21
Reaction score
49
Points
13
Location
maine
Roughed this out, pipes squared up with sharp 90 and 45 bends. 1 3/4 diameter looked a little more stout than the stock 1 1/2. The used Harley pipes only cost $25 pair. Will have to put some miles on them if all OK thinking of having some made up in stainless.
 
Darn, trying again here
 

Attachments

  • image.jpg
    image.jpg
    205.7 KB · Views: 508
Looks...... interesting. I hope you enjoy them! That's all that matters right? IMHO I think your midrange will suffer though, unless the inside of the engine has been reworked (i.e. head porting, large cam, big bore, etc, etc). Good luck!
 
Hey, I'd say it's ucking fugly but if you like that look, fine.
Alas that the pipes are too fat to run nice.
 
the design is not bad the sharp angles should help a little with back pressure. the crash bars have similar angles which might compliment the exhaust a bit. i think i saw something about torque tunnels in a post, you may want to look into that. IMO seems like pipes are too large for smooth riding at <WOT. i mean to say the mid range will suffer.
 
FB8DA232-57C4-45B0-9E4B-F085E4A5ABDE.jpeg
E59FB1F2-EE43-44BD-AF19-E4C088B26AAD.jpeg
1B045FF1-FF26-4E33-9758-EBF321712280.jpeg
It’s been five years since making up the exhaust. To tell the truth I’ve never noticed a midrange flat spot. There may well be loss of horsepower but there is still enough for the type of riding I do.
The paint and decals were getting wicked shabby looking so repainted the motorcycle this year & decided to redo exhaust while at it.
There are some nice stainless steel U bends available, the three required were around $75 total. They have a 1/16” wall thickness. I’ve never welded stainless before so grinding and polishing the welded seams is learning curve. Should be done next weekend.
 
View attachment 148716 View attachment 148715 View attachment 148712 It’s been five years since making up the exhaust. To tell the truth I’ve never noticed a midrange flat spot. There may well be loss of horsepower but there is still enough for the type of riding I do.
The paint and decals were getting wicked shabby looking so repainted the motorcycle this year & decided to redo exhaust while at it.
There are some nice stainless steel U bends available, the three required were around $75 total. They have a 1/16” wall thickness. I’ve never welded stainless before so grinding and polishing the welded seams is learning curve. Should be done next weekend.

Hi Dave,
try using EB Rings (google 'em, eh?) in the welded pipe joints. The added meat inside the EB ring will let you polish the pipe OD just about flush.
 
04E48DAC-60F4-46E2-947C-0F0A9B300EAA.jpeg
This is why I’m on here, to share and learn. Looked up EB rings they help keep a smooth flowing interior inside the pipe while providing support and material to weld on, plus you can mock up pipes then add the rings for a close gap “fitment”. Wish I’d known about them. I’d already gotten well along here so will finish up for now & am now considering this another practice / education attempt as not happy with the butt joint finish. Stainless can be filled and polished enough to make seams almost invisible and these look pretty obvious. What is surprising to me though is that stainless pipe can look close to chrome plating. MiG welder not tig is all I have at the present; exposed tig welds might be acceptable
Plumber by trade here so we tend to use short radius 90’s and 45’s, plumb bob vertical and squared up piping to the lines of the building !
 
Back
Top