What pipes do you have, do they scrape?

[WMarshy]

Hi guys,
This is my first poll so I hope this is in the right section, feel free to move it if necessary!

Well, I thought I would make a poll to see how many of us out there are useing aftermarket pipes. What Im woundering is, are the Jardine 4-1's the only pipes that scrape? For me it seems to restrict my turning ability by ~30% on the right. My suspension does need to be tightened up in the front+back but it wont eliminate the scraping completely. I dont want to lose the use of the centerstand and at the same time Im holding out on having my pipes ceramic coated in fear it will wreck the coating. Im considering having my welder buddy try and fab a new section of pipe that hugs the frame tighter under my RT peg.... Any thoughts?

[Pat Kelly]

I'm glad you have the multi-choice option.
My E:
Jardine 4 into 2 'spagetti' pipes w/centerstand. The centerstand scrapes on XStreme left-handers or moderate left turns if there is a bump or dip. Right side is fine.
My LG:
RC Eng (I think) 4 into 1 w/centerstand. The 4 headpipes come together directly under the centerline of the bike. Speedbumps and some driveways cause it to bottom out. The lower two pipes are more 'D' shaped than round. Nothing scrapes on turns.

[Yahman]

Kerker with center stand... I haven't scraped yet.

Larry

[madmax-im]

On my '82 XJ1100...Jardine 4 to 1 with centerstand..scraped on right handers...

[WMarshy]

On my '82 XJ1100...Jardine 4 to 1 with centerstand..scraped on right handers...

It's getting old, I hate having to think about that as im entering a turn. Wounderin if there's a bump I dont see thats going to make me get a little sideways...

[Crazcnuk]

I have stock, std and Spcl, S&S 4-2s and Mac 4-2s.

I don't think any of the pipes drag, but I can drag my centerstand do to overloading!

Footpegs are another story.

[Mad Dog Doug]

SuperTrapp Stainless 4 into 1 pipe



I just got the bike, so far nothing has dragged, but having just removed the pipe to change the oil, the pipe shows that ground clearance over curbs might be a problem. Some dings and scrapes are evident on the bottom of the pipe.

There is no center stand so no problems there!

[dpotter58]

I put a jardine 4 into 1 on mine and took it off after a scrape, bump and crap my pants on a moderately quick right hand turn on a relatively flat road the first week out.

[Erik the Red]

Jardine 4-1's...

They scrape when I'm barely leaned over it seems. Found out I have to be extra careful when turning right off of a left banking curve, too. Was just thinking about welding a couple "sacrificial" nuts to the muffler where I have shiney new rash. They'll get eaten up instead of the pipes. JAT... Someone pipe up and let me know if that's a bad idea due to thin muffler walls or something...

[WMarshy]

Mad Dog Doug, that exhaust is a thing of beauty, so is your bike! Did you buy that or is that some custom header?

I put a jardine 4 into 1 on mine and took it off after a scrape, bump and crap my pants on a moderately quick right hand turn on a relatively flat road the first week out.

I hear ya, my seat has some bite marks in it if ya know what I mean! Its time for a new seat cover now... not from the bites though. haha

They scrape when I'm barely leaned over it seems. Found out I have to be extra careful when turning right off of a left banking curve, too. Was just thinking about welding a couple "sacrificial" nuts to the muffler where I have shiney new rash. They'll get eaten up instead of the pipes. JAT... Someone pipe up and let me know if that's a bad idea due to thin muffler walls or something...

My pipe isnt getting thin yet and I usually get a good scrape out of it everyday. I thought about welding a small plate on mine, maybe 3/16" thick material, something that wont dig into the road when it touches down, i.e. the less "drag" the better. It should take a while for it to burn through that. If I decide to cut that section out and tweak that bend I will be sure to take lots of pictures and measurements so it could be easily replicated. Just another inch or two would make a world of difference! Has anyone done this before?

[Mad Dog Doug]

Stainless SuperTrapp

Mad Dog Doug, that exhaust is a thing of beauty, so is your bike! Did you buy that or is that some custom header?
...

That photo doesn't do the pipes justice, they came on the bike which I recently traded for a tree removal (a very big tree). Here's the whole bike:

[dbeardslee]

I've got the Jardiine 4/1's along with a set of Mikes XS progressive shocks and springs. If I've got the suspension set soft, and I'm riding 2 up, it doesn't take much of a corner to make the silencer drag. If I set the preload all the way up, and get rid of the excess weight behind me it has to really be laid down low to drag. If I shift my weight to the inside on a corner it'll go around much faster without dragging.

[WMarshy]

Here's where its been scraping...



Looks like someone bashed the pipe in just a little to get more lean out'a her. I wasn wonderin if my suspension was too soft so I put some zip ties on the front forks to see how much travel Im using. I measures about 4.25 inches of travel in the front... Anyone know what amount is "normal" and what is considered too much? Im going to tighten it up and j/w what I should be shooting for. I will do some searching on here in the mean time.

[cletus]

New here; first post...

This is one of the things I came here to compare. My '79 has been sitting in the garage unloved for way too many years, and I'm itching to get it out, clean it up and make it ride worthy again. But I wanted to know what to do about the RC Engineering 4-into-1 system I put on before I shelved it. Unlike Pat, I don't have any difficulty with dings on the bottom, but I've had some nasty surprises on right-hand sweeps when I didn't think I was being very aggressive with it.

I remember it was one helluva hassle to force the muffler into position when I installed it, and in fact, it took two or three product return/exchanges to get one near enough to fitting that I could finally manage to muscle it into place, so I always wondered whether they'd sent me the correct components to begin with. But it looks like there's not much on the market these days to replace it with (quelle suprise!), and from what I've read here, any replacement might not solve the problem. Perhaps I should consider returning to a stock system, if I can find one.

~~~~~~~~~~
Clete Baker
Omaha/Council Bluffs

[dbeardslee]

Cletus - Welcome to CH 11. You can still get the Mac exhausts new. The 4/2 with the tapered silencers look like they get 'em up about as high as they'll go. Dennis Kirk sells them for $332. Mac claims you can still get at the oil filter with them installed too, which is the other big headache with some aftermarket setups. Here's a pic.