modified OEM pipes

[rhubarbray]

Ok, so I have a `98 Standard with stock pipes. Or I thought I did, turns out that one of the head pipes has cracked where it goes into the collector and the PO had mentioned the previous owner had done a "modification" to the baffles. I still have the three little pipes at the back of the mufflers, (these are the "piggies"?) I currently have a line on an unmolested set of OEM pipes but neither of us are sure how to tell if they are undamaged. Can a small rod or tube be inserted only so far, say 12", into all the rear pipes if stock and 20" if punched out? How do I tell if they are untouched?

Ray

[Houdini]

If the piggies are intact there is no way to drill the baffles, unless someone cut the piggies off, drilled the muffler and then welded the piggies back on.  If you look into the tail piece the piggies are bent so they come out vertical and I've never seen a drill bit that will go around curves.

[hubcapsc]

Give a man a hack saw and he'll cut off your piggies, but give
a man a drill and you better watch out!



-Mike

[JimC]

I have the same question.

On a standard or tourer exhaust, is there any way to examine the exhaust to see if they have been modified?
It will be obvious if the piggies are cut, or if there are drilled holes in the rear plates like the above example. How can you inspect them other than visually?

Maybe MarkT our resident exhaust expert will see this and give us a tutorial?

Thanks,
Jim

[MarkT]

If the piggies are intact they are likely unmodified. If they have not been cut off and welded back on, then the baffles inside have not been drilled through the piggies. Any mods that matter are to the insides of the mufflers and most such mods will change the length. Take the covers off.  Look for any weld seams around the perimeter of the body of the can that have been ground smooth. Though a good welded can cut them apart, reweld and blend sand so you can't see it visually - I can do that, it's just detail work. Measure the length of the can - unmodified is 21-1/4 R 21-3/8 L.  I will not use any modified mufflers as the basis of my work except drilled baffles and removed piggies - that's trivial for my work - I can restore the drilled baffles if the pipes are coming apart for a glasspack job, to return the silencers to service.  Reason for not using modified mufflers is, I would be starting with unknown status but it is surely not OEM spec dimensionally which makes extra work for me to return it to spec, and can't guarantee it will fit on any Valk when I'm done.  Though I do have jigs that let me return cores with broken welds to spec - and charge for it.  Have done that many times.  The header to can welds break inside the collector, with high miles and moisture - typically Florida and Carolina bikes.