Chamber ID Question

[Dusaki]

Could someone help me ID the pipes on my 550? The PO had the bike from 76 and parked it in 79. When I purchased the bike he insisted that they were stock. After a brief conversation I agreed because it seemed to be a lost cause in trying to change his mind.

[tz375]

Nice bike. From that era they would have to be Bassani but those usually had a rounded end cap in the muffler. The body certainly looks Bassani.

Denco pipes typically had a JEMCO like end cap, so I don't think that was the source.

The end of the muffler looks almost like a Strader, but Walt Strader didn't sell a 3 into 3 set of pipes AFAIK.

They are not Allspeeds, Figaroli, Bosson, Piper, Bromlech, JL, Ocelot, Higgspeed, Spec11, Jemco, Micron, TNT, FPP or Tomcats.

The only other pipes that they might be are J&R which were often sold as a slip on, but I found one picture that look like your pipes.

Someone must know what they are.

[Dusaki]

Thanks for the reply. If it helps they are a two piece design. The headtubes are seperate from the chambers. I disassembled one of the silencers and found that there is no "stinger" inside of the pipes. It is designed with the typical perforated tubing and glass packing. There are no numbers nor any mfg lettering whatsoever.

[titan performance]

Hi Dusaki.....lovely 550, and the pipes look really nice to me.....very similar to our own Titan stainless.

We will be making 750 3-3, and they will look very similar to yours when built.

As for identifying yours.....tz has covered all the corners, I can be of no further assistance.........sorry.

[Dusaki]

I appreciate the compliments titan. That cafe is quite the piece. I do have a question for you. I have had some racing history with KT100 Yamahas and other various 2 cycle engines. I can remember that none of them had silencers. Instead the stinger was surrounded by a can which had a 1/2" x 1 1/2" slot cut into the middle. This extra can would muffle the exhaust note for the nearby residents. I don't think any performance was lost with this setup. Has any exhaust builder that you know of used this design?

[tz375]

Not that I know off. That design would look a little huge on a bike with three large tubs on the back.

Many scooter chambers have the stinger (bleed) out of the reverse cone connected to a muffler that often points forward and down.

That perforated tube acts like a stinger from a wave perspective but allows noise to be dissipated. In fact many chambers end in a flat plate which hurts performance.

[Craig380]

That looks fantastic, great find!

The pipes're actually very similar to the pipes I got for my 380 a while back. Mine have a similar end cap held in with a circlip, then perforated tube which butts up against a sprung internal ring, which in turn butts up against a welded-in collar inside the chamber at the end of the convergent cone. Also, the header / cylinder attachment is the same, and yours has a 2-stage divergent cone leading to the belly of the pipe, like mine have.

Mine are also two-piece (separate header) but a previous owner has welded them. I couldn't establish what brand they were, but consulting with Higgsy, he reckoned they were very early Allspeeds. I have a copy of a magazine advert from the late 70s which shows Allspeed pipes that look very similar to yours and mine. The only other type of pipes made in the UK for Suzi triples was J&R (as mentioned by TZ375) but these had the two right-side pipes VERY widely-splayed, like on Kenny Roberts' TZ750 flat tracker.

The pipes work great on the street, on mine they have all the flexibility of the factory exhausts but a VERY healthy power boost when you hit 5,000rpm. They sound gorgeous too.

[Dusaki]

@tz: I know that the can in the picture is a bit large for any motorcycle application, but if you reduced the diameter to let's say the size of a stock pipe. It's just an idea I've had bouncing around.

@Craig: Thank you for the kind words. I don't have any experience with stock mufflers on this bike, but just like you said when the revs hit 5,000 you get a real big grin on your face.

[titan performance]

Not trying to hi-jack the thread....but Craig, did you buy those pipes off ebay some time back? maybe a year or so?

I sold some on there, and I think they could be the ones !
They made about £165 or so....

Pretty sure they were Allspeeds.

[Craig380]

@Titan -- yes, I got them two years ago, Sept / Oct 2009 ... if you shipped them to a Macclesfield / Cheshire address, that was me ... in fact I think you sent me a pic of one of your T500s in cafe / proddy racer trim, blue half fairing with a wraparound high pipe on the right ...?

Small world, eh?