From: dab@vuse.vanderbilt.edu (The Nashville Flash)
Subject: Low Budget "Supertrapp" & Exhaust Paint Question
Summary: "A man without resources must be resourceful." - J. Spagthorpe
Originator: dab@space3
Organization: Vanderbilt University School of Engineering, Nashville, TN, USA
Date: Wed, 12 Aug 1992 14:46:35 GMT

Some of the DoD may recall a story posted here a while back about how my
muffler spit out its baffle on the autobahn at a speed slightly above the
DoD minimum of 105 mph back in '83.  At the end of that tale I stated, 
"As a matter of fact that assembly is still working today."  Well, not
any more.

Last Thursday the whole thing blew off on the freeway in rush hour traffic 
at the junction of two interstates with an exit lane thrown in for good 
measure.  After two hours of searching on the bike and on foot, I gave up.  
If *you* think that finding a lost object on the freeway and/or shoulder is 
an easy task, then you have probably not had the "pleasure."  The experience 
of searching can certainly be described as exciting, but not fun.

Since I had custom modified my R80G/S exhaust system so that I could run two 
full-sized saddle bags (the original R80R), I couldn't just _buy_ another
muffler.  Being a grad student, posessed of neither time nor money, I could
not reproduce my original one at the present time.  Hmmm....

My solution was a "tunable" exhaust ala Supertrapp for well under $30 that
took more time to obtain the pieces than to assemble.  I went to Pep Boys
and bought a Cherry Bomb(tm) 2"x2"x21" "muffler,"  hose clamps, and a couple
of exhaust adapters... $26.  Then I went to the hardware store and bought a 
half dozen assorted fender washers... $0.93.

I hacksawed some cuts in the muffler and adapters so that the hose clamps
could have some room to tighten them up.  I took a 4" piece of 3/4 x 1/8
aluminum angle bracket, drilled some holes in it, and banded it to the 
middle of the muffler with hose clamps.  A hole in the bracket matched my
hanger bracket which remained with the bike rather than continue its 
attachment to the escaped muffler.

With the muffler hose clamped to the exhaust from the collector and hung
from the bracket, I was ready to "tune".  I started the bike.  Cherry Bombs
are not much quieter than an empty megaphone.  So I took the largest of my 
washers and placed it in a bologna-cut adapter and clamped it to the tip of 
the muffler... better, but still too loud.  The next guess was spot on.  
Just the right combination of sound and fury.  Perhaps this weekend I'll get
a chance to get out and do some plug chops.  But seat of the pants sez that
the power is about the same as it was before.

After riding the thing on a single round trip to work (~30 miles). The
exhaust adapters have blued and the 2" portions of the Cherry Bomb look more 
like red lead primer than the cherry color of the body.  In order not to
look like a kluge on short order, I will need to paint this thing within
the next couple of weeks.  I have tried all sorts of header paint, BBQ grill 
paint and what-not in the past and they all suck.  This brings me to the 
question... Does anyone have any first-hand knowledge of a product (brand 
name) that WORKS for painting motorcycle exhausts?
============================================================================
 "No hour of life is lost that is spent in the saddle." - Winston Churchill
    The Nashville Flash	  -   dab@vuse.vanderbilt.edu   -   DoD # 412 

Newsgroups: rec.motorcycles