Harley touring mufflers on my 77, and 82

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avg_joe
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Harley touring mufflers on my 77, and 82

#1

Post by avg_joe »

I put the mufflers on my 77 last year. I just welded a plate to the muffler, and bent a piece of flat stock to where it needed to be to use the factory mount on the bike.
I originally intended to get a sidecar for that bike, so when I mounted the mufflers, I ran them straight out. I had to go back and put a bit of angle on them once I got the 82, and it already had a hack, so the 77 was going to keep leaning, and I didn't wanna wear holes in my new pipes.
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In the garage:
1977 GL1000
1982 GL1100 with California Side Car hack
1982 FT500 Ascot(Wife's bike)
1983 FT500 Ascot
1983 XL600R(with some 85 parts)
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avg_joe
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Re: Harley touring mufflers on my 77, and 82

#2

Post by avg_joe »

I picked up another set of touring mufflers at an online auction, and decided to replace the mufflers on my 82. They were getting rusty, and raspy sounding, anyway.

I didn't want to weld anything to the muffler, like I did last time, so I made a couple of brackets out of some 3/8" flat stock, and some angle iron I had laying around.

I still put a bit of upward angle to the mufflers, as per Wifey's instruction.
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In the garage:
1977 GL1000
1982 GL1100 with California Side Car hack
1982 FT500 Ascot(Wife's bike)
1983 FT500 Ascot
1983 XL600R(with some 85 parts)
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Neil
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Re: Harley touring mufflers on my 77, and 82

#3

Post by Neil »

Nice, how do they sound on the 1100?
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avg_joe
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Re: Harley touring mufflers on my 77, and 82

#4

Post by avg_joe »

They sound nice.
The stock mufflers were getting rusty, and crusty at the seams, so they had kind of a hollow, raspy note.
Now it has a nice, fuller sound.
In the garage:
1977 GL1000
1982 GL1100 with California Side Car hack
1982 FT500 Ascot(Wife's bike)
1983 FT500 Ascot
1983 XL600R(with some 85 parts)
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Re: Harley touring mufflers on my 77, and 82

#5

Post by handyman1018 »

WOW I really like the look of those on your 82. Nice job! Good to have options.

Oh and thank you... I am no longer afraid of showing my welds :-D
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avg_joe
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Re: Harley touring mufflers on my 77, and 82

#6

Post by avg_joe »

Yeah....those welds are pretty tough, aren't they. The ones on the 77 are all behind the muffler, so I wasn't too worried about cleaning them up. And the ones on the 82, I wasn't sure how they would work out, so I didn't get too worried about cleaning those up, quite yet. I have a long cold winter in my not so distant future....I will get to that stuff then. Maybe make a more 'refined' set.
Right now, I just wanna ride the stuff.

I never claimed to be a welder. I was never taught. I have a pretty decent welder, a Lincoln AC/DC arc welder. Runs on 220V, goes up to something like 225 amps in AC, 125 in DC. I've had it for 10+ years, and I've probably only gone through 2 or three boxes of electrodes. I'm sure if I played around some more, I could cut down on my grinder wheel bill.

What is the purpose of DC +/-?
My theory would be: DC- would be for welding lighter gauge stuff, DC+ would be for heavy, deep penetration.
I don't actually know, though....just guessing.
In the garage:
1977 GL1000
1982 GL1100 with California Side Car hack
1982 FT500 Ascot(Wife's bike)
1983 FT500 Ascot
1983 XL600R(with some 85 parts)
railrunner
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Re: Harley touring mufflers on my 77, and 82

#7

Post by railrunner »

put a set on my 83 interstate
Railrunner
1983,1100 interstate...stock and out of storage after 17 years
2002 1800C VTX... crashed and reborn as customized "Evil Twin"
Tag along cargo trailer...work in process, Ready???
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Offcenter
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Re: Harley touring mufflers on my 77, and 82

#8

Post by Offcenter »

I just found a set of the same mufflers on Ebay for my 76.
Delivered to the door for $50!
And they look like brand new. Not even any soot inside 'em.
Now I have to figure out how to mount 'em.
George in Jersey
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Re: Harley touring mufflers on my 77, and 82

#9

Post by bikerdad5 »

dc welder give a nice smooth power flow and penetrates deeper at a lower amperage. plus if u turn the amps down low it makes a battery charger, with a lot of boost when turn it up.
Why should I press one for English?
1977 GL1000 basket case/resurrection project.
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avg_joe
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Re: Harley touring mufflers on my 77, and 82

#10

Post by avg_joe »

bikerdad5 wrote:dc welder give a nice smooth power flow and penetrates deeper at a lower amperage.
I am assuming that is the DC+ setting.
Would it be a fair assumption that the DC- setting would let me work on lighter stuff?
Also, is a different electrode wanted for DC vs. AC?
In the garage:
1977 GL1000
1982 GL1100 with California Side Car hack
1982 FT500 Ascot(Wife's bike)
1983 FT500 Ascot
1983 XL600R(with some 85 parts)
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Re: Harley touring mufflers on my 77, and 82

#11

Post by williwm »

avg_joe wrote:
bikerdad5 wrote:dc welder give a nice smooth power flow and penetrates deeper at a lower amperage.
I am assuming that is the DC+ setting.
Would it be a fair assumption that the DC- setting would let me work on lighter stuff?
Also, is a different electrode wanted for DC vs. AC?
Electrode selection can be confusing for novice welders, there are so many combinations available. Electrodes can be current selected( a-c, d-c and or straight or reverse polarity) .

To keep my electrode supply simple for mild steel, I keep 6011 and 6013 and use AC. The 6011 will give good penetration even through rusty or corroded steel. The the 6013 will give less penetration but leaves a more attractive weld. They(6013) are more often used on thin metal. There are other electrodes that might considered better( less splatter, nicer finish, etc.) but these two work for me.

Metal thickness determines the size of the electrode. Then you set your amperage to burn that size.

Five essentials for good welding are; proper electrode, proper electrode angle, proper welding speed, proper arc length and proper amperage. Lincoln used to have a small handbook that is a wealth of information, it may still be available. Practice makes perfect with welding,

Just rambling here but when welding exhaust tubing, I use an oxy- act torch. I can control the heat better, less chance of burn through and leaves a nice finish. The torch is very versatile, I've even welded up holes in the top of aluminum motorcycle pistons using one.
1976 gl1000 sulfur yellow
1977 GL1000
1978 Gl1000
1998 Valkyrie Tourer
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avg_joe
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Re: Harley touring mufflers on my 77, and 82

#12

Post by avg_joe »

My whole collection of welding equipment is that one welder. I am always on the look-out for a decent wire-feed, or a torch set...But they always seem to want money for them! And for all the use I would get from it.....Probably a couple of times a year, it would be funds that could be better used elsewhere.

I should dig through the file cabinet, and look for my instruction manual for the welder.
In the garage:
1977 GL1000
1982 GL1100 with California Side Car hack
1982 FT500 Ascot(Wife's bike)
1983 FT500 Ascot
1983 XL600R(with some 85 parts)
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Re: Harley touring mufflers on my 77, and 82

#13

Post by Neil »

Instructions ... we don't need no stinking instructions :lol:
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Re: Harley touring mufflers on my 77, and 82

#14

Post by williwm »

Sorry, I was a teacher in another life. :-D
1976 gl1000 sulfur yellow
1977 GL1000
1978 Gl1000
1998 Valkyrie Tourer
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