Bill Seward
Well-Known Member
I've got the original exhaust on my '85. No road rash at all, but a lot of dings and dents (nothing really big) along the sides of the mufflers. D'MAN999 gave me a set of stock pipes, well rashed along the lip at the rear of the mufflers.
I plan on using a Dremel tool to cut a nice flame shaped piece out of the damaged pipes he gave me - I'll be able to use enough of the undamaged skin of the donor pipes to make a flame outline large enough to cover every dent on my pipes. Then a rechrome of these cutouts (or a powdercoat job on them), and attach them to the stock pipes already on the bike. Kinda like a "heat shield". I would determine locations for mounting screws, drill into the flames, and use them as a template to get a couple or three nuts brazed or welded to the stock pipes (after grinding off a tiny bit of chrome so they'll stick...)
A nice glossy black flame on the stock pipes about 8 inches long and 3 or 4 inches wide might look really cool, especially against the chrome, and cost next to nothing. I've been doing a low-buck cosmetic restore on the bike and this would eliminate a lot of the ugliness gained over the years and miles. Use some nice stainless button-head screws to hold the "heat shields" on, and it would really look nice, I think.
Think powder coat would hold up? The flames would space about 1/8" from the mufflers....
Or is the whole idea just a waste of time?
I plan on using a Dremel tool to cut a nice flame shaped piece out of the damaged pipes he gave me - I'll be able to use enough of the undamaged skin of the donor pipes to make a flame outline large enough to cover every dent on my pipes. Then a rechrome of these cutouts (or a powdercoat job on them), and attach them to the stock pipes already on the bike. Kinda like a "heat shield". I would determine locations for mounting screws, drill into the flames, and use them as a template to get a couple or three nuts brazed or welded to the stock pipes (after grinding off a tiny bit of chrome so they'll stick...)
A nice glossy black flame on the stock pipes about 8 inches long and 3 or 4 inches wide might look really cool, especially against the chrome, and cost next to nothing. I've been doing a low-buck cosmetic restore on the bike and this would eliminate a lot of the ugliness gained over the years and miles. Use some nice stainless button-head screws to hold the "heat shields" on, and it would really look nice, I think.
Think powder coat would hold up? The flames would space about 1/8" from the mufflers....
Or is the whole idea just a waste of time?
