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Harley mufflers for the GS850

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    Harley mufflers for the GS850

    I'm new here and have soaked up lots of great information that has been a lot of help in getting my bike road ready. I wanted to post this and maybe it will help one of you who need a cheap muffler solution.

    My 79 GS850 had mufflers that were totally shot when I bought it. Not wanting to spend $300+ on scratched up originals and not wanting a 4 into 1, I started looking for mufflers I could graft onto my original head pipes. After searching craigslist for foriegn bike mufflers and coming up short, I began to notice lots of HD mufflers going for peanuts. I guess nobody who owns a Harley wants the quiet stock exhaust, so they sell dirt cheap. I picked up a full exhaust from a softail, brand new and taken off by the dealer, for $35. Not a scratch on it. So I cut my pipes right after the y on either side and started lining things up. I thought I would need some sort of reducer, but low and behold the pipes are the exact same size! I cut a 2" section off the harley head pipes and ground the joint side so that it put thecorrect angle on the mufflers and welded it up with my 120v Lincoln 140 mig welder. For the support bracket I turned the mufflers so that the mounts face the ground and made an offset L bracket to bolt it to the frame (goes straight down and angles back at the bend). Anyhow, here's how it turned out:



    It sounds fantastic too. Not as quiet as stock, but not obnoxious. More like a well designed aftermarket sound. Works fine with the stock jetting; no lean surges or popping.

    So, there you have it. Feel free to ask any questions! I'll be happy to get a close up shot of the brackets if anyone would like to see them better.

    #2
    Nice job. Looks great and you saved a bunch.
    David
    1998 Suzuki Bandit
    1978 GS750 gone but not forgotten
    1978 GS1000 - gone
    1981 GS850 - gone

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      #3
      Well done. i Think alot of us here appreciate a cheap soloution i know i do.

      Comment


        #4
        Thanks guys! Yeah, I can't throw gobs of cash at an old bike like this, but I want it to look nice, and I know some of you are probably the same way.

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          #5
          Hi,

          This solution has been around a long time. It's good to see it so well executed. You've got a nice bike going there. Thanks for sharing!



          Thank you for your indulgence,

          BassCliff

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            #6
            Nice looking '79 850, I like it.
            1979 GS850G
            2004 SV650N track bike
            2005 TT-R125 pit bike
            LRRS #246 / Northeast Cycles / Woodcraft / Armour Bodies / Hindle Exhaust / Central Mass Powersport

            http://s327.photobucket.com/albums/k443/tas850g/

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              #7
              Looks good. Especially useful information is that the jetting seems to be close enough.
              sigpic[Tom]

              “The greatest service this country could render the rest of the world would be to put its own house in order and to make of American civilization an example of decency, humanity, and societal success from which others could derive whatever they might find useful to their own purposes.” George Kennan

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                #8
                Excellent job! Those HD mufflers always go cheap. Other than being heavy, they are extremely well made and will hold up much better than the originals Zook put on there!

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                  #9
                  Originally posted by fomocoguy View Post
                  I'll be happy to get a close up shot of the brackets if anyone would like to see them better.
                  Would love to see it.

                  Eric

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Nice work. Something like this may be in my future.

                    Comment


                      #11
                      A serious request for you: Please take some detailed photos of what you did, and see if you can get it up on BassCliff's big web site of tips and tutorials.

                      Everyone eventually needs to replace the mufflers, and the OEM Suzuki ones haven't been available for years. Your method keeps the stock appearance, seems to not need carb work, and is about as inexpensive as it can get.
                      sigpic[Tom]

                      “The greatest service this country could render the rest of the world would be to put its own house in order and to make of American civilization an example of decency, humanity, and societal success from which others could derive whatever they might find useful to their own purposes.” George Kennan

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                        #12
                        As if MY request wasn't serous?

                        Eric

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                          #13
                          Absolutely! I'll see if I can get a few good pics of the brackets tonight or tomorrow. I'll also get a part number off the mufflers if they have one, which they should.

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Well I took a couple shots of the brackets and where I welded on the pipe. After putting them on the computer I realized I haven't even cleaned up after tacking and welding yet, so I will take some better ones once I clean her up.

                            Please excuse my weld; I ran out of gas and was experimenting with the flux core wire, which did ok but made a mess.


                            Shot from directly underneath:

                            Comment


                              #15
                              The next step would be to modify the factory HD heat shields to cover the rough looking pipe ahead of the mufflers. The factory shield would no longer fit.

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