I've said it before, but it bears saying again: it's a good thing I don't do this for a living. I've been dicking about with the angle of the muffler and the connecting pipe now for days, without finding that elusive, perfect solution.I tried the shallower, scrambler-looking position (see last post) for the muffler for a couple of days, but I just COULD NOT get the link pipe between the 2-into-1-pipe and the muffler to look good. The angle and curvature of the link pipe clashed terribly with the angles of the frame. It looked like an afterthought (which in essence it was - but don't tell anyone...). I now have a whole heap of discarded pipes on my work shop floor, and a new-found respect for people who make exhausts as a regular job.
As you can see, I have now gone with a much steeper angle for the muffler, which makes the link pipe much easier to get right. It's now parallel with the support strut for the seat and doesn't break with the overall lines of the bike. The increased angle (which was suggested by "Outacontrolla" BTW) actually looks more flat track than Scrambler as well. Or is this just my brain trying to justify my decision to give up on the other position? Hm. Next up: moving the mounting point for the muffler a little bit backwards and fabricating a little hanger to replace the strip of duct tape. I don't fancy the "clamp hanger" that came with the muffler.
the original headers already look like an after thought so how can you ever win like that? like outacontrolla suggested too, stop D****NG about and go for a logical approach. If the shape follows the function it WILL look good!
ReplyDeletei think it looks fine the way you got it there. sort of a 'shortest line between two points' solution. can't be much simpler than that. while #15 above has removed his kid gloves a bit i agree it will look better if shape follows the function...an ethos which definitely is held forth in dirt tracker bikes.
ReplyDeletethe scrambler look was probably not the best thing in hindsight given the arrangement of the headers much lower in line to where the muffler would be, and if you take a look at a scrambler like this triumph, you see how the headers reach back directly on the same horizontal line? that's the look i think of with scramblers. but you probably need a vertical cylinder in order to accomplish it, i duno. Here's another sort of horizontal exhaust on an XS650 I used to like but again the cylinder is vertical on that engine (plus i don't see a direct left side shot of the bike in that album...i'm guessing it might have been a visual weakness that the builder wasn't caring to share).
definitely take the time to fit a weld-on tab. Keep it up!
Much better, I think the horizontal line of the base of the seat unit didn't work with the shallow taper of the exhaust in the first pic. The angles were too close and that caused it to look a bit wrong.
ReplyDeleteWithout getting custom headers I think you've got the best solution... sometimes design is all about the compromises :)
It will look a lot better when you fit the heatshield to cover the mid pipe and y-piece as the existing bends at the end of the headers and the y-piece distract the eye.
Good work, looks almost ready to ride!
I really value your comments guys. Keep em coming. Half the fun of this build is getting feedback from people who know what they're talking about. And yes: a little less d****ng about and a little more action is exactly what is needed now:-)
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Mr Krook,
ReplyDeleteI got another idea... Good or bad here it is: Try to put the silencer as close to the 2-1 pipe as possible, preferable direct after the 2-1 pipe, with the same angle as on the last picture. That would show the rear tyre maximum and be a bit different. Might protrude too much for the left leg? I don't know. But could help the bike to look short and aggressive I think. Cheers, Marcus
Another cool idea there Marcus. But as you suspected, there just isn't room for the silencer in that position. It would get in the way of the kick start. And bump-starting that big bore single is not something I would like to do on a warm summers day:o)
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Do a custom billet kick start then? I can do the CAD for you! ;-) I will stop now.
ReplyDeleteIt looks cool what you have and it will be a killer when it is done! Cheers, Marcus
I would love a custom billet kick start regardless! Can we pls discuss this? The standard one is no looker.
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Send me an e-mail, Mr Krook!
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