Exhaust leaking, time to weld/upgrade to Mac or Jardine?

[Anonymous]

The exhaust on my stock 77gs550 seemed to be making clicking sounds from under the bike, turns out it was leaking from where the 2 into 1 happens on each side. The exhaust leak seems to be coming from where the stock pipes fit into each other. They however look almost totally clean with no sign of rust at all. Is it possible that the insides have rusted out (bike is pretty clean and supposedly garaged which is indicated by its good condition)? Bike has not been down so they couldn't have been banged loose? Could they have been taken off at one time but not correctly re-mounted?

I was wondering how the pieces went together within the exhaust. Looks like 3 or 4 pieces either welded and or screwed? Can I simply go to an exhaust shop and get them welded at the joints, its leaking under the fromt where the 1st piece comes off the engine and meets 2nd under the chasis.

Or, is this an excuse to get new pipes which I have read a lot about on here and the web. I want either the Jardine 4 into 1 or the Mac 4 into 2 setup both of which are not made anymore. I also saw a 4 into 1 Kerker setup at www.bikebandit.com which was weird because Kerker does not list the gs550 on their site :? :? .I heard you sacrifice power around town with the 4 into 1 setup but highway riding gets more power?

Are Jardine pipes better quality? The Mac setup looks to be loud as hell which I do not want. Any experiences???
:?

[Anonymous]

My wife has a jardine pipe on her 750, nice pipe not to loud, can leave the centre stand on and easy oil changes. I have a yosh series 7 pipe on my 1000, no baffel. Very loud, but music to my ears, no center stand, and pipe removal required to change the oil. But it sits tight to the bike and gives a lot of clearance. I guess it depends what your after.

[Anonymous]

I would like to get a little bit more bite to the bike's sound but just do not want to go overboard as loud bikes in Chicago have a tendency to attract police (even if you're going slow). Also, I have neighbors (right next door on both sides) that are cool with the bike idling in my yard whilst it warms up......don't know how cool they would be if I had a system with no baffles 8O . I also take it out late night sometimes. I want to keep the centerstand and easy access to oil changes.......with a little more bite 8).

[Anonymous]

No matter what the baffle is, the bike is usually pretty quit if it's just idling. Accelerating is another story.

[Anonymous]

Most likely the exhaust is held together with some kind of clamps, sometimes similiar to hose clamps. You should be able to adjust and/or tighten them and if needed put some kind of a shim in there. Unless you really want the newer style, I'd just get under there and snug up the old ones.

[Anonymous]

Most likely the exhaust is held together with some kind of clamps, sometimes similiar to hose clamps. You should be able to adjust and/or tighten them and if needed put some kind of a shim in there. Unless you really want the newer style, I'd just get under there and snug up the old ones.

[KEITH KRAUSE]

Vance&Hines makes a nice chrome megaphone for my 1000.($300) Is quiet enough around town,but has a nice howl to it when opened up. Let's you keep the centerstand and change oil filter easily. Maybe they have something for your 550? Whatever you get, pay attention to any differences in the bolt flanges compared to stock. In my case they were 5mm further out,so I had to buy 5mm longer bolts. If you try to use the stock length bolts you can/will strip the threads in the cylinder trying to get enough bite.

[Anonymous]

Unless you really want the newer style, I'd just get under there and snug up the old ones.

That's just it, I like the stock ones and after a little bit of research at www.bikebandit.com the stock OEM parts diagram (on an 1980 since 1977 is not listed ) show that there are 2 connectors (14771-47010) in the exhaust system where it joins........ right where the leaks are............. which may be worn out/old and I am going to try and replace those if tightening does not work. Others say its a common thing and that they are easy to replace. I will probably replace the 4 gaskets from the engine to the pipes whilst I have them off the bike. I hope its that simple 8O

[AOD]

i know for a fact there is no type of gasket on the exhaust headers. i just recently swapped my unknown 4-1 system to a stock 550 engine...and put the stock pipes on the old 550 engine. my problem is two of the brackets that bolt to the engine have slipped past the ring that holds the pipe into the head. i've got to pull them off this week, and maybe weld a tab to hold the ring behind the bracket.

77gs, i'm near Chicago myself, where you from? i've got two GS550E's, a 78 and a 79. 8)

i looked online the other day and found a MAC exhaust system for our bikes for $230 i think. it looked simliar to a Kerker 4-1.

~Adam

[argonsagas]

Clicking doesn't sound like a leak. A leak ahead of the muffler would be visible when cold (depending on air temperature) especially in the morining, and you could also feel the pulse of air coming from it with your hand.

Check this IMMEDIATELY after start-up, and before the pipe gets hot.

More likely you have a loose baffle inside. Depending on where it is loose, it may, or may not, be possible to repair it. If not, and the noise is not too bad, you may be able to live with it, but you should ask a bike mechanic to listen to it, because it could affect engine performance later, if not now.

[Anonymous]

i know for a fact there is no type of gasket on the exhaust headers.

77gs, i'm near Chicago myself, where you from? i've got two GS550E's, a 78 and a 79. 8)

~Adam

Thanks for the info AOD. I may have confused the issue, not certain if its a gasket I am looking for but it looks like some sort of connector, not certain if its rubber or metal, where the 2 pipes meet. The outer pipe meets the next pipe in the dual at a joint which is where I am looking..... check the following: http://www.bikebandit.com/partsbandi...dept_id=138990 ....... it is numbered 7 in the diagram as a "connector" (14771-47010) but not certain what it is made of. Any ideas? Could this piece if worn out cause the leaks? I know there are leaks on both sides as I can feel the exhaust pulse leaking out at the same point on both sides where this joint is. Cold or hot, it leaks now and no visible sign of rust.

I'm near Wicker Park/Bucktown/Logan Square area, about 10 minutes N/W of Chicago Loop. You have 2 GS550s? Sweet, thats almost an 1150 . Any performance changes with the exhaust switch-up? Low end, high end? Take care. -D

[Anonymous]

A leak ahead of the muffler would be visible when cold (depending on air temperature) especially in the morining, and you could also feel the pulse of air coming from it with your hand.

More likely you have a loose baffle inside. Depending on where it is loose, it may, or may not, be possible to repair it.

Hi Argonsagas. Good idea about getting a mechanic to listen to it, my old man is a gear head and was the one who told me "cool bike, but sounds like your exhaust is leaking" and just like you advised...... we felt around under the bike and felt the pulses of air, 1 at each joint where the pipes go 2 into 1. Any ideas if the connector in there is rubber or metal? http://www.bikebandit.com/partsbandi...dept_id=138990 (7 in the diagram) Or am I totally off? I will be pulling them off soon as I intend to get to the root of this, are the stock pipes fitted with baffles? Could they rust out internally since there is basically no rust at all on the bike's exterior. Thanks for the info/advice. -D

[AOD]

77gs550,

i looked at the digram and #7 is most likely a metal piece because of the high heat involved with exhaust.

i've never seen this diagram before until now (bikebandit and me dont get along, i can't use their webpage for some reason). i have never seen the #3 gasket each of the 3 times i took the exhaust off one of these bikes. even the original exhaust i swapped off a month ago, didn't have any obvious gasket...unless it is pressed into the cylinder head.

bikebandit still has the part...so i may order some.

as for me and my bikes, i'm residing in the NW suburbs near O'Hare for the summer. one bike is here, the other is in DeKalb...hopefully for sale soon.

~Adam