Yes I Know...

....it's not a real bike, but I still need an end can and link pipe[1] for
a 1998 GSX600F-W. Ebay was fresh out of 'em the last time I looked so does
anyone have:

a. Such an item lying around waiting to be rehomed, or
b. Recommendations for where one may be obtained for not too many sovs?[2]

Oh, and £400 for a Suzuki one - you can FRO.

[1] Preferably not made from soluble cheese.
[2] Online or local to West Mids.

 

Just buy the cheapest non-crap end can you can get your hand
on from ebay [1] and then either get a suitable link pipe made
up or source one from somewhere that sells exhaust parts [2].

[1] I paid £12 for an Arrow can for a Gixxer Thou in carbon
[2] such as ebay, or somewhere like:
http://www.jetex.co.uk/website/jetex-pipework.php

 

Thanks for the idea. It got me searching around and finding out that I
actually live only a couple of miles from the Motad factory [1]. So
I'll be swinging past there for a new Venom and link pipe shortly.


[1] Not sure if that qualifies for a YTC#, but I'd be surprised if it
didn't...

 

If they let you come and get one... I live a similar distance away and
I was told that I must get it through the local dealer...

 

Soylent Green said...

Same silencer and downpipes as an early Bandit 600 IIRC. I have a
Scorpion race can here that you can have complete with linkpipe for a
tenner. It's scruffy as **** with a few dents but better than not having
one at all.

 

Peter Jones wrote:

I phoned them and asked about their "we'll fit one if we can take notes
and pics for our files" offer. I'll have to wait till Monday to find
out when they'll have a link pipe delivered and sort out a date to get
it done.

 

Where be here? The link pipe rot is right at the union with the
collector and the fecking thing is blowing harder thean sir.tony's mum
on overtime...

 

Soylent Green said...

That's not the link pipe rottng, that's the collector box union. You can
get it welded by Gibson Exhausts in Romford.

 

The spic is based in Bedfordshire

 

Lozzo wrote:

When I say "rotting" I actually mean completely separated and held in
place by and internal tube and copious amounts of gun gum. A no less
than deserved reward for winter riding, I guess.

So, unless this Romford of which you speak is a little-known district
of Wolverhampton, I'm off to Motad. 'Sides, I could do with something
a little more... amplified for my filtering activities.

Thanks for the help though.

 

Soylent Green said...

You won't get a new link pipe and silencer to seal, the rot is in the
collector box, which is on the end of the downpipes. If you try to fit a
race can you will have the same problem you have now, it won't seal.

 

Soy - if it is the same as the Bandit - they /all/ go there. THe
system is stainless, the headers, the collector, the link pipe ... all
except a little ring of mild steel that joins the link pipe to the
collector. Every Bandit more than five or six years old has rotted
through there. The only fix is to find a competent welder of
stainless steel and get them to chop out the rotted mild steel and
re-weld with a new ring.

Unless you buy a new collector and link pipe, it won't work. If you
get a new link, there is /nothing/ to join it to.

New collector or get it welded - there's your options.

 

My eyes are deceiving me in that case. Warning - bad ASCII art ahead.

_____===-----
/
<- end can \ collector ->
_____/
===-----

There's about 2.5" - 3" of the original link pipe left in its original
position inside the joint with the break just on the outside (to the
left) of the joint.

The joint on the collector ends with 5 or 6 slots in the pipe with a
glorified jubilee clip/mounting point. Inside that is a gasket, and inside
that is the last few inches of the link pipe.

From what you're saying, the Bandit doesn't have this joint arrangement -
I can see two sections to this exhaust - the downpipes/collector
section and the link pipe/end can section. The end can is welded to the
link pipe and has to be removed as one piece (which I did last year trying
to fit a friend's 2nd hand Micron).

So the way I see it, I just need the link pipe/end can and gasket.

 

OK, fine. I'd be very interested to hear the outcome though, Soy.

Best of luck ;-)

 

I turned up at Motad his morning at 09:00 and they were ready to go, took
the bike out back to remove the existing system and check it against their
pattern jigs while I had a coffee and looked at the expensive cans in
reception. During this break the chap doing the work came in told me that
the thing was rotted through completely. Bless.

The factory tour followed and I learned a bit about the processes
involved, the history of the company and how the market is changing - the
majority of customers now only ride between 2 and 5 thousand miles a year
so when they do change their cans, the competition is pretty fierce among
manufacturers.

Tour over and it's back to the bike with its sexeh new oval can. As
described above, the collector was fine and the link pipe was slotted
straight in with the end can attached to by a couple of spring clips. The
guy fitting it makes a few adjustments, starts up the bike and makes a
couple more tweaks to the fitting and then tightens it all up. Job's a
good'un.

I hand over the sovs, thank everyone and ride away fighting the urge to
release the inner hooligan and redline it straight away. I content myself
with a silly grin as I mix revs and burbles on the short trip home.

All in all, and assuming the replacement lasts tolerably well, I'm a happy
teddy - 150 notes for everything and a brand new riding soundtrack.