May 6-7, 2006
One major project left to do to Vicious as I patiently await the arrival of my repaired front fender (supposed to have shipped 2 weeks ago) from Donny at Maxxmuscle, and the hand tooled seat from Carman Allen. I have to figure out what to do with the exhaust system. The current V&H Cruizers are touching the rear fender and that's going to bubble the paint or wear right through it. I was thinking long shots but there aren't any made for the Spirit, and I want the pipes on each side of the bike like an old cruizer.... thought about fishtails for a while but I think they are over done.
So, it is decided that whatever I do will incorporate custom bends to get the rear jug down, and under the bike in front of the rear tire, and across to the other side to run straight out the back. I like the looks of the VTX pipes...big cans to match the phat fenders and phat tank I have built up to date. Yeah, big cans... that's it. I picked up a set of VTX1300 pipes from Ebay....when they cam in I knew that they weren't going to work...they were too short to run the length of the rear fender and that would look funny to me. SO I started looking at the VTX1800 pipes...the 1800c has a 2 into 1 with a huge single can. I picked up a couple of them for $50 a set...seems there are plenty of them out there being rid of. I get it home and hold it up to Vicious....oh yeah....this is going to work.
Since this system is designed as a 2 into 1 on the right side of the bike I am going to have to make extensive modifications to the can to hang on the left. The chrome on stock mufflers does not engulf the cans, the inside is left open and uncovered. When I take the left can and rotate it into the best position for routing it under the bike, the ugly stainless section is exposed, so I need to cut the chrome cover off (two welds) and unclamp the other end and spin it on the can and re-weld it. Now the the tip of the muffler is pointed out to the side. In order to fix that I will have to cut the end of the can off and spin it into position and reweld. Another issue comes up, there are two tubes coming out of the end of the pipe which run through the baffle section inside and I cannot cut them and rotate or it will not provide a run though for the exhaust. Some guys are cutting the ends of the can out leaving the tabs for mounting the tip. I want to leave the end intact to maintain a stock look of a baffled pipe. I decide that the baffling will have to be removed from the innards but leave the pipes coming out of the endcap. Since I am doing one, of course both need to be done.
Off to the chop saw and zip the ends off in seconds....
Next I use the plazma cutter to cut the 6 welds out that hold the baffles in place...this took all of a minute. Removing the baffles is a bit of a chore even with the welds cut out....it is a tight fit in that can. Using a pry bar on the open end I managed to wiggle it out. If I am to do this in the future I will probably hang a chain from the rafters to hook to the baffles and yank the can down to work them out easier. Using sheet metal pieces, I reached inside the cans with a pair of pliers and held the pieces over the holes as I welded from the outside to cap the holes off. Here is a shot inside the can with the pieces in place.... I do not anticipate much obstruction from these pieces! LOL
Next, to hang the cans on the bike. To mount the left muffler I had to remove the mounting bracket and flip it over and re-weld it. Here it is with an angle bracket mounted to it. It is just tacked in place at this point until I change the welder up for stainless welding....I had it set up for welding the steel flame brackets and rods.
The right side has a frame mount for a muffler bracket so I made one for the left side of the frame. I drilled three holes in the 3/8ths" plate for mounting an exhaust bracket. I cut the exhaust bracket in a flame design but I wasn't certain how much would be seen when finished... and to that I welded 5/8th" solid rod to go back to the muffler mount. I will pick up matching hardware this week for mounting all this!
Here are the final brackets...They wouldn't fit into the oven to powdercoat so I rattle canned them black until I am finished. If I can still see them when the cans are hung I may consider sending them in for chroming or coating somewhere else.
Next was getting both cans fitted into position to match. I measured from the floor up to the bottom edge, and from the inside edge to the trim bolt on each side of the fender until I got them with 1/8" of each other. This entailed bolting the brackets on, seeing which way the pipe needed to go, removing the pipes, remove the brackets, put the bracket in a vise and bending, and retry. Did this many times until I got them just right. Here's what it is looking like at this point.
I welded angle brackets to the end of the rod to bolt the mufflers onto. These things look overly large and I am starting to rethink these pipes... but I remember starting to rethink the taillights and big fender at times and look at how it turned out!! I trudge onward awaiting the final result. End Saturdays building about 3a.m.
Sunday I pick up marking the tops of the cans for positioning the end caps back on. I set them on these roller bearing brackets I used to use when building Jeep tie rods so I can spin them as I weld them back on.
After welding the end caps back on, I fitted the chrome pieces on and set the left side up on the bike to get a preview of what it would look like. Here all the chrome pieces are dangling on the left side of the bike.... I like the way the pipes look now, the slanted caps take away the enormity of the opened cans. It completes the chrome to the end of the bike. I will cut the transitional chrome shroud once I have the connecting exhaust tubing in place. Hopefully this will not be an eyesore.
These cans are going to make a statement!! They will be for it what the warp drive engines are to the Enterprise!! LOL
The sun is quickly fading and I hustle to get the other side installed to get some pictures for the website. Some help with the shop light and computer enlightening I present the Vicious Can-cans...
These pictures are with the hydraulic mono-shock in the highest setting. I did that intentionally so the muffler mounts would be closest to the swing arm at this point. When I lower the bike the swing-arm disappears up under the fender... (show setting) LOL. Now you can see both cans sticing out the back...nice! I wonder just how loud they will be when I fire this baby up...
I always love a shot looking at a nice backend...
Here's another angle...true cruiser fashion.
I feel sorry for anyone that runs into the back of my bike!! Those rear lights do not look so big anymore do they?
and that fender doesn't seem quite as wide anymore either....
Side shot and you can still see the tip from the left side sticking out the back! Here the stock rear heat shield is in place but will need to be cut down to fit. I have many shrouds with many bends and hope to wind up with something aesthetically pleasing without having to weld-join and re-chrome.
This reminds me of a classic 40's cruiser car....big fenders and pipes.... but made into a Hot Rod....totally the look I was going for. Suits me for now anyway but once complete...I will be able to swap out any pipes I like in the future...
Almost looks like the taillights are lit up here but they aren't. They are bright when lit though. What would you think this was if you were to pull up behind it in traffic?
Notice how the cans look stock with the two tubes coming out...I am hoping that this will help keep it within a reasonable sound note and volume....these were designed for 1800CCs of displacement so it should run like an open piped bike.
I will be bending a rode to run behind the rear wheel that will connect both of the muffle brackets together to help with the wobbling pipes. If needed I will also mount the rod to the inside rear fender to hold them very stable. Will wait until I need to remove the rear fender before getting into the bracket though. My idea is to drill inside the fender strut just inside the taillight tubing and thread the holes. I can then bolt a strap to each side and bolt that to the exhaust bracket. That would eliminate having to tie the two together behind the wheel....one way or another though.
Hope to have all the tubing complete within the next few evenings and them I will put some gas in the tank for the first time since July of last year and turn her over to see how she runs.... I hope the jetting I chose helps it run halfway decent so I do not have to jump right back into the carbs again. I know the more I work on it the more likely I am to damage the paint!!
Stay tuned...a seat and front fender are coming!!
Gonz
Gonzo
02' Shadow Spirit "Vicious Cycle", 98 Valkyrie "Eragon"