Thank Goodness for Baling Wire

jaydee75 · Jul 12, 2020

Riding yesterday about 10 miles from home when I suddenly got a loud noise. I figured it was the exhaust pipe nut come loose so I coasted over to a shady spot and found the left side exhaust header had broken off just below the big nut. The only thing that kept my Dunstall from falling off and grinding on the pavement was the rear support rubber (45 years old). Amazing and thankful.
Of course everything was very hot and bunji or tie wraps would not work. Fortunately, I carry a small spool of SS mig wire in my tool bag. With that and visegrips I was able to tie it back up enough to get home without any damage. Furthur inspection shows the pipe was eroded from the inside and it looked like the chrome was the only thing left, paper thin. I guess it's time for new pipes, any suggestions for a Mk3?
If you ride an old British bike, I highly recommend carrying a length of good wire.
Jaydee

CanukNortonNut · Jul 12, 2020

Great Save JD,
I carry a small coil of safety lock-wire. Inside my handlebar tube I carry a length of copper wire as a means of bypassing my wiring loom to put power to the boyer or pas=z=on incase something goes south in the electrix . Something to get you home. I had a crossover system like yours on my 74 850 and I changed it over to singles to do away with this common failure at that welded area. If you need to keep it as original then tighten the crossover section last. I had to go up one main jet size with the single pipe system.
T

jbruney · Jul 12, 2020

I see you learned your lessons well and studied hard. Great save. May the 'Snort' remain forever with you.

Just realized reading your post I've copper wire stashed on board, but have forgotten the tie-wire which is so essential. Thanks for jogging my failing memory.

Bill C. · Jul 12, 2020

Been saved by my emergency stash of wire more than once over the years. Most recently a broken center stand spring. Used to carry fence wire but I've gone high class. Now it's mechanic wire.

jbruney · Jul 12, 2020

In the future it'll be referred to as malleable low carbon steel technical innovations strands.

concours · Jan 11, 2021

OP, My 850 pipe failed the same way (HIGH SPEED RUN) and here is how I fixed it:

Engineering compromises leading to exhaust threads stripped (2012)

Best I can see is, the exhaust threads being a problem area, is the result of multiple engineering EVOLUTION compromises. In the beginning, the head was cast iron and the threaded attachments probably worked just fine. Then the thread (head) material changed to softer aluminum... and they...

www.accessnorton.com

B+Bogus · Jan 11, 2021

Clearly some Farming stock in your ancestry

Torontonian · Jan 11, 2021

jaydee75 said:
Riding yesterday about 10 miles from home when I suddenly got a loud noise. I figured it was the exhaust pipe nut come loose so I coasted over to a shady spot and found the left side exhaust header had broken off just below the big nut. The only thing that kept my Dunstall from falling off and grinding on the pavement was the rear support rubber (45 years old). Amazing and thankful.
Of course everything was very hot and bunji or tie wraps would not work. Fortunately, I carry a small spool of SS mig wire in my tool bag. With that and visegrips I was able to tie it back up enough to get home without any damage. Furthur inspection shows the pipe was eroded from the inside and it looked like the chrome was the only thing left, paper thin. I guess it's time for new pipes, any suggestions for a Mk3?
If you ride an old British bike, I highly recommend carrying a length of good wire.
Jaydee

Feked.com in the U.K. supplied me recently with a set of separate pipes , the left side is the important side as it tucks in tighter to clear the MK 111 primary drain screw. It uses the MK 111 retainers system in the ports though , not the pre-75 system. I pour a bit of high heat silver exhaust paint into the pipes and swirl it around , then pour out and let dry set . This to help stop internal rusting and perhaps even some bluing. It sized up to the mufflers quite well and I recommend you go this route .

gortnipper · Jan 11, 2021

I had the same thing happen about 750k from home on a trip a couple years ago. But it was the silencer right in front of the weld that joins the neck in the front. Same type of rescue to get home. But, by that time all the vibration caused the sidestand pivot bolt to wear a hole thru the header as well.

JimNH · Jan 12, 2021

When I was a kid driving a wrecker I went out on a call. Seems an exhaust hangar broke on a kid's pickup truck. He wired it up real good to that big pipe that runs down the middle. You can imagine how that worked out

jbruney · Jan 12, 2021

The drive shaft?.... No way anyone is that stoopid... Is there?

gortnipper · Jan 13, 2021

jbruney said:
The drive shaft?.... No way anyone is that stoopid... Is there?

Dude.

Of course.

JimNH · Jan 13, 2021

When I got it back to the shop they had me back it onto a lift and I went out on another call. When I got back they were cutting the carnage off with a torch. The exhaust pipe was wrapped around the drive shaft a couple of times and the whole system was torn off from the engine back. The conclusion was that the wire slipped at first then grabbed and pulled the pipe in.

Yes, I guess the guy who tied it up had no idea the "pipe" turned!

Thank Goodness for Baling Wire

jaydee75

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CanukNortonNut

jbruney

Bill C.

jbruney

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Engineering compromises leading to exhaust threads stripped (2012)

B+Bogus

Torontonian

gortnipper

JimNH

jbruney

gortnipper

JimNH

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