Im doing a CB77 Superhawk restoration and was wondering if anyone knew of a shop that restored original mufflers. The ones I have are dented with a little surface rust, and the metal is chewed up in a couple places. The few original sets of mufflers that I have found online are really expensive and it may make more sense for me to restore the originals.
I contacted David Silver Spares in the UK and they do not carry them anymore...
Exhaust pipe restoration/ replacementsMuffler restorationUnless you find enough $ to spring for new/good mufflers, you may want to get a tube of Flitz and a lot of elbow grease to shine up the chrome. If you put some time into it, you can make them pretty shiney.
I haven't tried it yet, but the Paintless Dent Repair guys use a hotglue gun and glue plastic tabs onto car fenders, doors, etc to pull dents from hail, etc. It might be worth a try to see if you can work the dents out of your mufflers. I think there may be a post to that effect if you search this site. Thanks for the tip, conbs. I thought they were too far gone, but after an SOS pad and some orange pumice cleaner, they came out looking salvageable. Here's a before and after shot. Still have some work to do, but I'm sure it will be much cheaper than replacement. Any suggestions as to what to run through the inside to clean up any corrosion and carbon? Also, would it benefit me to replace the baffles inside the mufflers with new?
MufflersThe best advice I can give is to use the search function on this site liberally. It is not the best, but if you try lots of different words and combinations of words, you will almost always find something that will be helpful. You are not the first guy to wrestle with the problems an owner faces. Someone has been there before and likely found a way to prevail.
I have not heard of an effective way to replace the baffles. Installing diffusers may help quiet things down some. But, again, use the search function and you will likely find advice from somone a lot smarter than me. BTW, I like Flitz because it leaves a protective layer on chrome and aluminum after you are done. There are other products that do that, too. I have never heard of using orange pumice cleaner.
Guys, the h305 Google search engine here works much better than the Forum Search link.
Incidentally, Gerry Cain -- Matain -- (UK-based forum & VJMC member who also stocks a superb 5-speed CB transmission) is now manufacturing AM s/s mufflers, baffles & headers. I've just been reading, in June's 'Tansha', a brief report on the pre-production system. Looks promising but will surely not be cheap; there's a lot of work involved in s/s fabrication of such quality and "you gets what you pays for"! The mufflers are seamless, which some will like and some won't. I, personally, don't; I feel it detracts from the bike's character -- as does a 5-speed 'box -- but for those who do it will certainly be a worthwhile investment.
I've gone over these mufflers several times with SOS pads, orange pumice cleaner, flitz, and Mother's polish. They have cleaned up much better than I thought they would.
I spoke to Tim at Classic Honda Restoration and he is waiting on another shipment of reproduction pipes from Australia, but hes not sure what they will cost - likely more than before. He said to keep an eye omn his website and he will post when they become available. I also read about a company called Overlander Equipment in Australia. I contacted them and they want au$760 a pair and said it typically costs au$105 shipping to the US. Our currency is about the same as theirs, so $865 with shipping. The picture they sent looks like a good reproduction, but still pricey. Thanks for the information, Steve. What exactly do you mean by 'seamless?' Is the exhaust system one piece rather than a separate header pipe?
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