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sportster mufflers on 800 custom

8K views 17 replies 5 participants last post by  Trekker 
#1 ·
I picked up a set of take off pipes, and would like to know the steps needed to put them on. Where do you get the chome covers etc...

As usual, pictures will be requested.
 
#2 ·
Are you saying you have slip on mufflers from a Sportster? and you want to put them on an 800? What header pipes are you planning on using? The 800 stock's did not have slip on mufflers, they were welded in place, so unless your cutting and using some sort of clamp system you'll have to weld them in place and as for covers that would again be all what ever you can get to fit. are the stock 800 headers the same diameter as the Sporty's?
 
#4 ·
As I suspected, he cut the stock mufflers off because they are welded to the header pipe and modified the stock header covers to hide the newly welded on sporty pipes and fabbed up all the mounts and welded them on to the mufflers. Sounds nice and easy but it's a lot of work. Below is his description of all the work, granted it looks cool but it's a lot of work and no where near bolt-on easy. And don't neglect the carb work required.
Seems to me if you don't have access to welders, cut-off saws, lot's of time, and you're good a fabricating parts, and had to pay someone to do all that work, you would be better off spending the cash on a set of pipes that bolt right up and the jet kit.


"no, not exactly. I cut the 800 mufflers off just ahead of where they are welded on at, then welded on the Sportster mufflers in their place. I then cut the chrome heat shields to match the muffler for location, fabbed a mount for the upper muffler, then one for the rear. It worked really easy, I don't know why more people haven't done this.
I did have to rejet because it was running very lean out on the highway. At 65 I could crack the throttle open and it would fall on its face, pull the choke out just a bit and it would pick up again. Not sure why putting these on leaned it out but it sure did"
 
#5 ·
Like Einstein says, it can be done with a little help from a cut-off wheel and a welding machine. It's not that difficult just cut the oem muffler off and measure where you want the Sporty mufflers to be located so you can make a bracket to support it.

Did you get the older style Sporty mufflers without the sensors?

I can get you some pics but it'll be tomorrow the soonest.
 
#6 · (Edited)
no sensors or sensor ports that I can see. I just went out and looked, it doesnt look that involved. I will need to pull the exhaust to get the cutting and welding. If I do it right the stock pipe and chrome cover will work just fine. The bike is running miserably lean as it is so jetting is in the plan already. As for tools, and the necessary skills I got that covered. wifesMECHANIC got it going on.
 
#7 ·
As much as this sounds like a lot of work, I just might tackle this on my 800 Bobber Project, I do like the looks of some black sporty slip ons then top it off with some black wrapped header pipes
 
#8 · (Edited)
ez job, guys ez
I cut mine off with a air power cut off wheel, and as was said, held the sporty muffler up where i thought I wanted it and tacked it in place. For the other pipe I measured the total length of the head pipe so I could cut the front on off and be equal length. Only fabbing I did for brackets are a piece of 3/8flat bar, aluminum, 1.5" wide and about 5 inches long. simply because it was already lying on the saw. I purchased from McMaster-Carr a couple machinery vibration mounts(part#96905K38) they are about $8 each. Drill two holes in the flat bar to bolt to the muffler and mount, affix the mount to the stock location of the front pipe. Rear one was even easier, drilled new hole in existing mount extension for the stock muffler. It really is as easy as it sounds. I used a pair of tin snips to cut the chrome deco covers to where they would blend the muffler in and hide my welds.

Hello Philip, see you are a refugee here too.

Oh, on edit: reason i did rejetting is because I had cut the back out of the airbox. The quote Philip used was actually done several months after i did the swap.
 
#12 ·
Here's a pic of Mike's bike with the stock headers. Heatshields removed and mufflers cut off. ...



Harley drag pipe tails welded in place...



A bracket made for the front pipe...




This job was pretty easy and straight forward. Everything was pretty much eye-balled and came out great.
 
#18 ·
Hi Bob, I just found this thread. I recently got a Vulcan 500 Ltd, and I'm a ham, too.
A decade has passed since the last comment, I hope you are still active on this forum.
Do you still have a ham radio installed on your bike? (The one on the photo seems to be a Yaesu FTM-10R, and the antenna a Larsen 2/70B)... Would you share some details on the mount you were using? And about the battery, was it the stock one? How did it perform with the radio?
Thanks, 73 de W6EUH
 
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