Anybody have a set of 850 balanced pipes

that they want to sell? I can't find any and would like to run them on my bike. I see that Viking makes them but I've read a lot of not-so-good stuff re Viking here...

I would say that posts on other forum would
not support that. Yes they are pricey and some of that
is due to shipping and import taxation but recent posts
seem to be most favorable.
No connection between me and Viking nor do I own
any of his products. Simply telling you what Ive
read lately.

I have two rights, a NOS and an original, (cracked and welded up, pro job) and the balance pipe... take your pick, let me know

Just my opinion, but the crossovers aren't worth the hassle. Even the original ones cracked. It seems the original Mk3 type (belled ends) may have been somewhat better. Aftermarket pipes seem to run from barely workable to impossible. Can't say I have any firsthand experience with Viking though.

I also have a right side, somewhere in my attic. I went through two lefts before giving up and going with 750-style pipes.

The first one, which I think was original - and repaired like Concours' - lasted about 800 miles. the second one lasted about 500 miles. Done 12,000 on the 750 pipes, and they're still fine.

BillT said:

I also have a right side, somewhere in my attic. I went through two lefts before giving up and going with 750-style pipes.

The first one, which I think was original - and repaired like Concours' - lasted about 800 miles. the second one lasted about 500 miles. Done 12,000 on the 750 pipes, and they're still fine.

Click to expand...

I also have a right side available and the actual crossover pipe. The left header broke just like concours above. I have switched to the 750 style.

If there was only a way to make an exhaust using only right headers...

Thanks guys - good info. Sounds like the cracking issue with the balanced pipes makes them not worth the trouble and I guess that's why they have faded away. Guess I'll just stick with the 750 pipes. I was interested in in the balanced pipes due to a bit of power increase/slight noise reduction over the straight pipes/peashooters but it's not worth the hassle. Wonder if any sort of current hose - silicone or whatever - can handle the temps. A "soft" connection between the pipes would probably eliminate the cracking. Might not look too good though with a piece of orange or bright blue hose there!

mike996

first.... you didn't say if you have a 73/74 OR MKIII.
MKIII is different.

Any work I do on any balance pipe systems includes cleaning the balance pipe and clamps and NOT clamping both sides together. In my experience so far (over 15 years) antiseize and leaving them able to slip with thermal cycles has stopped cracking. I love my balance pipes.

I have a set of uncracked original crossovers on my '74 850 but I'm still running them. It's a bit more of a pain to remove, although, realistically, it's not something one does very often. I have found it is hard to get the crossover to seal up tight and the air leak on overrun makes the exhaust pop a bit. Wurth makes some exhaust sealant stuff I may try. But I do have a set of 750 headers waiting for the longer exhaust nuts to come in.

I just dyno'd my bike with the crossovers. I'll put the non-crossover headers on and see what happens to hp and torque.

It'll be interesting to see the dyno results. Dunstall noted an improvement in power with a balanced pipe and recommended that setup for street machines back in the day, well before the 850 was in production. Later he developed his 2-1-2 header pipe. In his book, "Norton Tuning," the explanation/pic of a balanced system shows a corrugated crossover pipe which would therefore be a somewhat flexible piece as opposed to a hard pipe. I suspect that using a corrugated section as he did would eliminate any cracking. He notes that the balanced pipe arrangement delivered 5.8 more HP at 5500 RPM than a megaphone-equipped bike with individual pipes though at 7000RPM the meg-equipped bike was producing 2-3 more HP than the balanced pipe did at that RPM. He noted that for street riding, the balanced pipe was far superior.

(the above info is found in "Norton Tuning," page 22, Chapter VIII, Exhaust Systems)

mike996 said:

Thanks guys - good info. Sounds like the cracking issue with the balanced pipes makes them not worth the trouble and I guess that's why they have faded away. Guess I'll just stick with the 750 pipes. I was interested in in the balanced pipes due to a bit of power increase/slight noise reduction over the straight pipes/peashooters but it's not worth the hassle. Wonder if any sort of current hose - silicone or whatever - can handle the temps. A "soft" connection between the pipes would probably eliminate the cracking. Might not look too good though with a piece of orange or bright blue hose there!

Click to expand...

I used a piece of flexible exhaust pipe for a while on my '74 as the balance pipe. Looked like ass but it worked OK. I haven't been able to fit up a balance system since having the exhaust threads repaired years ago. I think the head was bored slightly off axis on one side and the balance tube just wouldn't mate properly any more. I don't miss it.

Well, I don''t have any interest in modding my motor to make more power but I would like to have the power that was there to start with. At 6500 feet, where the bike now lives/runs, it's down about 18% in HP compared to sea level power. But it's better than it was - up until about 6 months ago it lived/ran at 7400 ft...down 21% from sea level! So getting a few HP back by using the oem-type balanced pipe would be nice if possible.

Ask Matt Spencer about adding a dose of nitro-methane to perk her up a bit, [seriously, just enough to restore a bit of pep, Lance Armstrong, not Neil Armstrong, style].
Buy a bottle of R.C./I.C. model juice, ~20% N/M , mix it in a 20/1 ratio with your unleaded, wont hurt, I`ve tried it in bike/car/lawn mower, its a bit of fun..