stainless downpipes

[Enceladus]

the stock downpipes on my bike are in good nick (thankfully ), but at some point in the near future (when i've saved a few pennies) i plan to replace them with stainless.
my main question is, are they easy to fit ?
i can do most diy jobs, but never really tinkered with anything mechanical (but always wanted to)
also, do they vary from company to company ?
if so, any ones to avoid ?
thanks

[Dead Eye]

I found mine very easy to fit. Worst part about it is the header nuts. Make sure to soak them in WD40 / Penetrating Fluid for about a week before you attempt to take them off. I did this and mine practically fell off which was handy, replaced those with some stainless steel nuts as well

Not certain about company to company, but I ended getting my set from the Sandy Bike Spares eBay shop

[Fuzzy]

Mine were easy to fit too. As Dead Eye said, Wd40 does the trick. Make sure you get all necessary gaskets before you begin. I replaced the nuts & studs aswell. If you want to replace the studs, extracting them can be a bit tricky but again WD40 treatment helps.

If you replace the original long nuts with ordinary nuts, I'd recommend that you cover any exposed thread on the studs with further nuts. This is because if the stud corrodes, even if the nuts are ss, they are not going to come off easily in future if the thread is rusted up. This is why the oem nuts are weird long ones that cover the ends of the studs when fitted. I replaced them with some new oem ones in the end.

I got Motad downpipes & happy with them.

[Dead Eye]

Makes sense regarding the nuts - the new stainless steel ones I got were actually slightly longer than the OEM ones so are doing their job well

My set of pipes came with the new copper ring gasket things as part of the package. One tip I found to be very helpful is to use some Petroleum Jelly (like ordinary vasoline) to rub around the new copper rings and it will hold them in place in the outlets as you get the new pipes in place. Hopefully that makes sense, any excess jelly will burn off and it will help to make a decent seal

[Fuzzy]

Oh yes, good tip, I did the same thing with copper grease I think.

Where did you buy those ss nuts? Wouldn't mind some as they are no doubt more resistant to corrosion than the oems.

[Dead Eye]

I got mine from flea bay here is a link to identical ones that I bought

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/M6-x-18mm-long-STAINLESS-STUDDING-CONNECTORS-NUTS-X-10-/150530181621?pt=UK_DIY_Material_Nails_Fixing_MJ&hash=item230c4c49f5

[Fuzzy]

Thanks Dead Eye, wish I got those in the first place!

[Buzz]

I've now found that mine need doing as well.


I just bought a bike on Saturday, examined everything as per the checklist EXCEPT the exhaust because I heard that "'02 and '03 Fazers have stainless steel exhausts and don't rust"....I discovered to my horror last night that mine has holes everywhere around the collector!  Bollox!


I would give it a go replacing them myself but some of the header nuts look a bit rusty so I'm thinking of buying the pipes and getting a garage to fit them...any North Londoners know of any reputable places?


Would these do as replacements?


Cheers...Buzz

[Dead Eye]

I would consider doing it yourself even if you aren't terribly mechanicly oriented. The nuts may look rusty, but im pretty sure that 9 / 10 foccers have rusty nuts (don't say it...) on their bikes - apart from those who replaced them with stainless steel.

As mentioned before, spray them with WD40 for about a week or so (I did like 4 or 5 days because I was impatient) and see if they come loose. If they don't, then go to a garage. If they do then thats the hardest part dealt with and the rest should be easy. Took me about 20-30 mins to get mine replaced from no previous knowledge with the most awkward part being the copper seals inside the outlets.

[scottyboy2203]

it always helps to have someone hold the end can/silencer whilst you pop the front on the manifold. I just changed my gaskets and nuts this weekend as it was blowing from the front, very easy job. The copper grease to stick the gaskets in the manifold trick is a good one!


Once its aligned with the manifold you can put the rear bolts in (under the footpegs) to hold the exhaust in the right position whilst you torque up the new stainless nuts. If you use copper grease on the threads make sure to re-torque the nuts up a week later as they can sometimes slip a little in the first few days.

[Dead Eye]

I ended up removing the end can first - its only held on by two bolts, one of which is obvious and holds the end can up and the second is the clip around the join between the end can pipe and the end of the downpipes. Makes life a little easier if you are doing it by yourself imo

[Motorbreath]

I'd only change them if the new ones have the same small pipes to connect them in pairs than the original ones. The bike can lose midrange power without them

[Buzz]

These ones OK?

[Fuzzy]

I'm sure those are fine, in fact I think Dead Eye has them?

I'm a Londoner too and I find it so difficult to work on the bike here so if you do end up getting a garage to do it, I can highly recommend Motopsycho (Keith & Neil) near Kings Cross.

http://www.moto-psycho.co.uk/

Another alternative is the Oval Motorcycle Centre. Fully equipped garage where you can work on your bike and if you run into any problems, there are mechanics to help you. £20 an hour I think.

http://www.ovalmotorcyclecentre.co.uk/web/index.php

If you decide to give it a go yourself as I've done it once before I'd be happy to help if you're not too far away, just let me know.

[solorider]

Oh yes, good tip, I did the same thing with copper grease I think.

Where did you buy those ss nuts? Wouldn't mind some as they are no doubt more resistant to corrosion than the oems.

for my thou i fitted cap head nuts,that way my studs wont rust where the thread shows through the nut,i got mine off ebay,here is mine,i also fitted locking washers as well

 
but as mentioned somewhere check the torque of the nuts after a week or two,i have just checked mine and none of them were tight despite them all being torqued up,in my case it was the studs that were the culprits as i fitted a full set of studs and despite using a proper stud tool they still came loose

[solorider]

oh and my downpipes were bad,i removed mine with a dremmel and a stud extractor tool as the suds had rotted away in places,the only other thing i needed was a blow torch,have a look on my post on the thou section,if yours are not as bad as mine yours should be easy,but use a proper penetrating fluid,NOT wd40 as that is not a penetrating fluid
http://foc-u.co.uk/index.php/topic,2330.msg17785.html#msg17785

[OMC]

Please feel free to drop by the Oval Motorcycle Centre and check us out. Have a cup of tea, it's free, and a chat.
Swapping an exhaust seems straight forward enough....... Until a nut rounds off or worse a stud breaks, if this should happen we can at least drill out the broken stud and time-sert/helicoil the hole to help you get back on track.

Simon - OMC

[Buzz]

Until a nut rounds off or worse a stud breaks

My fear exactly.  Thanks for the heads up about OMC, it's good to know there are nice, helpful tea-drinking people in London.

[fishwibbler]

Yep, deffo soak your existing nuts in WD40 for a week before change.
Then, use the headers from SandyBikeSpares...!
Job's a good un.

fish.