Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums Exhaust Building Custom Pipes

Hey again! After messing up my original exhaust setup by knocking out the rearmost baffle (popping and hesitation with accel), I opted to purchase another stock exhaust (SM version), and we're back to normal The problem is that normal rots in my opinion with regard to sound. So, I've decided to do what Pat did with his SM pipes; knock them clean, build my own baffles, and rejet thereafter. By then I will have a new airbox setup, a new sprocket to install, AI kit installed, etc... In the mean time I am using the SM pipes on the bike, and the slash cut stockies are going to be the project.

My question is this; the stock slash cut pipes are curled in at the end slightly, which will make it hairy to get a new baffle in there (fitted at least). So, I am thinking that I will need to trim a very small amount off of the tips to take care of this. I'll probably keep them as slash cut pipes, but I wanted to know whether or not cutting them would damage the chrome (flaking, suceptable to corrosion, etc...). Pat's site nicely illustrates how to get started, but I'm a bit worried that cutting the pipes will end up hosing things up. Any thoughts?

- The Chimp

yea, why dont you just save up for some after market slipon's? IMO it's a waste to butcher the stockers, your not going to get any performace out of them that way. BTW the Triumph chrome is cheap,cheap,cheap, i t will not be a clean cut with anything.

It might be better to start with a pair of cheap pipes from J C Whitney or one of those. People tend to be more creative and (eventually) come up with something really great when there is little to lose whilst experimenting.

I cut the lip out of my TORs back in '03 and have not had any problems with the chrome or corrosion. I used a Dremel and cut the lip where it sits inside the pipe, staying away as best I could from the outside so as I didn't ruin the finish. I hear what eveyone says regarding buying better pipes but when I bought the bike ('02) there wasn't a whole lot offered, and after plunking down the dough for the TORs I couldn't afford to buy different ones, so I modified them. The baffles I have are about 8"-10" long and look like they were punched with a can opener. Although I'm happy with the results I might play around with a different style baffle just for s**ts and grins. If you didn't already have a spare set I would say go ahead and buy something else, but since you do go ahead and modify them. What's it going to hurt?

chimp,
I had a machine shop cut mine off for me. They used one of those big band saws that drops down and is constantly squirting oil as it cuts. It came out perfect, no issues with the chrome at all. That's whay I had them do it for me.

I've got the stock pipes ('03 Speedmaster) that I sawed off with a band saw kind like Dinqua has on his site. But I left the fiberglass/mesh stuff around the inside of the pipe in there. For baffles I went to a local muffler shop and had them make me a 3" to 1.5" reducer that would just fit inside the muffler. I ended up squeezing the 1.5" end in a vise a little more to get a little more back pressure and quiet. Then I installed the reducers in the mufflers with the 1.5" end on the inside of the mufflers with a couple of sheet metal screws. I know this isn't real high-tech, but it works and I only spent about $10.00 total. It sounds good and I didn't have to re-jet at all.

Joker,
I bought a pair of SM stock pipes on ebay last November for a dollar. I drilled a 3/4" hole through all the baffle plates after removing the last two completely. Yes, there is a significant improvement in performance by modifying stock pipes. If you look at aftermarket pipes, there is not much to them, and I think the head checker down at the walmart could figure out how to build some pipes. All we are trying to do is improve airflow. We can take a hammer and an old pipe and beat these pipes clean, improving airflow a great deal. It's all about the sound. I love my performance but want a deeper quieter sound. I'll find something I like eventually, but I only have 37,000 mile on her - so give me some time.
Ride Safe,
Dennis

Well, I already have a second pair of pipes, so that's that. I would think that the key to making some good sounding pipes would lie mostly within the baffles. I am definitely not looking to get anything too loud, but I do want to hear some rumble. I tried buying some JCW pipes, but they were screaming loud, and not even remotely appropriate for everyday riding (completely deafening). I couldn't find any others that suited the application other than the short cannons or the little slash-cut ones. And, if you look closely at those little slash-cut ones, you will see that they are tapered toward the tips, which makes for a very difficult time for creating and installing custom baffles for containing the harsh sounds straight out of the headers. I think hollowing out those stock Triumph Slash-cut pipes should be a hoot, and could yield a great sound - if done properly.

Where should I put the baffle in the pipe that I create? What I mean by this is should the baffle be in the rearmost part of the silencer, or more toward the header, etc...? Ideas?

- The Chimp

I put my home made baffle/reducer right back at the outlet of the muffler. I did cut about 1.5" of that mesh stuff away from inside the muffler so the reducer would fit tight against the outside muffler case. Also, if you do what I did, you'll want to take your Triumph mufflers with you to the muffler shop so they can fit the reducer to the ID of your mufflers. The Triumph mufflers are just a little shy of 3" ID.

Good luck with your project.

Good luck finding a baffle that will fit. I was looking for a replacement baffle for my specialty spares back when I was trying to tune them. SS Pipes are the same inner diameter as stock ones. I was never able to find a baffle that would fit. After giving up I then managed to find a packing technique that yielded a very awesome sound. You could always contact Dale at Specialty Spares and see how much (if?) he'd sell you 2 baffles for. Probably pretty cheap.

I'd be happy to tell you how far from the front the SS baffle is mounted. They are removable. Then use the same technique I used to pack in the fiberglass and you could expect a *very* similar sound, or just use more glass to tone it down some (check out my new video to see what it sounds like).

I suppose I'll have to wait and see what works. Once I have drilled out all of the baffle plates, I think I'll have a better idea of what will, and even more, what will not work.

I know it is possible to get a baffle fitted to the inside of the pipe, if you do what Pat did on his SM pipes. Really $20 ain't all that bad for making a custom snug fit.

Perhaps I'll contact Dale at Specialty Spares as well and just see if he wants to sell me a pair of baffles. If not, I can always craft my own for a pretty reasonable price.

Cheers All!

- The Chimp

If your curious about how to create that custom baffle, see Pat's website. It actually looks pretty slick in the end.

http://members.bluefrog.com/~pwhitbec/Triumph/pipes0.html

- The Chimp

if you want a great sounding set of pipes, drill out the first and second baffles (beginning with the out end) on the SM pipes. it's a pain but they'll be loud and have a great tone. Don't take out the one on the end that connects to the headers.
And yes, there is an extremely noticeable increase in performance. You'll be hitting the rev limiter before you would normally shift.