The bike I am working on (62 Dream) had very rusty head pipes - actually had holes in them - not possible to save.
I ordered a set from Thailand that got here yesterday. Chrome is fairly good, just a bit better than their stuff usually is. They seem to fit the bike okay.
However the pipe is not perfectly round – On the muffler end it ranges from 1.485” to 1.540” the head end is 1.535” to 1.510”. Also where the bend starts and stops the pipe is a bit more oval. It is not possible to slide the exhaust pipe joint (the finned piece that screws to the head) up the pipe without stopping at the first bend. I suppose you could maybe tap it with a hammer but of course then the chrome will be damaged. I removed about 16th of an inch from the inner bore exactly opposite each other. After some trial fitting finally got the thing to slide to the exhaust flange.
Had a bit of a problem getting it in the head and attached – but that may be just me not the pipe.
Total cost was about $160 - $60 for parts and $100 shipping (based on the box label it was economy air - $1600 Thai Bath = $48 US. David Silver recently has added a set that appear identical to these - His cost is $85 + $18 shipping. Better deal.
Head Pipes from ThailandHead Pipes from Thailand
That's what pipes look like when they've been bent in a typical, muffler-shop tube bender. Had a muffler shop bend up a set of header pipes for my dirt tracker back in the day and they had exactly the same irregular bend as that!
This is why you fill the pipe with sand and cap the ends when bending (while heating the pipe, of course). Do what you've always done and you'll get what you've always had.
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