sportster mufflers

Hi everyone. Not new to riding,but new to wrenching. I have an '82 xj650 that the P.O. apparently drilled holes in the bottom of the stock mufflers for whatever reason. I read on here that sportster mufflers could be used without re-jetting carbs,so I picked up a set of take offs. My question is,are these supposed to be straight through design? There are baffles along the inside walls but you can see straight thru. Thanks in advance. Gronk

 

yes

 

Holy jeepers! My keyboard hasn't even cooled off yet. From one Michigander to another,thank you I appreciate it dw.

 

I have Sportster mufflers on my 750 Seca (not gutted) and it sounds perfect. A bit louder than stock (nice low grumble) but not at all loud at highway speeds. They slipped right onto the stock header/collector openings without a problem. All I had to do is make my own hanger brackets using polished aluminum coming off the rear footpeg location, no problem. I did not have to rejet and the plugs are not indicating too lean conditions, so it's a go!

They look good too:

 

Narf? I thought they had to be adapted because the size was different -- at least that's what I remember reading on here somewhere. Plus, wasn't there some sort of restriction as to what model year of muffler could be used?

 

any year sportster mufflers, or would it have to be some specific one? and is it the same for a 650?

 

The size opening in my Sporster mufflers was the same exact size as the collector so they fit right on and clamped with the stock mufflers clamps, no problem. (my headers on my Seca are off of a '82 Maxim 750)
I am not sure what year Sporster mine were off of as I got them at a swap meet. You want to make sure you get the Harley mufflers that don't have the cross-over hole in them.

 

After a brief search, I found that someone in this thread suggested pre-2003.

 

Thanks guys, I greatly appreciate you help

 

any more pictures of that bike? Maybe some closeups and a rear view shot?

 

Samson,
I'll have to pull it out and see if I can get some close-up photos of the Harley mufflers on my scooter. Mine is an '82 Seca with the header/collector from an '82 Maxim on it. It had an after market exhaust system on it when I bought it, so I'm not sure if there is a difference between the stock systems between the Scea and Maxim. I believe the collector outlet had 1-1/4" O.D. outlets on it, which was a perfect fit for the Sporster mufflers.
If your having trouble finding Harley mufflers, you may try looking into exhaust systems from other brands that have been removed. There's a bunch of new V-twin owners that put after market exhaust systems on their bikes and sellthe stock ones for fairly reasonable prices. You may need to get adapters from a local auto store if the inlets/outlets area different size. Most of the time just a slice of thinwall tubing is all it takes to reduce the muffler inlet enough for it to fit tight. I've used that idea more than once to fit mufflers onto smaller headers. Just a thought.

 

he means 1.75"

 

OOPS! Yes, the inlets on the muffler are 1-3/4" not 1-1/4". Sorry.

 

I’ll keep my eye out for other setups.
What really concerned me was that my stock header has slight turns as it exits the back, but sportster cans are perfectly straight,
which would make them stick out to the sides all crazy.

I also found someone selling a pair of Suzuki GSXR1300 (hayabusa) cans for $50.
It’s an interesting look, but I don’t know if triangular cans will look good on a seca (I don’t have much of imagination).
Has anyone seen this before?



In truth, I wouldn’t even mind the stock cans if mine weren’t crushed and rusty.

 

The turn out on the header collector is just enough of an angle to let the mufflers clear the swingarm and axle, so no, they don't stick out too far. Just enough to make them look like they came on the bike.
I'll get some photos of mine today and get them posted for ya later then.

 

I took a few pictures of my mufflers for ya:

 

After seeing the way they look on your bike Painter I took the plunge and bought these on Fleabay tonight.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayI ... MEWAX%3AIT

 

gday painter,those mufflers look good, can you tell me is the rest of your system stock with the collector pipes or not,thanks

 

Ken,
My bike is a '82 Seca, although it doesn't look like it now with all the fabrications and mods I did to it. The exhaust system (headers and collector) is one off of an '82 Maxim. It was a perfect fit with no mods, so I assume the Seca and Maxim use the same exhaust. The mufflers slipped right onto the collector with no mods. I just clamped them on and made my own hanger braces from the frame to the mufflers. Like I said, they almost look like they came on the bike.

 

Looks good PainterD! Thanks for pics.

 

You guys intersted in the Harley mufflers...
After looking at Ebay as some of the stock mufflers, I would think the bigger/longer touring mufflers would work also and look good on these bikes. They look like the exhaust outlet on the back is larger and they look more like classic mufflers, if that's the look your interested in. Just a thought.

 

Thanks for the pics. That does look nice and clean.

 

thank you

 

I was wondering around the Harley swap meet at Bike week in Daytona this week and those pipes are everywhere. You can pick up a near new set for $50.

 

Yes they go fairly cheap here too. I offered the guy $20 at a swap meet and he told me if they're there when they closed, he'd give them to me for $25, so I got'm. Mine were brand spanking new.
He had'm laying on a towel to keep them from getting scratched, not like some of the vendors, who have them mixed in a box of other parts. By the end of the day, the boxes get picked thru and the parts al all scratched and missing bolts/screws that you may want. Swap meets are a good place to find what your not exactly looking for, but you can barter some good deals.

 

One last questin before I commit to buying a set...

Since sportster mufflers seam to be more of less a straight through design, will the loss in back-pressure cause any noticable changes in drivability?
I ran the bike with no mufflers, and it felt very sluggish below 3K rpm, and really quick after 3K.

 

these bikes seem to run pretty good on stock jetting with the sporty mufflers, mine are nice and tan and i've had the pipes on for awhile. i also still have to stock airbox on.

 

Hey, this is interesting stuff on these mufflers since I am in the process of restoring a 81' Seca 750 and the original mufflers are pretty shot. Would replace them with originals until I found out that Yamaha wants over $1,200 for the pair! What a SUCK you wallet job! Your idea of Harley mufflers is one I was thinking about but I also was concerned with the turn out of the collector pipes! Now my mind is at ease, I can go to the next swap meet and look for a pair of Harley Sportster mufflers with my mind at ease on the subject! Last year I saw quite a few pairs of these at garage sales cheap! How much you want to bet that this year I don't see them? grunt007, 81'Seca XJ750R, Mi.

 

I've been very happy with my sportster mufflers over the past couple years. I welded them on and never looked back. Plugs indicate a good burn AFAIK.

 

there are chrome and also black (which i have) varieties kickin around so depending on your header pipes and color scheme there is likely something that will match up.

 

Update -
I did not have to rejet after installing the Harley mufflers. I did however re-synch the carbs to make sure they were still balanced properly and adjust the air screws on the carbs before riding it. It seems to start and run good and the plugs are light brown colored, so everything is good.
I used to have louder mufflers on it, but for any meaningful distance, they were too annoying for me, so I needed to find something that was quieter out on the open road, but still have a nice deep rumble at idle. I found the Harley stock mufflers to be the best of both worlds for me. At 75-80 MPH, my bike is running to high RPMs to sound very good with loud exhasut on it.

 

Hey guys, this write up on the Harley Sportster mufflers is just what I have always thought that a good bike web site should be about. I am in the process of sort of re-erecting a 1981 XJ750R Seca. It is proving to teach me a great respect for the Seca. Darn shame no one builds things like this today, especially cars! One of the items I have been very concerned about was the stock mufflers. At first I thought there was just a couple of holes on the front side of them and I was just going to mig weld them. Then I turned them over and saw the back side-YUK! The stock mufflers look great on these bikes so I looked up the price to replace the original mufflers, $1,200+ Yuk!!!!%^%*&^*(( again! This is why YOur article on the Sportster mufflers was great! They look great, I am sure they will last much longer and I am going to the next swap meet to see if I can find a pair for my bike. Thanks again-great write up! grunt007, Mi.,1981 Yamaha XJ750R Seca

 

I picked my sporty mufflers up for 30$ locally off CL,as new condition. Didn't touch the carbs,plug color is fine.They sound like PainterD described.