Topic: Building a Stainless Exhaust...

[lostinthe202]

Alright ya'll,

I've been pecking away at a '74 550 K that I liberated from an ivy bush in some fella's backyard.  Sorry I don't have a pic 'cause it was quite a site to behold.  I had to cut the bike off the fence and I was pulling vines off the frame for hours!

Anyway, after doing the basics, carb rebuild, valve lash check, compression check (119, 123, 120, 122  !!) static timing, I got it purring on all 4.  That is it would be purring except for the gaping holes in the original (?) 4-2 exhaust.  I've been casting about for a header and been having a hard time.  I find plenty of the MAC ones that run to the side of the engine, but I've had one of those before and I remember having the problem of it grinding when cornering. I want the 4-1 that runs under the oil pan which seem to be pretty tough to find.

So then I got to thinking... I do have a full machine shop at my disposal including a tube bender and TIG machine, so why not build one out of stainless?  Anyone have any resource material for building exhaust?  From what I remember you want each pipe to have the same volume so that everything hits the collector at the same time.  Are there any other considerations?

What about welding it, it doesn't have to hold any weight but it's one so do I have to worry about back purging?

And lastly, anyone know of available stainless cans?  I would love to get a megaphone style can...

Well, any tips/suggestions appreciated!!

[OldSchool_IsCool]

I haven't used this dealer or these cans, so I can't vouch for 'em, but I'm thinking REAL hard on getting some to freshen up the look of my 4-4

http://www.mikesxs.net/mikesxs-exhaust.php?category_id=5.1

[lostinthe202]

Yeeeesss...

I did see this link in a post while doing searches on exhaust.  I was planning on writing you and some of the others to fine out if he was on the up and up.  Cheap prices always set off my "spidey sense" if you know what I mean.

I did email him to see if he carried or could build a stainless version of any of those.  I'll let you know what he says.

[OldSchool_IsCool]

Thanks 202, and welcome to the forum!

[lostinthe202]

Thanks, this place is great!  I haven't done much posting 'cause I've been too busy reading and reading and reading and reading and reading.  Almost any question I had I could find an answer for.

See ya 'round!

[754]

If this is your first exhaust, I would not worry about  getting exact length.  concentrate on getting it done.

You can roll your own can, or get a sheet metal shop to do it for you, tricky to build a baffle to work well but sounds like you have one there.

I run a turbo header on my 836cc, some of the tubes are 2 times the length of the short one.. the collector is right beside the left cylinder.  It seems to run fine, did not notice drop in power  (probably gonna get flamed for that statement) and I love the look . They are all seperate pipes not the log manifold like ATP used, got it from Magnum turbos.

I took Hooker pipes off to put that one on, and then lowered the bike a lot.. and it picked up a few tenths in the 1/4.

So if you can find a turbo pipe and want a different look, it might be an option..easier pipe to build too..

[lostinthe202]

I run a turbo header on my 836cc, some of the tubes are 2 times the length of the short one.. the collector is right beside the left cylinder.

Thanks for the tips, got any pics of the turbo header?

[KB02]

Mike's XS is a god place to buy from. I've had good luck with him so far. he sells a lot of discount stuff... I mean, you get what you pay for, but they're really good about getting it to you.

[750essess]

I looked into doing this myself, found some good info here
http://www.burnsstainless.com/TechArticles/techarticles.html
I dont have access to a bender so I was going to by the pre-bent pieces, It got rather expensive, so I decided on the kerker instead. Also I dont think My tig skills are up to task to make it look pretty enough. 

[lostinthe202]

Mike's XS is a god place to buy from. I've had good luck with him so far. he sells a lot of discount stuff... I mean, you get what you pay for, but they're really good about getting it to you.

Excellent, I'm glad to hear he's on the up 'cause I like the looks of some of his cans.  My first bike ('72 500) had a megaphone and I just loved the sound.

[754]

I will look and see if I can get some pics, have not taken any for a few yrs, will prob have to email to another member to post.

Mine is all mandrel sections or mostly to the collector, then a muffler shop built the rest andSheet metal shop rolled the meg and i put a Hooker baffle in it.

 You could try steel mandrel sections, cheaper, your first attempt may not make the magazines..

[lostinthe202]

You could try steel mandrel sections, cheaper, your first attempt may not make the magazines..

Yeah, I'm thinking I'm gonna make a mild steel one first and see how I like it.

And thanks to 750essess for that article, that was helpful!

[750essess]

EFI conversion! I am planning on attempting that this winter myself. Wanna start a new thread about that?

[OldSchool_IsCool]

EFI?? naaaa let's do a HICE!

[KB02]

HICE?

[OldSchool_IsCool]

Hydrogen Internal Cumbustion Engine

Just want to make sure these machines are still alive in the Hydrogen Economy! 

Seems to me that one could use the vacuum ports to inject hydrogen into the air stream without having to mod the carbs at all.  The trick would be to synchronize the hydrogen regulators to inject the correct ratio of H2 to air depending on throttle position.  That's really all the carbs are doing, but with the petrol.  May have to deal with venting steam instead of hydrocarbons, That's where 202's stanless exhaust comes in!  Possible elevation issues too, but we deal with that already.

As an added bonus, as long as you are supplying only one fuel at a time, you could even declare the bike to be "dual fuel", just pop the gas tank off and drop the hydrogen cylinder(s) on!

I have no idea about the practicality of this (range, miles per fill up, cost of H2, relative energies and burn rates between H2 and petrol, regulatory issue, effects of compression, etc.), but it is a nice "stick it to The Oil Man" thought experiment!  Maybe some of the chemists out there might have some ideas.

[750essess]

Well, the problem with hydrogen is where to store it on a bike. Same with propane.