The exhaust pipe on my Indian Scout had to be changed. It was too damaged and had holes in different areas, which would have been difficult and expensive to repair. So here we are discussing the installation of the bran new exhaust pipe I got!
It may seems at first unnecessary to discuss this, but there are a couple things that might be actually a little bit interesting. And of course, there were and there are still hiccups in the process!
The issues with the old exhaust pipe
As mentionner above, the old exhaust pipe was too damaged and had holes and this would have been very expensive to repair.
In addition, getting a used exhaust pipe chromed is close to impossible. Professional chrome plating shops do not like dirty pipes in their chrome baths.
I considered getting the old pipe repaired and then covered with thermal tape but was advised agains it.
So I got a new pipe! It came with a bare finish and I got it chromed.
Now you may recall that there was another issue with the old pipe: the kick!
The kick had indeed scratched the pipe pretty badly and I didn’t want this to happen with my new pipe… Hum, well, more on this below…
The fitting of the new exhaust
Before getting the new pipe to the chrome shop, we tried it on the Indian to see how it fitted. My happiness, to have a new pipe, was short lived, as a couple issues arose! Of course!!
At first the header pipes were impossible to fit on the engine. It took a while to manage, but of course the holes for the screw were not at the right place and we had to ‘correct’ their placement. It killed me to enlarge the existing holes! Ok, not a huge deal after all but painful on that day!
Next, there was nowhere to attached the header clamp. It just wouldn’t reach any part of the bike.
I was told that this is normal (but why?!) and that we needed to add an “extension”.
As it is usual for my dad, he took the dirtiest metal bit he could find and created the extension to the clamp. It took hours! It was ugly, so ugly but it worked, I guess.
I can’t precisely recall which week-end this was done but I do recall being annoyed that he didn’t do something cleaner. I had to let him handle as I had a bunch of parts to paint and I didn’t want to fight him on this. One has to chose his battles!
When I came back, he had painted his creation like it would make it less inappropriate! I think not, but let’s forget about it!!
It took me a while to come to realize that in a couple years, this little piece that my dad added, will be a distant souvenir of the whole bike renovation and maybe the piece I will cherish the most. A reminder of him…
I’m getting mushy, sorry.
What about the kick issue… Oh boy did it get worst! The new muffler is wider than the old one we had, so the kick not only scratches the head pipe but the tailpipe as well! Yeah! More on that below.
And finally, the metal part which is supposed to be attached to the back fork wasn’t aligned with the frame… I ended up just bending it, it’s not ideal but it works.
The design issues with the new exhaust
Apart from the issues mentioned above, which to me were already plenty, I feel like I have to point out 2 further design issues with the new pipe I got:
The first issue is with the connection of the tailpipe and the header pipe. The header pipe should be inserted in the tailpipe. It is the other way around. Why?? I don’t know but this creates an exhaust fume leak which makes no sense.
This can probably be sorted with some sealant and maybe a clamp but again why?!
The second issue is another design flaw, in my personal opinion. On the back of the header pipe, 2 indents were made. One which should be aligned with the oil sump valve, one that should be aligned with the brake lever. The ‘should’ in the previous sentence are important because the indent which should be align with the sump valve isn’t at all! The other one isn’t too bad. Both are fairly ugly.
In any case, such indents seem useless to me. These are probably there to allow the pipe to sit close to the engine without touching it, which sounds good in theory. But, the closer the exhaust sits to the engine, in the front, the further away it is push from the frame, in the back. Since the muffler is slightly bigger than the original muffler we had, there is, in my very humble opinion, no way the kick could be operated without scratching the new muffler especially with a little extra space added.
Well, this is solely based on my personal experience and limited knowledge. There are probably reasons why the creators of such pipes did what they did. Still I thought I should mention, just in case you are looking for a new exhaust!
If you are looking for an exhaust, it would probably be a good idea to check with your seller how the exhaust will sit. Some, like mine, seems to be created to sit in alignement of the frame, so they go up slightly in the back. Some seems to be sitting lower and I’m guessing closer to the bike (which would have been a solution for my kick issues but not identical to what it was in the past) and parallel to the ground.
The remaining kickstarter issue
The kick still scratches the exhaust. A lot less than it used to but nether-the-less, it still does.
We went to see a neighbor who used to work as a plumber and still has special torches, oxygen and stuff. He heat up the tip of the kick and we straighten it. It is not an ideal solution because the pedal is now slightly going downward instead being horizontal. This however mostly sorted out the scratching on the muffler.
As previously mentioned in my last renovation progress renovation piece, we also moved the kick starter crank stud slightly. It helped.
We are now considering getting the kick angle redone but I’m not ready for it. It is tricky and I’m not yet confortable with it. The ex-plumber / neighbor is on vacation anyway and I need the kick!
So at first I wrapped up the kick with fabric and tape to protect the exhaust (you can see this on the picture below!). It didn’t work so well. The fabric torn, the glue of the tape sticked to the exhaust and burned with the heat, when we started the engine. It was a mess really difficult to clean!
Next I used the big clamp that was on the old exhaust (which you can see in the picture of the old exhaust above) and placed it on the new one. I need to tighten it better which requires some small size adjustment, but this is going to be the temporary solution. The kick will get scratched on this clamp but it needs to be re-chromed anyway.
And then will see how we handle… the crank stud is used and there is a bit of a wiggle, it needs to be worked on or replaced before we can take any further decision.
One solution is to get the engine starting like a charm, so we use the kick as little as possible!! 🙂
A never ending project…
To be honest, I had been warned that getting a new exhaust was a tricky business. That there would be adjustment to be made. I wasn’t sure what it actually meant and what such adjustments would be.
In addition, I had noticed on pictures that there was a wide range of creative solutions adopted by Indian owners with regards to exhaust system. 2 pipes, cut pipes, bended pipes, old pipes, pipes sitting lower… This does reinforce the idea that it is a tricky issue to handle!
I bought a new exhaust despite all this, and without knowing how it would fit or sit!
Now I think it is going to be ok, even if it takes time and even if the exhaust gets scratched. I’ve kind of made my peace with this option. It will be like it was in the past after all!!
Now, I suppose I must add that… I am thankful that my brother is there to help every now and then. But his ‘I know best’ attitude drives me crazy and it wasn’t any different with the exhaust heated discussions. His propositions to solve the issue were so unrealistic and created other issues! Can’t you see this will block the rear stand?! No? Seriously?!
I’m not 20 anymore, he isn’t either. I think that past a certain age, you should be able to admit when you are wrong, like a grown-up. Being wrong doesn’t mean you are not valuable, doesn’t mean you don’t know things. It is just that, being wrong in the present circumstances. Then you just move on, explore other options…
Yes, I had to add this. This Indian series is like my diary, things I need to remember!
So I will end this part on the exhaust by saying that, all the latest small and bigger issues we faced, made me realized that this is a never ending project. My Indian, Minty 😉 is getting closer and closer to being whole again, but there will still be lots of little things to be done. And little things are sometimes painful, costly and time consuming… But it’s all going to be ok!
