IF (big IF) the exhaust flange nuts come loose without a fight. The rest is very easy.
YOU DO NOT WANT TO BUST OFF AN EXHAUST STUD IN THE HEAD....I will repeat that....YOU DO NOT WANT TO BUST OFF AN EXHAUST STUD IN THE HEAD....
Hose the nuts down with some PB-Blaster let it work over night, Make sure you use a six-sided socket on the nuts and be careful = put some torque on the wrench then rap it sharply with a hammer (unless you have access to pnumatic impact tools). After that the rest is very straight forward follow the direction and take your time.
You will need to DIG the exhaust gaskets out of the exhaust port (they are copper crush gaskets) and not easy to see the first time you do it, but a pick or awl or small screw driver will help you pry it up and pull it out.
Throw it all together loosely and then tighten it up according to directions after getting the pipes all line up properly.
It's not real dificult. Just make sure you get new exhaust gaskets. Make sure you pry out the old ones, you don't notice them at first. They crush flat and are copper. Also make sure you use a torque wrench when you tighten the studs. It is too easy to strip the stud or over crush the gasket and cause air leaks.
Make sure you clean the area where the exhaust gasket is placed. I had an exhaust leak after a few years of no problems. I took the affected pipe off, cleaned the area a bit, installed a new gasket, re-attached the pipe. I STILL had an exhaust leak.
I then took everything off again. This time I cleaned the mounting area extremely well and re-installed everything. Second time (and cleaning the mounting surface very well) worked like a charm for me....
the pipes are coming from canada, so I have 2 weeks to get myself ready.
I just want to at least try and install the pipes myself, I'll let the dealer do the re-jet
so now is the time to find as many posts as I can, called the dealer and ordered new gaskets yesterday
Just to give my 2 cents.
I installed my pipes myself. I had never done it before and it was quite easy. Just tighten everything gently from one of the system to the other.
I started at the header bolts and worked my way to the back tire.
Just make sure you don't over torque the head bolts when you tighten the bolts down. I believe the specs are 15ftlbs to 18ftlbs....
You kin doit!! And when you are done, you should have more confidence to do the jetting!! Its not rocket science! Think about it.....they pay someone 6-8 bucks an hour to put this **** together (unless it come from Japan then 2-3 an d hour!
Ok, I just called the local honda shop about some gaskets for my 02 Sabre. They said they were speacial order, would take a week to get in and would be $20 each. WTF?
I just bought 4 gaskets for my VT1100 for $7.50!!!!
Look up Sirius Consolidated Inc on the internet, and you can get the same deal......They were delivered in 10 days.
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