1981 Midnight Maxim Muffler removal

Hello Forum, im in the process of removing the muffler so I can fix a rust hole under it.
So far Ive removed 3 bolts check images below.

Before hitting the thing whit a rubber mallet, I will like to know if there are other bolts that I should remove to free the muffler from the bike. Thanks in advance!


Bolts that Ive removed




I see two more bolts under the bike should I remove them also?

 

The lower bolt in front of the blue line is the muffler bracket behind it. Also remove the clamp where the muffler enters the box.

 

It should come off try twisting the muffler mabe the joint gasket holding it.

 

Thanks Franz! I’ll try that out as soon as the the rain goes. By the way, the clamp where the muffler enters the box is it the clamp as the picture below?

 

Yes l am sure it is.

 

Some people are fitting Harley Sportster mufflers on their bikes just another option if you need mufflers at any time.

 

Franz Thanks for clarifying ,now I feel more confident for removing the muffler without damaging something else , I’ll keep it original with the black chrome muffler. I’m a big fan of preserving things to its original state.

 

Well they look great the way Yamaha made them.

 

Penetrating oil and time will be your friends in this tasks. There is a friction-fit copper "sleeve" gasket fitted on the forward end of the muffler can where it enters the collector, and over time these seize up and make the muffler a beast to "wiggle" out of the collector (since you don't have much leverage at that point).

 

chacal thanks for pointing that out. I soaked them with WD-40, but I guess I’ll have to get something like penetrating oil as you mentioned.

you mentioned the sleeve(gasket) I see that the book mentions 3 of them, should I get them in brass the original NOS or after market reproductions? I don’t know if it makes a difference between one or another.

 

Well, I forgot for a moment that this is an XJ650 Maxim that you're working on, so you have 3 times the fun removing the "muffler" since the mufflers and the crossover pipe make up the "collector" system (all other models have a separate cast-iron collector between the header pipes and the mufflers). So you'll need the big family-sized can of penetrating oil, and perhaps a rubber mallet or two.

The original gaskets are copper with a white insulating material (not sure if the originals were asbestos or not, but wear a mask anyway), most aftermarket gaskets are a slick, smooth, grey compressed graphite (I believe), and either one will work just fine.

If penetrating oil and mallet blows doesn't do the trick, you may have to end up dropping the entire exhaust system (header pipes and muffler units) as a single unit, and then start by removing the 2 header pipes where they go into each muffler/collector unit............this way you can "twist-and-pull" on each header pipe individually to "prize" (as Haynes likes to call it) the system apart. On traditional exhaust system bikes, each muffler has only one joint into the collector box, and thus the muffler (even while everything is still on the bike) can be twisted and wiggled and eventually pulled apart........not easily, mind you, it can be a job for jesus on the best of days.....but typically with a good enough supply of curse words it can be done. It's the twisting action (more so than the pulling-apart force) that breaks the seizure that occurs at those gasket joints which have been together, probably, for 40+ years.

 

Chacal thanks For the follow up! I’ll get to work on the exhausts this week and let you guys know how it went.

cheers!