Replacing JUST the mufflers on a 1000GL?

[Anonymous]

I'm not having any problems at all with mine. They're un-altered baffle wise. I will note that you may wish to re-jet with this mod, as these pipes seem to flow better than stock.

The installation requires some real coaxing and teasing though. Just be careful and gradual. Dont cut or grind too much off at once, and use some red RTV to help seal things up. Oh, and you'll need some nice, heavy clamps. Mine were Emgo exhaust clamps. Quite heavy duty. Worm-drive style clamps are NOT strong enough to make the connection.

 

[Anonymous]

What a great thread! Great timing too, because I had just blown the baffles out of the right side muffler on my wife's '80 Kawasaki KZ440 LTD. After seeing what a good job you did on your 1000GL, Shane, I went down to Spokane, WA's only H-D dealer and walked out with TWO sets of FREE mufflers. The service mgr said they throw them out all the time. He gave me a set like yours and a pair of shorties.

I'm halfway through installing the shorties on the 440. I cut the mufflers off where you did on yours, but I'm welding the replacements back on. I plan to install the others on my '82 GS850G. The stock mufflers are holding up fine, but I'd like to improve the sound without getting too loud. I have to replace the fork seals anyway, so I might as well do it all at once.

Thanks for the great photos and installation info.

Rick

 

[Anonymous]

What a great thread! Great timing too, because I had just blown the baffles out of the right side muffler on my wife's '80 Kawasaki KZ440 LTD. After seeing what a good job you did on your 1000GL, Shane, I went down to Spokane, WA's only H-D dealer and walked out with TWO sets of FREE mufflers. The service mgr said they throw them out all the time. He gave me a set like yours and a pair of shorties.

I'm halfway through installing the shorties on the 440. I cut the mufflers off where you did on yours, but I'm welding the replacements back on. I plan to install the others on my '82 GS850G. The stock mufflers are holding up fine, but I'd like to improve the sound without getting too loud. I have to replace the fork seals anyway, so I might as well do it all at once.

Thanks for the great photos and installation info.

Rick

Hey, no problem! Post some photos of yours if you can, when you are done. I would have loved to have welded mine, but I don't have a welder, nor the proper experience welding to do it had I rented/borrowed a welder or something. Good luck! Glad Latus Motors was able to hook you up. (Former Spokanite here )

 

[Detman101]

Actually, the only thing that ruined my bike was me.
I was the one stupid enough to think that punched out H-D mufflers would give me the same flow-thru as a 4-into-1 system.

So, no, the H-D didn't ruin my bike.
My own stupidity and lack of resources ruined my bike.

Good luck,
Dm of mD

But had you not punched the baffles, would you have had the same problem?

Nope, If I had left the baffles alone I would not have had any problems.
Stupid me.


Dm of mD

 

[Anonymous]

Detman,

So your old headers are ok? I wouldn't mind taking the old set off your hands if your willing...Let me know.

Drew

 

[Detman101]

Sure thing. I'll be selling them after I take them off this weekend.
They are in great shape, no dents or cuts/holes. They are just missing the muffler parts.

PM me for details.

Dm of mD

 

[Anonymous]

I'm not having any problems at all with mine. They're un-altered baffle wise. I will note that you may wish to re-jet with this mod, as these pipes seem to flow better than stock.

The installation requires some real coaxing and teasing though. Just be careful and gradual. Dont cut or grind too much off at once, and use some red RTV to help seal things up. Oh, and you'll need some nice, heavy clamps. Mine were Emgo exhaust clamps. Quite heavy duty. Worm-drive style clamps are NOT strong enough to make the connection.

Where did you get the clamps? I'm just about done figuring out everything - I have the right size adapters now, and I think I've figured out how to make a bracket to hold the back of the muffler to the stock hole on the frame, but I can't seem to get the clamps tight enough.

I'm running a 2" ID on the header side, and a 1 7/8" ID on the muffler side for the reducer.

 

[Anonymous]

I'm not having any problems at all with mine. They're un-altered baffle wise. I will note that you may wish to re-jet with this mod, as these pipes seem to flow better than stock.

The installation requires some real coaxing and teasing though. Just be careful and gradual. Dont cut or grind too much off at once, and use some red RTV to help seal things up. Oh, and you'll need some nice, heavy clamps. Mine were Emgo exhaust clamps. Quite heavy duty. Worm-drive style clamps are NOT strong enough to make the connection.

Where did you get the clamps? I'm just about done figuring out everything - I have the right size adapters now, and I think I've figured out how to make a bracket to hold the back of the muffler to the stock hole on the frame, but I can't seem to get the clamps tight enough.

I'm running a 2" ID on the header side, and a 1 7/8" ID on the muffler side for the reducer.

I got the clamps at a local motorcycle salvage place that also sells common aftermarket new parts called Bent Bike.

Your bike or pipes are probably different, but I had to use no reducer or coupling when I mounted mine up.

 

[Anonymous]

A couple of days ago, condensr (Shane) asked me to post the results after I installed H-D shorties on my wife's Kawasaki 440 LTD. Well, I finished the job yesterday, and here's the report.

Turned out that they were a perfect slip fit on the Kawasaki pipes. There wasn't enough pipe left after cutting off the original mufflers to slide them on far enough for clamps. The crossover pipe stubs were too close to the end, so I ended up welding the mufflers on. Worked out well. I used 4" Stanley straps (hinge section at the hardware store) for the rear hangers after enlarging the end holes. In addition I used two 5/16" 1" long carriage bolts with nuts and washers. The mounting provision on these mufflers allows a lot of leeway for adapting to different bikes. Total cost was $5.61, since the mufflers were free. That doesn't include the six or seven hours of work, of course.

The overall exhaust system ended up being about 1 1/2" shorter than the originals, but it looks great. Since the mufflers themselves are so slim, the bike almost looks like it's running drag pipes. By the way, I did not remove the baffles. The mufflers are stock.

On the road the pipes sound different than the originals, but they do have a nice tone. When you really wind up the revs, they produce a sharper note, similar to a typical sports car exhaust. At cruising speeds, they're quite mellow, so you won't need ear plugs. The engine seems to rev quicker than before, but I noticed a slight hesitation when I twist the throttle hard after cruising at a steady speed. I suspect it's running a bit leaner. I'll have to take some spark plug readings.

I'll be happy to post some pictures if someone will tell me how.

 

[Detman101]

Congrats on the easy install.
Just more confirmation that I should never have punched out those baffles.
But it's all good...it was a learning experience. Albeit a harsh one.
:lol:

Dm of mD