Noob wrenching - Exhaust

[akopie]

Hello,
I'm replacing my annoying after market pipes with some factory OEM I found from this site. I don't have much experience, assume its simple swap out. I know it's best to use new crush gaskets, anything else I need to pay attention to? Any other gasket type thing I should have ready?
Thanks
Roads should be ice free in couple more weeks, getting excited.
Opie

[John Hopkins]

soak all the nuts in penetrating oil the day before you start work..and yes, new crush washers.

don't throw away the old pipes..

John.

[PainterD]

When installing most any exhaust system on a bike, always start by installing the entire system, but not tightening the bolts (just finger tight is good) Then start tightening the bolts (proper recommended torch) at the header bolts on the pipes and work your way to the back of the bike.
Now go out and take it for a ride and get it up to operating temperature. Then re-tighten the bolts to make sure everything is secure.

[akopie]

Thanks, didn't soak bolts because they were already very loose. Still waiting for replacement gaskets (they had to order them), but everything looks smooth. Appreciate the reinforcements.
Opie

[akopie]

OK, that all went well, or at least I think it did. A couple of quick verification if someone can:
http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphot...24110970_n.jpg
This should be rotated counter-clockwise...but...front muffler coming in top left. Wondering if it is normal for that 1/4 inch gap? Fresh crush ring in there and I know I'll have to check/tighten after a ride or two.

Also:
http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphot...25492600_n.jpg
My passenger peg now touches muffler? Its the heat guard and its just barely touching, is this normal?

Appreciate it
Opie
April 11th, only 3 inches of ice left in driveway!!

[davelisowski]

^ you don't want anything touching the pipes. especially rubber on the pegs!

i'm not sure what the solution is... i guess, no passengers.



:EDIT: oh fartknocker, i'm late...

get extensions for your socket wrench.

as others said, you want to put the new pipes on in parallel. don't tighten any one bolt more than the others. so front to back, front to back.

i wore some gloves when touching/moving/installing the new pipes. they were cloth with rubber hands and fingers. don't get any dirt or oil or anything on them before you fire them up! and just to be safe, wash the bike after the install. anything on the pipes will bake on them the first time they heat up.

[gmck]

Originally Posted by PainterD

When installing most any exhaust system on a bike, always start by installing the entire system, but not tightening the bolts (just finger tight is good) Then start tightening the bolts (proper recommended torch) at the header bolts on the pipes and work your way to the back of the bike.
Now go out and take it for a ride and get it up to operating temperature. Then re-tighten the bolts to make sure everything is secure.

yea, what he said.

[C.W.]

OK, what year and model bike is this on? The reason I ask is because on the Aero 750's they raised the passenger pegs in 2008 to accommodate the 2 into 2 pipes. So, if you put 2 into 2 pipes on a 2007 and older Aero that came originally with 2 into 1 pipes, the right side passenger peg will hit the top pipe when folding down.

Also, I was going the mention mounting brackets may be different between your first set and the ones you just installed.

Let us know.

-

[akopie]

I'm re-installing factory pipes. I purchased bike last summer with "THE MOST ANNOYING PIPES" in the world. Was able to get OEM pipes off this site and put them on, with new crush gaskets. So in theory they should fit perfect. There is a lot of flex/adjustment, and I did tighten everything like described above. There may be some wiggle room, I might loosen everything and try to shift pipes down a bit.
I did take it out, and then was able to tighten things a tad after the (short) ride. Wow do those new pipes make me love this bike more! She ran beautiful and smooth.
Thanks all for your input!
Opie

[akopie]

Mostly testing my signature. But I still can't get a socket on front pipe. Top bolt is too close to heat guard, bottom bolt is inside exhaust bend (I suspect a 90 degree pivot would help). And I'm embarrassed to admit I have a small wrench. But its running great so I'm happy.