Arata High Level Exhaust Project Sp to Storm conversion

[VTRDark]

Arata High Level Exhaust Project Sp to storm conversion

I just won some Arata exhausts on (you guessed it) Fleabay.

Go on then

Photographs:
Please click on the thumbnails to view larger image.
The password for the Album "Arata Exhaust Project" is vtr1000








































Thanks to eBay for donating the pics

THE IDEA
To change my low level road legal Microns for Arata Titanium Slip On Exhaust for Honda VTR1000 SP-1 RC51. These are also high level so hoping to kill two birds with one stone. It's my preference to keep the rear pegs but if there is no option, the cans win. Me and the bike have both fallen out with the Microns lol

FIRST OFF
What I'm Planning on doing is to polish the titanium up. I will hand polish (keeping the Titanium look) using wet n dry going through the grades, 240 down to 2000. This should clean them up nice. I may or may not remove the one Arata badge. I'm either going to replace one or get rid of one and fill the rivet holes with chemical metal. I would like to get the dents out, but to do that it means stripping the cans down. I'm not sure I want to do that!

What do you think about it? Do think this is the right approach? I'm open to suggestions/ideas please.

SECOND
The more challenging part, mounting them on to mid pipes. This could lead to head banging moments lol
I want to keep all the Titanium pipes if I can, I'm not planning on cutting them down or changing them, plus I feel it's part of the design by Arata. It could affect the exhaust gas flow and I feel the bellowing (is that the right word?) of the pipes is important to the performance and smooth running of the engine. I may have to re-jet my carbs at some stage, but I'm hoping I don't have to. Apparently there is no need with Arata's! We'll see.

So that leaves me with the midpipes. Yet again I'm open to suggestions/ideas please? Has any one else tried or had experience with this? I'm thinking I may get lucky with either storm or SP midpipes, with a bit of cutting down, maybe a chop and weld here and there. I also have to take into consideration the length of each pipe on it's route to the Arata pipes. Should these ideally be equal, and how would this effect thing's? I must admit I don't know/understand much about gas flow when it comes to the design and shape of pipes!

I know the circumference/diameter is going to be problem and I think I may get away with something like this:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/250879772402? ... 1423.l2649 if I had the option of a flaring tool I would use that! but I think that would be an expensive addition to my toolkit for something that won't get used very often.

Maybe someone out there will have one I could borrow. We will see, if I need one!

Is this the right approach or should I just get a firm to make some custom midpipes for me? I have no idea how much that would cost or even where to go. I thought maybe PJ Engineering could help http://www.pjengineering.co.uk/ or JAC Exhausts http://www.jacexhausts.co.uk/

Is there any others I should check out, and has any one got any ideas on how much it would cost to have custom made link pipes?

Gonna need some help from you good folks with this one "scratching my head" Please get technical if you have to, I'm here to learn, and If I don't understand something, I will ask.

I know there's a lot to take onboard here and I don't expect all the answers at once. This is going to be an on going project, so in return I will explain how it's going, what works and does not, and post plenty of pics and maybe some video along the way, and defo one as a completed project. BRrrrrroooooommmmmmmm BRrrrrroooooommmmmmmm Can't wait to hear what they are going to sound like, let alone the way it will change the feel/running of the bike. fingers crossed.

Arata due for delivery on Wednesday.



I'm hoping this will turn into a good guide for anyone else intending to do a similar mod.

Looking forward to hearing what you got to say, so I shall float this out there and see what happens.

Thanks for reading

(:-})

[agentpineapple]

you could try flowtech in chadwell heath essex for making at set of link/mid pipes carl. they do hand made race car exhausts, i had my mondeo exhausts converted there, i'm pretty sure they do bikes aswell, there ain't much they don't know about exhausts.
http://www.flowtechexhausts.co.uk/
good luck with it mate, you might want to ask forum members if they have any pictures of high level link pipes, or if they have a set that you could borrow as a template.
good luck with it mate, i'll see you before thursday....

[bluestoesonnose]

Microns eh???

Mmmm Microns...

[agentpineapple]

carbon fibre microns actually, they look mint and sound very nice indeed.....

[VTRDark]

you could try flowtech in chadwell heath essex

Thanks for link buddy shall bookmark for now!

Microns eh???

Mmmm Microns...

carbon fibre microns actually, they look mint and sound very nice indeed.....

Yes and they will probably go up for sale eventually. But they are not carbon, just the road legal stainless jobbies.

Maybe BSM's new cans have not only made him deaf, but upsetting his vision too

Cheers

(:-})

[tony.mon]

But you can re-sleeve anything, with any finish, if that's what you want.

[agentpineapple]

you could try flowtech in chadwell heath essex

Thanks for link buddy shall bookmark for now!

Microns eh???

Mmmm Microns...

carbon fibre microns actually, they look mint and sound very nice indeed.....

Yes and they will probably go up for sale eventually. But they are not carbon, just the road legal stainless jobbies.

Maybe BSM's new cans have not only made him deaf, but upsetting his vision too

Cheers

(:-})

i got mixed up with simons carbon arrows.....oops

[VTRDark]

But you can re-sleeve anything, with any finish, if that's what you want.

No Titanium Sleeves here though http://www.pjengineering.co.uk/products.php?cat=8 Doh

SUMMERY
Cans turned up as promised. It all looks in reasonably good nick. After removing a ton of bubble wrap that I had to surgically remove the dents don't look as big in the flesh. So might not bother removing them at first! I would like them removed at some point at maybe a later date. The only thing I noticed is that in one of the cans. There is a rattle, like a small stone caught in between the wadding and perforated tube. Gave the can a good shake and nothing fell out.
On the other can, the perforated tube is slightly loose, has a bit of side to side movement along the length. It' only about 10mm play and I figured it wont rattle with the bike running. Reason being the back pressure will force it to the rear that 10mm as far is will go, up against the end cap. Well that's what I'm hoping Any suggestions on that please. Is there another solution?

This does have me wondering if I should strip the cans right down. It's just so much more work. but it would mean I can sort the stone and the loose tube out. And not only will it make it easier to clean and polish, but I could have a go at removing the dents now rather than later. I thought maybe a bodyshop dolly would help here and maybe a bit of heat to help smooth things out. Your thought on that please?


Took some pics of my own:

Photographs:
Please click on the thumbnails to view larger image.
The password for the Album "Arata Exhaust Project" is vtr1000

left and right cans, one side

left and right cans, other side

Close ups of bad areas not including grime.



I decided I will remove the other badge, drill rivets out and fill holes. Most probably with Chemical Metal or similar. Would you folks agree this is a good approach?

Link pipes all look good.

Not sure which ones would be left and right on the Sp but I shall have a play. I suspect the top is the left, so please correct if I'm wrong.

got some baffles too

Do we want these.

and some accessories, but no nuts and bolts.

After having a play around it looks like things may be easier than I originally thought

He says

I may not need to use mid link pipes and the cans may fit straight on apart from the circumference. Shape of pipes is looking good! I think my biggest problem is going to be mounting them. I may have to settle for, not so high rise pipes, but maybe a more upright/diagonal approach like on the SP's. I may even get away with using the original pillion pegs/hangers, we'll see. Any thoughts/suggestions here?

I was going to whip a Micron off and line things up and see what the pipe circumferences/diameter would be like. Got me tools out, and guess what! It started to bloody rain. Why is it, it always rains when I want to work on my bike Packed me tools up and it stopped So given up for the day. I'm off out tonight and I shall attack it again tomorrow.

I will start with removing the badge and badge rivets and have a good surface clean and polish up. Wet N Dry time Any suggestions to what grade I should start with? is this the right approach using Wet N Dry on Titanium?

Thanks for reading

(:-})

[Wicky]

Not sure on abrasive wet&dry on titanium

I'd try brasso first >

If you do try wet&dry then maybe on a hidden small area first and using a 1200 superfine grit

fill holes...with Chemical Metal or similar

\

I'd have thought the filler would blow out - and brazing or soldering titanium is a specialist job. Easier to re-rivet.

[Snoogle]

I'd have thought the filler would blow out - and brazing or soldering titanium is a specialist job. Easier to re-rivet.

I concur

[agentpineapple]

i can't add much advice carl, as you well know my capabilities are limited
but i'm looking forward to seeing the end result, i very much like the upswept look of sp cans, there won't be many storms with that look, fingers crossed it will sound as good as mine...

[agentpineapple]

i saw these and thought of you buddy...
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Titanium-Moto ... 23170ef531

[VTRDark]

UPDATE
Not done much today, pulled a mucle or twisted something in my lower back. It wombles nag's me. It's at the stage when lifting a kettle of water pulls. Owww.

So started to have a go at cleaning and polishing.

Not sure on abrasive wet&dry on titanium

I'd try brasso first >

If you do try wet&dry then maybe on a hidden small area first and using a 1200 superfine grit

Thanks, wicky, advice taken on board! After reading so many different aproaches on the net. Some say wire wool, some say the Blue bar for stainless/chrome (You know the type! ) some say this or that metal polish/abrasive. Typical Internet, go round in circles, read everything and still know nothing

So I decided to give the Brasso a go, lets start with the less abrasive/harsh products and test out on the pipes first befor attacking the cans. Out with the Brasso. And I like a bit of Brasso! I used to polish a ships Binnacle. So rub a dub dub a while later thing's where polishing up. Brasso seemed to be working well but was hard going and did not attack the blueing yellowing too well.

I got some Bar Keepers Friend in the cubbord, I decided to give that a go. Had a read of the label and it contains Oxalic Acid, Argh MMmmm So quick web search found out a bit about this acid, and it turns out it's used in anodizing metals, which increases corrosion and wear resistance. Oxalic acid also aids in the removel of rust. So, good stuff, I gave it a go, and boy doe's this stuff work.

Like I said I did not do much, but I have made a start.

Photographs:
Please click on the thumbnails to view larger image.
The password for the Album "Arata Exhaust Project" is vtr1000

As I was only working on one pipe I have some comparison shots for you.






I know it's far from perfect, but that was after the first good rub. Tommorows events will be more of the same. A bit of Bar Keepsers Friend to start and then the Brasso.

fill holes...with Chemical Metal or similar

\

I'd have thought the filler would blow out - and brazing or soldering titanium is a specialist job. Easier to re-rivet.

I concur

Cheers whicky and Snoogle, that's somthing I am going to look into. I don't like the idea of rivets and no badge. I might just contact Arata and find out how many £££££££££ a replacement badge is I dread to think.

After writing this:

On the other can, the perforated tube is slightly loose, has a bit of side to side movement along the length. It' only about 10mm play and I figured it wont rattle with the bike running. Reason being the back pressure will force it to the rear that 10mm as far is will go, up against the end cap

I found this on one of the exhaust manufacurers sites today. Can't remember which one I just copied and pasted as notes. I thought it was intersting.

Talk about exhausts and very often the terms ‘back pressure’ or the ‘right back pressure’ come up. Back pressure is only caused by restriction and has little or nothing to do with performance exhaust design. Although modern OE superbike exhaust systems are very well designed and can reduce noise levels to conform to emissions laws without offering much actual back pressure these systems are to some degree restrictive. Performance exhausts work by “pulse tuning” which is the use of the correct pipe lengths and diameters and correct collector configurations to tune the exhaust pulses to help to fill and scavenge the cylinders. This will increase the volumetric efficiency, which will increase power and torque. Therefore only restrictive exhausts would suffer back pressure. Racefit exhausts do not offer any restriction.

i saw these and thought of you buddy...
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Titanium-Moto ... 23170ef531

Cheers for the link buddy, you can keep them ones coming! I am trying to find companies for titanium sleeves. What I must do is get some exact measurments of what I have. Got my new Micrometer to play with

That's me done for the night, time to take some pain killers and get some sleep.

Thanks for your help everyone

(:-})

[VTRDark]

HERE WE GO AGAIN
Yet again didn't do much, bad back and all that. The first thing I done was to remove/drill out the badge rivits and the other badge. This would make everthing easier to polish up. Sat in the garden and started on one of the cans. I decided with the Bar Keepers Friend to instead of making a paste out of it. But to have a bowl of powder and a bowl of water, then dip the rag in the water and then in the powder. Then apply like that instead, this seems to work loads better. Got rid of all the road tar and chain lube shite etc that was stuck to it.I then got the brasso out for the final polish up.

Photographs:
Please click on the thumbnails to view larger image.
The password for the Album "Arata Exhaust Project" is vtr1000

The two cans side by side comparison.






Left exhaust including link pipe polished up.




Tell you what, I am mighty impressed with the build quality, especially the welds on these exhausts.

The only thing that's left to give good polish over is the right hand can. Both link pipes are done and the exhaust clamps done. I'm hoping to get back out there tommorow if the weather is good.

Once everything's cleaned and polished up, it's on to stage two. Seeing how they will mount and fit on the bike.

Checked out the prices of Arata silencer badge/badges, this will make you laugh!
Arata (medium size) Emblem 480 mm Silencer
http://aratausacom.host-manager.com/pro ... tid=412994
and if I want replacement Titanium sleaves.
480 mm Titanium Silencer Sleeve
http://aratausacom.host-manager.com/pro ... tid=412993

I guess I will leave them till when I have some loose change.

Any suggestion on exhaust hanger's to replace my OM ones? I was hoping the SP 1's would fit, but after a bit of reseach it seems they wont fit without drilling holes in the subframe. The diemeter of the mounting holes is different. I was looking at getting some SP1 Harris ones to fit. Doh
Basically I'm gonna need somthing shorter than the standard storm hangers. The I should get the angle up more on the cans. That's my thinking anyway!

That's me done. Thanks for reading

(:-})

[tony.mon]

Re the angle, on the LH side that works fine, but as the angle that the link pipe on the RH side enters the system at a near 45 degree angle, swivelling it upwards also swivels it outwards as well.