How I got a few more years out of my stock Honda exhaust

[admin]

My 84 Wing's exhaust was beginning to show signs of rust near the tailpipe and I hate the look of rust on any bike especially my own but I did not feel like spending $700.+ for a new muffler so I needed a plan.

At a nearby scrap yard I noticed that they had a lot of scrap stainless steel pipe that was used in the local cannery for conveying tomato sauce. Almost every locale has a scrap yard with stainless pipe so you need to do some searching to find a source for the SS pipe.

I asked the operator at this yard to snip me off two 4 foot sections of this stainless pipe that would eventually slide over the stock mufflers and hide the rusted out sections of the tailpipe.

When I first got the pipe it was dull grey and full of scratches and minor dents. I assessed which sections would need the least amount of work and then I set about cutting it but you need to know that stainless is not easy to cut with ordinary cutting tools and fortunately I happened to have cobalt cutting tools from my days of working with stainless. To anyone who does not have stainless cutting tools I suggest that you buy a stone wheel for your table saw or miter saw then use a piece of scrap paneling to protect the saw's table from damage.

Cut off the forward end of the pipe first and make sure it's a square cut then measure the length required to reach to the desired finish at the back of the bike.

Next you need to determine if you want slash cut or straight cut tail pipes.
I chose slash cut so I set about marking the angle of the slash cut on the pipe. No easy chore but if you make a template out of cardboard it makes the job much simpler and makes it even on both pipes.

Once all the cutting is completed use a half round fine file to remove any and all sharp edges so you don't cut yourself.

I set my extension length to one inch past the square steel tube under the back of each saddlebag.

OK, the front is cut and the rear slash is cut and now it's time to make these extensions shiny. First I used a heavy round steel bar to tap out and dings and dents gently from the inside. Then I sanded with 180 grit paper at low speed with my variable speed grinder. Once all the scratches nicks and dents were gone I then used a sanding block with 320 grit paper then worked my way up to 400 grit wet paper then I got out my cotton polishing wheel and buffed with finishing polish until I got a nice shine. They polished up like chrome and I sure felt proud to be the owner of these bright and shiny pieces.

Now that they were ready to be installed I crawled under the bike and tried to slide one in place and found that there were a few weld lumps on the Honda muffler that needed to be filed down slightly. Once this was done I was able to drive the extension on by tapping at it with a piece of soft 2"x 4" wood. Make sure you have the slash lined up vertically so that you get the extension on straight and even with the opposite otherwise you will need to remove and reinstall it correctly.

Once both sides are on straight it's time to drill a hole through the extension and the square tube below the back of the saddlebag. Make sure the extensions are even before you drill and don't drill through the plastic bottom of the saddlebag because they seem to work better without a drain hole. loll Once the holes a drilled insert a stainless steel machine and use two nut at the top as locknuts or use one locknut but just make sure you slide the screw in from the bottom so that you don't see a screw end protruding down into the pipe. That's ugly.

OK, now you're done, just wipe off your fingerprints and stand back and admire your workmanship. You'll like it even more when you start the engine and hear a different sound from the bike's exhaust.

Speaking of exhaust sound, my tailpipes were rotted quite badly to the point that exhaust was quite loud so what I did was to cut off the entire tailpipe complete and drive the bike with open pipes. I loved it totally but my wife was threatening divorce if I left out Wing that noisy. So what I was weld a pipe flange to the back of the stock muffler and I used screw in lawn tractor mufflers to keep the noise down and it worked. One muffler on each side makes me happy and when my wife is with me I use two mufflers on each side to make the noise acceptable to her.

So now I have an exhaust system that cost me less than $50. That is adjustable and very attractive. I'm quite happy with this system and I enjoyed every minute of making it and making it work for me.

[SIR tricky]

After seeing Vics repair I thought maybe I had better dredge up the repair I made to my system several years ago which has stood up (so far) to the tests of time.
I must say I feel that the original reason my exhaust rotted was the fact that I had installed chrome turn-downs that necessitated removal of the baffle and then the downturn was inserted into the end of the pipe thus trapping water in that spot, the downturn being a heavy steel possible never heated sufficiently to dry out the trapped moisture leaving it corrode after 3-4 years.

Looking at the prices charged for replacement mufflers caused me to turn to my welding skills and to find a low cost repair to an area of the bike which unless a person lays on the ground really cannot see and besides the sun reflecting off all the chrome draws a persons eyes away from that area, isn't that what chrome is for Vic sort of like that yellow color that your bike is.

This repair was posted in Steve Saunders site earlier this year so I figured it might as well be here too.

I measured the section of the pipe where the tail flare is welded on after removing the flare, leaving the weld in place thus giving me a little more metal to weld to. I inserted a piece of exhaust tubing, if I remember correctly all the parts were available in our friendly Canadian Tire Auto dept.
I then selected a short length that would fit over, cut a slot at the end to allow for a clamp to tighten the pipe onto the welded in pipe. welded a down turn onto the longer pipe. Made a clamp so as to be able to remove and repair the section at a later date although have never removed it since I first repaired it.
All the parts were galvanised, I didn't bother to go to the chrome routine because I didn't know if the repair was going to last, 15 years so far, maybe I should have chromed it.




Below if you were lying on the ground this is what it would look like



And you can see there is only a short piece protruding under the light rail

[Guest]

BTW, thanks for creating this new special forum for us 1200 owners!

My LTD has some type of aftermarket exhaust system from a PO. Although it is not excessively loud, I was expecting (and looking forward to ) a quiet powerful ride. I certainly got the powerful ride but it is much louder than I expected/wanted. The bike was so nice that I couldn't pass it up but I would be interested in options to make it quieter. I still have my Shadow with Vance & Hines exhaust if I want noise :lol: .

Any suggestions, other than the too-costly full replacement idea, are appreciated.

[Guest]

My Gl must be Whisper quiet, I love to cruise down the highway and hear the whine of the transmission blended with my special highway music playing on my CD player, now all I need to do is figure out how to put some rear speakers in my vetter box..

[Guest]

Hey Vic-- As mentioned before,Ireally like your extensions on you 84,how long are they ? You mentioned 4" or less in diameter,not having access to scrap yard with asupply of 4" stainless steel pipe and Leamington is adays hard ride,not that I wouldn't be up to it. Are you or any member aware of apipe supplyer in Canada that I could secure the length required ? Many thanks John D,

[Guest]

Hi Vic --- Well, they are on ! Will get pictures to you when I get the camra up and running ! AS I mentioned I used chromed ss exhaust,however the trick is if one does not use food grade ss the inner diameter should be 4", MY PIPES were 4" outer, resulting in alot of grinding !! I didn't get them on 2 to3 inches like you,but at least agood inch .Each pipe is 24" to tip of the slash,They stick out about 2 inches past the rear of the saddle bags, and the sound is soooo sweet !! The trick--- I parked the bike outside overnite in -4 degrees F. nice ad cool, early next morning popped the 2 pipes in the BBQ, up to 450 degrees,took em out,tapped them on with a2x4 and mallet ! and they ain't coming off ! Then drilled 3/8 holes in the saddle bag frame, inserted ss bolt,spacer and nuts,like you descibed, and there you go !! And we thank you for your support !! best regards John D

[admin]

Awesome John, can't wait to see the pics. It sounds like they are on to stay. Hope you have a new rear tire installed.

[Guest]

Hi Vic Yes,the rear tire has only about 1000kms on it , I did consider that situation, Hope the swing arm bolt will clear the pipe when the time comes to change,or I guess we'll have to cross that bridge when we get there In the meantime ,i'll just savor the " gosh they look good!" Regards John D.

[admin]

I hear you. Those giant extensions sure look nice compared to the little tiny stock pipe extensions.

[Guest]

Hi Vic Here are the pics of the exhaust extensions











Was a little inept in getting the photos, but now here they are--pls refer to the previous dialogue Regards John D.

[admin]

They look awesome John. If looks counted for horsepower then it looks like you've added 50 horsepower to your bike. Well done, I especially like the way you stuck yours out further than mine. Gives it a kind of "in your face look."

[Guest]

Thanks Vic-- You where the arcitect !! John D.

[oldwing85]

Very nice custom extenstions. When I first saw it, I thought that was something I can do myself. While I think I could do the work, the price of the stainless tubing puts this out of my price range for the foreseeable future (two daughters in college).

But very attractive and well done.

[Tropicalsuns]

I do like that look!!!!

Nice JOB!

[admin]

Thanks for the kind words guys.

Regarding price, it cost me $40. for the used 4" I.D. stainless pipe purchased from a salvage yard. The pipe I used is food grade so that means I can cook hot dogs or steaks on the extensions and I'll be safe to eat the stuff. :lol: