kyojitsu Posted May 15, 2015 Share Posted May 15, 2015 Hi folks, I tried to repair some holes on my '99s OE steel exhaust and of course they've not lasted so I've bitten the bullet and picked up a really nice polished stainless steel set of headers and collector box from Motad - it was the last one of a batch on ebay so got a good price. Anyway - I wondered what I should definitely budget for in terms of clamps, studs, gaskets etc? The OE parts prices are insane in the UK so want to avoid going unecessarily overboard, even with aftermarket versions. I'm assuming the various gaskets are a must. What else would you guys advise? The rear header clamps look pretty cruddy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Dutchy Posted May 15, 2015 Member Contributer Share Posted May 15, 2015 Practise shouting: "AAAAAH YA BASS" So you come prepared when on of those studs snaps off..... Yes on the gaskets, ensure you have removed the old ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyojitsu Posted May 25, 2015 Author Share Posted May 25, 2015 Not many replies so either post was of no interest or no one really knows. I took the safe option and got a set of studs and bolts on eBay in stainless plus a pair of stainless clamps for the rear pipes. Glad I did - the clamps were almost a solid lump of rust and unusable. Amazingly I managed to extract all of the header nuts without snapping or shearing, although did managed to remove a couple of studs at the same time since the nuts were seized. Anyway - for anyone else embarking on this rather inevitable job, who is also a bit of a newbie to it all, you will definitely need (in addition to the usual selection of sockets and hex sizes): 1) Plusgas or equivalent - douse every solid looking nut, clamp and fastener with it 24 hours before you get stuck in. It's miracle stuff and will save you pain and misery. WD40 will not do. 2) a big-ass socket and breaker bar to undo the swing arm pivot nut and get the foot peg and rear brake lever bracket assembly out if the way - I'd say without doing this it's almost impossible to complete the job. Anyway - it's a 27mm and bound to be the one you haven't got and I scoured everywhere to find the right size. Even the service manual neglects to give the size. Now you know. 3) copper grease - for all the nuts and fasteners that the previous owner neglected to treat and caused you a world of pain 4) a new set of gaskets as the old ones will be useless 5) remove everything that will get in your way on the right side of the bike - removing the rear pipes is awkward enough so give yourself the room (and that includes the rear wheel). 6) latex gloves - this is the filthiest job I've attempted on the bike and your hands will thank you. Hope this of use to someone. Take your time, drink tea and set aside a good few hours. This is quite a big job especially if you have small kids interrupting you on a regular basis...! Now to fit the new pipes...here's a pic of the rusted mess of the old system: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer VFRMAN Posted May 25, 2015 Member Contributer Share Posted May 25, 2015 Didn't see your post till now,one piece of advice I'd give you is to trim the lower edge of the right side fairing before you refit it, otherwise it will start melting against the motad headers which are a litlle closer to the fairing than the oem ones were. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer adeyren Posted May 25, 2015 Member Contributer Share Posted May 25, 2015 Didn't see your post till now,one piece of advice I'd give you is to trim the lower edge of the right side fairing before you refit it, otherwise it will start melting against the motad headers which are a litlle closer to the fairing than the oem ones were. I didn't - it melted. Saoirse is right. For those hard to get off studs, these look interesting http://www.teng.co.uk/tools/extractors-pullers/st12506-c-st12512-c-teng-tools-1-2-drive-roller-type-stud-extractor.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RazorWing Posted May 25, 2015 Share Posted May 25, 2015 Very nice! Post some pictures of the finished product. I'm debating on replacing with Delvic or trying to restore my OE on my '98 this winter. They are not leaking, but are a little nasty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyojitsu Posted May 26, 2015 Author Share Posted May 26, 2015 Didn't see your post till now,one piece of advice I'd give you is to trim the lower edge of the right side fairing before you refit it, otherwise it will start melting against the motad headers which are a litlle closer to the fairing than the oem ones were. Interesting - did you fit yours quite recently? I'm surprised that a glaring error like that hasn't been picked up by Motad. They're usually quite good at keeping tabs on what's going on especially on forums. I'll be looking closely when I refit. When you say lower edge of rh fairing do you mean directly under bike? How did you trim it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowdog Posted May 26, 2015 Share Posted May 26, 2015 Rather than spend on a new SS system, the headers from VTEC and later Fi's are Stainless and compatible. It is a relatively straight forward job to cut out the cat (If your 800 is Fiw to X) and have the flap Stainless welded (I paid a chap £20 for that) The pipes fit easily, although they are narrower so the rear pipes need changing too, but no problems with melting the fairing lowers. Lots of plus gas as mentioned. Luckily all the studs on my FiW came out without a hitch. (after 15yrs!!) Not sure I'd use copper grease on the header studs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Dutchy Posted May 26, 2015 Member Contributer Share Posted May 26, 2015 Ceramic paste if any. ymmv Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer VFRMAN Posted May 26, 2015 Member Contributer Share Posted May 26, 2015 The headers had been replaced on the bike just before I bought her, they hadn't started melting the fairing yet,just very slightly, I removed the right side fairing and trimmed maybe a half inch or so of the underside,I used a small dremel tool,but it's easy to trim, I've seen a few other vfrs with motad headers with the fairing underside melted against the header,so I knew what to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyojitsu Posted May 31, 2015 Author Share Posted May 31, 2015 Today finally got some time to fit the new pipes. In the meantime, I've been gathering the right seals and clamps - Motad supplied most of them but didn't have a seal/gasket for the link pipe and collector box pipe. The original owner didn't seem to have bothered with anything for the old system and it's a fairly tight fit but I'd like to do a proper job. Happened to be passing a Honda dealer and rashly bought an OE seal...which cost a fortune and is the wrong diameter...aaaggh! I forgot that the OE silencer has an enlarged end to allow for a chunky seal. So anyway - what did you all use to seal your link pipe connection? Nothing? Paste? Solid gasket? Silicone sealant from DIY store? I've seen all these suggestions but need a VFR owner opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverbullet132 Posted May 31, 2015 Share Posted May 31, 2015 Rather than spend on a new SS system, the headers from VTEC and later Fi's are Stainless and compatible. It is a relatively straight forward job to cut out the cat (If your 800 is Fiw to X) and have the flap Stainless welded (I paid a chap £20 for that) The pipes fit easily, although they are narrower so the rear pipes need changing too, but no problems with melting the fairing lowers. Lots of plus gas as mentioned. Luckily all the studs on my FiW came out without a hitch. (after 15yrs!!) Not sure I'd use copper grease on the header studs. you 100% sure on that one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyojitsu Posted June 1, 2015 Author Share Posted June 1, 2015 Nearly there. Motad system fit isn't bad at all - it was a fiddly, long job but that's just about the rear cylinder head being hard to get at and the studs being difficult to relocate at the correct angle. Probably more to do with my inexperience too. Lots of swearing and awkward contorted positions. Anyway - the problem I have currently is that Motad sent me useless port gaskets (but decent clamps and sleeves for the rear link pipes....?). Way too thick and don't seat properly so they fall out just as you lift the pipe into position and then find there's not enough thread poking through to tighten the nut.... Note to self: order in proper gaskets from Honda next time. On their way. I'll report back with pictures of finished job and whether the fairing might melt or not... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer shaynus Posted June 3, 2015 Member Contributer Share Posted June 3, 2015 Hi kyojitsu. Did you contact Motad about the issues you're having with the gassets seemly wrong or missing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyojitsu Posted June 5, 2015 Author Share Posted June 5, 2015 Yeah - they owned up and said it was their mistake. They'll be sending me a spare set now I've bought OEM replacements off David Silver. Annoying but one of those things. NB regarding the fit and melting fairing etc here's what Motad said in respons eto my question via email: "we have sold this system for 15 years- and we are on version 6- each time improving fit and reducing production costs (and therefore cost to you)there is not a problem and we would react immediately if there waswith any welded structure- its important that clearances are checked and the item is in the right place and tightened gradually- anyone having an issue may well have not done thiseven if mild pressure (with a third hand!) is put on whilst fitting to maintain gaps- then as soon as the engine is started the exhaust will "relax " into place" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RazorWing Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 Still waiting on pictures... I'm going to go Delvik or Motad (seeing how those are the only options) this winter if I can't fully restore mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyojitsu Posted June 8, 2015 Author Share Posted June 8, 2015 OK here's a few pics without the fairing back on: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Mohawk Posted June 8, 2015 Member Contributer Share Posted June 8, 2015 Neat. Just an FYi you don't need to remove the foot peg ! Just drop the master cylinder off the peg & remove the heat shield. I replaced my Motad with TBR full system, just need a nice long reach 1/4" socket extension with a wiggle head, so you can slide it between the rear headers & undo the nuts at a slightly less than dead straight angle. But the nuts on mine were not seized, I also recommend PlusGas top stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyojitsu Posted June 9, 2015 Author Share Posted June 9, 2015 I knew it was going unusually smoothly. Houston, we have a problem.... This is looking directly underneath the bike. The others were right - it runs too close to the fairing and prevents the well-nut being tightened to fasten the lower fairing. Everywhere else it fits so I'm not going to blame my work for a change. This is very annoying and I guess I have little option than to cut around it. AAAAAAARGHH!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer rhoderage Posted June 9, 2015 Member Contributer Share Posted June 9, 2015 Send them this picture, and if the other poster who noted this issue could send in his picture of the 'trim-job', perhaps they will correct in version 7! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyojitsu Posted June 9, 2015 Author Share Posted June 9, 2015 Yep - currently in email conversation with them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Switchblade Posted June 9, 2015 Member Contributer Share Posted June 9, 2015 Dremel tool. Roll On . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer VFRMAN Posted June 9, 2015 Member Contributer Share Posted June 9, 2015 Told ya I seen 3 vfrs with the lower right fairing melted because of this,just trim a small piece off it,it's not noticeable underneath the bike anyway,I doubt Motad would be bothered changing their design at this stage but ya never know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyojitsu Posted June 10, 2015 Author Share Posted June 10, 2015 Saoirse32 - yeah I should have listened but to be fair Motad have been pretty good so far. I sent them pics and they quickly investigated and checked the jig they use, sent me a pic of a set on it and have offered to send me that as a replacement. Two possibilities here - we've been unlucky and quality control is a bit lax or their jig is plain wrong. I'll guess I'll find out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Switchblade Posted June 10, 2015 Member Contributer Share Posted June 10, 2015 Or we have 3 wrong plastic covers. Roll On ..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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