Exhaust connector

[bigbadwolf]

Hey all,

I got the exhaust gaskets the other day but not the connectors (due to price) in the hopes of using some leather or something in their stead. Today I noticed that the gaskets that I got are the same inner diameter as the "pre-muffler" (what I call H-pipe) and outer diameter as where that pipe inserts (collector?). In any case, what i was thinking was taking making a mold using something like plaster, using the exhaust gaskets to make the mold stacking them, and using either wire wrapped inside that mold and plumbing solder or just plumbing solder to make a solid lead peice. I also have access to pure lead. Just curious if anyone has ever tried this?

[chuck hahn]

You may want to test heat the lead in like an old oven or something before putting it on a bike. If anyone here has a heatn gun, then see if they will take some heat readings from at the clamps. Then set the oven to that temp and put your home made gaskets in a baking pan to see if they remelt. Dont wanna have melted lead being sucked into the mufflers..or blow out against your legs.

[bigbadwolf]

Howdy again Chuck!! Agreed about the hot lead on the legs and such. I think that part of the exhaust shouldn't read more than 300 degrees or so and lead's melting point is 621F. I would like to confirm that the bike won't reach that hot though...any ideas from the peanut gallery?

[Nessism]

I like the fact that you are thinking of alternatives, but I don't think lead or similar will work.

I noticed that Z1 Enterprise sells various exhaust gaskets for reasonable prices. Will these fit? http://www.z1enterprises.com/detail.aspx?ID=1953

[chuck hahn]

I once took apart a set that someone had used a rolled up strip of some kind of metal mesh embedded gasket material. They cut it in a strip and wrapped it around the header pipe and stuffed it in. I dont know what kind of gasket material may come in sheet form like that.

[Nessism]

I once took apart a set that someone had used a rolled up strip of some kind of metal mesh embedded gasket material. They cut it in a strip and wrapped it around the header pipe and stuffed it in. I dont know what kind of gasket material may come in sheet form like that.

That is how the OE gaskets are made. They are asbestos (or similar) impregnated metal mesh that is rolled into a cylinder shape.

[chuck hahn]

They must have just came unlaminated then over the years..i thought they were home made by the way they just unrolled.

[Smellii]

I used heat shield tape from an autoparts store. Worked like a charm. Was the perfect width, adhesive backing made it easy to install, and had something like 2000 degree heat resistance. Package said it wasn't for use directly on hot exhaust pipe but I used it anyway for the connectors. Wrapped three times is the perfect thickness. This fixed my crackling and popping sound from my exhaust. I don't remember the name of the stuff. Sorry.

[BigD_83]

Yeah, that stuff is rated for 2000 F radiant heat and 500 F direct heat. I've never tested a heat gun at the crossover, but I would think you'd be good. Might be nice to see what it looks like after a year of running...

[Smellii]

Been running for a couple weeks now with the heat shield tape and it's still good. Passed short term test! Woot!