Fitting the exhaust to rear cylinder

[jim328]

My bike came with the exhaust system removed. It looked like it would be a simple fit off the bike but I cannot work out how the clamps, washer and copper rings fit to the intermediate pipe and then the rear cylinder. Should the copper rings slide over the pipe? Because they certainly don't want to.

[kwells]

do you have new copper rings?

[QBS]

Do the silver discs show ANY! signs of flame cutting?

[jim328]

I only have the old copper rings, can I anneal them or do I have to get new ones?

The silver discs certainly aren't silver any more and quite badly pitted on the side that presumably faced the engine (they seem to have a groove that the ring fits into)

This exhaust system is making me feel very stupid, how does it all fit together?

[Brian_Matthewson]

Send me a PM with your email address...I have a .doc I'll send you.

[QBS]

From what you've described, it looks like you need to get NEW silver discs and copper rings.  The copper rings should be considered a consumable item.  Silver discs are not a consumable item.  They can be reused IF they are not pitted or flame cut.  ANY sign of flame cutting rejects the disc.

If the above rules are ignored, there will be exhaust leaks that only get worse over time.  Given the level of PITA replacing these parts represent, the price of new parts is very cheap.

BTW, the whole rear cylinder exhaust attachement system is really non intuitve and appears to be a Rube Goldburg gizmo of the first order.  Except for one thing: When properly assembled, with good condition parts, the system works well for a long time.

[jim328]

I just rang my local dealer here in Christchurch, New Zealand who told me that both parts are no longer available in New Zealand, Australia and Japan. Can anyone recommend somewhere that might have the parts?

[kwells]

you can always attempt to reinstall what you have and see what's what.

[jim328]

So do I fit the intermediate peice to the balance tube and then to the cylinder, or to the clyinder head then the balance tube?

Also would exhaust manifold sealing compound be of any use if I have to reuse parts?

[treedragon]

Hi Jim

Good to see another NZer on board, I'm up the road a touch in Nelson.

When faced with replacing my copper gaskets and being of the "can't leave well enough alone" variety, I cast around for a substitute and made some out of heavy duty copper wire which was holding up my letterbox........

Anyway I shaped and annealed them to fit and now a few thousand k's down the road and they are doing just fine, (shame about the letterbox).

The originals are crush type (hollowish) and so I filed the "new" ones to the same crushed profile as the ones that came out, a bit fiddly but cheap and seems to work well.

I fitted to the heads first and quickly rammed the pipe on before it could change it's mind.......

[funkamongus]

hahahahahaaa love it!

[Glyn]

Looks like the Visionaries in NZ are growing fast. I've still only seen one other on the road in Auckland however. There still must be lots in sheds etc, prob with burnt out stators.

[The Prophet of Doom]

I just put mine back in - seems to seal OKish.  I found it easiest to put in the Y piece and headers first, then fit the muffler.   I used muffler sealant in all the joins except the engine.

[hmmmnz]

hey, funnily enough im in the same boat as well, and in nz to boot,
i just can't see how the header stays in the socket,
it seems loose, i have replaced the copper crush washers,
it all seems like a very loose fit,
whats the secret, ??
do i just push the header up into the socket and then mount the mufflers and hope for the best??

[jim328]

I found that it was a case of having everything lined up correctly and then the clamps will pull right up and clamp everything nice and tight with no leaks and hold the header quite solidly. Was quite time consuming and took a few attempts but worked well once everything lined up.

[treedragon]

#1 you need Japanese sized hands, not 46 D cups like mine seem to be at times.

#2 paaaatience particularly if #1 is not the case

#3 having the right crush gasket probably helps, but if not see the previous post of mine, either way #2 will still apply

#4 an offering to God of Mechanic is obligatory especially if both #1 and #2 decide to work together, either way it's likely a blood offering.

#5 if any of the above apply it is probably best to find a first year school kid, just tell them they can play on your computer after it's done and you are in, mind you they will ask you why you are using THAT as your operating system, but hey it avoids blood offerings as a rule, the God of Mechanic seems to favor them, after all he smiled on me when I deconstructed the lawn mower as a kid............ oh that's right then there was dad.

Personally I found that mounting the Y pipe on the exhaust system and then jamming that in place using the exhaust as a lever and then doing up the clamps seemed to work fine. I applied a touch of red silicone sealant, (well I'm lying about the "touch" bit) and bolted up tight. It was somewhere between the afore mentioned lie and the final tighten that I got to make the sacrifice......

So traumatic was the experience that it was one of the final kickers that convinced me to put the Ducati rear end on the bike and move the battery & wiring etc away from the vicinity of the exhaust. Now many thou of k's down the road there was a slight leak in one of the home made gaskets (see previous post) but all I had to do was present the 46 D's into the now vacant space behind the headers, quickly loosen off the offending leaker and slop a finger full of Maniseal in there............ 5 min all up, no blood offerings, with no extortion from a local junior.  8)

[Rick G]

When I had a stock exhaust, I removed the rear wheel for much improved access , when replacing it.