Post by gingerelvis on Jan 31, 2014 23:27:25 GMT 1
Hi guys , thought I would do a build thread on my DIY exhaust as there was a lot of useful info taken from this forum that started off this project, but there were a few gaps missing I had to suss out for myself.
So the Motad that came on the bike rotted out right between the two intakes about a year ago. I bodged it with Chemical Metal to get it through an MOT but inevitably that dropped out after a while and the hole got bigger. Fed up with sounding like a Harley and getting crap fuel economy I decided to do something about it.
After reading a couple of threads on the forum I discovered the Mini LCB Y piece from Minimine on ebay. At that price and made of stainless steel I was chuffed to find a solution of making the exhaust 2 into 1.
Scouring ebay for a couple of weeks I found a second hand Titanium silencer which should get through MOT (no markings saying for race use only etc). This particular exhaust caught my eye because of the unusual intake size of 45mm I/D the same as the Mini Y piece. So at only £26 I snapped it up.
Lining the two pieces up on the bike, the outlet of the Y piece was too long to add a bend section and mount the silencer. To over come this I cut the flared end off and cut the narrow bit down as much as I could but still leaving enough to slot inside the wider piece I cut off. The two slotting inside each other very nicely.
I then marked it up at the angle I wanted and gave the two pieces to father who brazed them together for me. The idea being that brass doesn’t corrode like steal weald. Not the tidiest but a good seal all round.
Fitted to the bike, the Y piece at its new length this much more workable. Note the clamps are not the ones supplied with the Y piece, I bought some stainless ones from “mrsillacone” on ebay to avoid corrosion and they were cheap.
On a tip from Sear on this forum I was on the hunt for a piece of pipe with a 30 Degree bend in it. However finding one with an outer diameter of just under 45mm both ends proved difficult. So I headed to a local Stainless fabricator and asked them to bend a piece for me. I asked for plenty of excess either side of the bend as I didn’t know exactly how long I needed it to be. This came in at £15 which I was happy with as it was about the same as the stainless Jetex bends in ebay but fit better suited to the job!
After lining it up with the bike I cut it down to length, leaving just enough either side of the bend to slide inside the Y piece and silencer.
One thing to watch out for is if you have a centre stand you want the bend to be long enough to get past as it would just hit the silencer if it was too short. There isn’t a lot of room to play with!
and now its time to build everything up! The silencer is held in place by a universal exhaust strap. After building it all I found that dry fitting all the joints meant that there were a few minor leaks, so I had to take it apart and whop a bit of exhaust paste between them all. Have been riding around for a few months now and all seems to be leak free still.
All in all I am very happy with the exhaust system I have built. It sounds great, giving the bike a really nice (but not too loud) deep tone and looks quite tidy for a DIY job. Also being made from mostly stainless and a bit of titanium I have an exhaust that should withstand a few years without corrosion.
However after riding with it I have noticed that the welds on the Y piece are beginning to lightly rusting… so I am guessing they skimped there and used steel weld.
Silencer - £26.00
Y Piece - £23.00
30 Degree bend link pipe - £15.00
Exhaust Strap - £8.00
Clamps - £5.30
Total of just under £80!
Wow that was a mammoth post, hope it doesn't bore you all to death!
So the Motad that came on the bike rotted out right between the two intakes about a year ago. I bodged it with Chemical Metal to get it through an MOT but inevitably that dropped out after a while and the hole got bigger. Fed up with sounding like a Harley and getting crap fuel economy I decided to do something about it.
After reading a couple of threads on the forum I discovered the Mini LCB Y piece from Minimine on ebay. At that price and made of stainless steel I was chuffed to find a solution of making the exhaust 2 into 1.
Scouring ebay for a couple of weeks I found a second hand Titanium silencer which should get through MOT (no markings saying for race use only etc). This particular exhaust caught my eye because of the unusual intake size of 45mm I/D the same as the Mini Y piece. So at only £26 I snapped it up.
Lining the two pieces up on the bike, the outlet of the Y piece was too long to add a bend section and mount the silencer. To over come this I cut the flared end off and cut the narrow bit down as much as I could but still leaving enough to slot inside the wider piece I cut off. The two slotting inside each other very nicely.
I then marked it up at the angle I wanted and gave the two pieces to father who brazed them together for me. The idea being that brass doesn’t corrode like steal weald. Not the tidiest but a good seal all round.
Fitted to the bike, the Y piece at its new length this much more workable. Note the clamps are not the ones supplied with the Y piece, I bought some stainless ones from “mrsillacone” on ebay to avoid corrosion and they were cheap.
On a tip from Sear on this forum I was on the hunt for a piece of pipe with a 30 Degree bend in it. However finding one with an outer diameter of just under 45mm both ends proved difficult. So I headed to a local Stainless fabricator and asked them to bend a piece for me. I asked for plenty of excess either side of the bend as I didn’t know exactly how long I needed it to be. This came in at £15 which I was happy with as it was about the same as the stainless Jetex bends in ebay but fit better suited to the job!
After lining it up with the bike I cut it down to length, leaving just enough either side of the bend to slide inside the Y piece and silencer.
One thing to watch out for is if you have a centre stand you want the bend to be long enough to get past as it would just hit the silencer if it was too short. There isn’t a lot of room to play with!
and now its time to build everything up! The silencer is held in place by a universal exhaust strap. After building it all I found that dry fitting all the joints meant that there were a few minor leaks, so I had to take it apart and whop a bit of exhaust paste between them all. Have been riding around for a few months now and all seems to be leak free still.
All in all I am very happy with the exhaust system I have built. It sounds great, giving the bike a really nice (but not too loud) deep tone and looks quite tidy for a DIY job. Also being made from mostly stainless and a bit of titanium I have an exhaust that should withstand a few years without corrosion.
However after riding with it I have noticed that the welds on the Y piece are beginning to lightly rusting… so I am guessing they skimped there and used steel weld.
Silencer - £26.00
Y Piece - £23.00
30 Degree bend link pipe - £15.00
Exhaust Strap - £8.00
Clamps - £5.30
Total of just under £80!
Wow that was a mammoth post, hope it doesn't bore you all to death!
great post, helps ntv owners who are looking at
. will update when I get back