Fletch
Member
Is that the Grube exhaust? I heard it's really loud? Looks awesome on your bike though. What exactly did you do on the end of it? Those little bikes look fun to ride.
Vintage bike with 16" wheels- Will it work with a HT?
- Thread starter Fletch
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motorpsycho
Active Member
no, the exhaust is an expansion chamber from spooky tooth.
I used the stock muffler and modified the baffle inside for more flow.
Yes, the pipe is very loud without a baffle or muffler on the end of it.
Mine is just a little louder than it was when i just had the stock exhaust on it.
I used the stock muffler and modified the baffle inside for more flow.
Yes, the pipe is very loud without a baffle or muffler on the end of it.
Mine is just a little louder than it was when i just had the stock exhaust on it.
Fletch
Member
Ok I see the stock exhaust on the end now. so you just welded it on? I'm pretty sure that expansion from Spooky is the Grubee chamber: http://www.grubeeinc.com/USA/SkyHawk.htm It's hard to see but it's almost all the way to the bottom. Part E-ECES. What kind of performance gain do you notice with it? Have you tried a SBP chamber to compare the two?
motorpsycho
Active Member
yes, it looks exactly like the grubee pipe but mine is labeled as A SKYHAWK CHAMBER.
http://spookytoothcycles.com/compon...age=vmj_ace.tpl&product_id=444&category_id=93
As far as a performance gain, i think i gained about 2-3 mph on the top end, and the low-mid range pulls a little better than the stock exhaust. it's not a night and day difference, but it did make an improvement through the entire rpm range. I think the sbp chamber works better, and it's also tuneable.....but is more expensive and trickier to mount on certain bikes.
Well, i took the stock baffle out of the stock muffler and modified it by drilling 3 holes in the baffle plate for better flow. then i stuffed the baffle up inside the stock muffler housing, hiding it up inside so it looks like a big straightpipe.
I welded on a 4" length of pipe between the chamber and the muffler, which added a slight amount of lower end torque than running the chamber with no muffler at all.
http://spookytoothcycles.com/compon...age=vmj_ace.tpl&product_id=444&category_id=93
As far as a performance gain, i think i gained about 2-3 mph on the top end, and the low-mid range pulls a little better than the stock exhaust. it's not a night and day difference, but it did make an improvement through the entire rpm range. I think the sbp chamber works better, and it's also tuneable.....but is more expensive and trickier to mount on certain bikes.
Well, i took the stock baffle out of the stock muffler and modified it by drilling 3 holes in the baffle plate for better flow. then i stuffed the baffle up inside the stock muffler housing, hiding it up inside so it looks like a big straightpipe.
I welded on a 4" length of pipe between the chamber and the muffler, which added a slight amount of lower end torque than running the chamber with no muffler at all.
Fletch
Member
Nice... Yeah Grubee makes the "Skyhawk" engines. I have a SBP pipe and I like it aside from the fact it isn't chrome and all one piece. I really need to learn to weld. I have a stock pipe that broke loose and I will post a pic where the small welding broke. It would be easy to fix if I new how. Is it cost effective to rent welding gear just for something like this? I know it is really expensive to buy your own right? There's a welding class at the community college I may take next semester. I saw some disposable welding torches at Harbor Freight when I was there last. I have no helmet, but maybe there are goggles?
motorpsycho
Active Member
well, renting welding gear may be more expensive than just buying a new pipe in my opinion, Unless you have more stuff to weld.
yes a good mig welder will run you around $400.00 - $500.00 depending on what you get. you don't want welding torches for this sort of thing. you need a wire feed welder that uses gas to cool the weld (usually argon) but now they make then where no gas is required, and the wire has flux built in it to promote good weld adhesion. welding torches are good for brazing (which is like high heat soldering usiung brass rod as the "solder". this is good for light weight repairs where there is very little stress and/or heat after the area has been brazed.
You can pick up a cheap wire feed welder for a couple hundred dollars, but you will only be able to weld fairly thin metals. (like sheet metal) If you never plan on welding anything thick, this would be fine.
Actually, i use my neighbors welder, i don't own one.
I took welding classes way back in high school in the 80's, and if you are taught right, and practice on occasion, welding is almost like riding a bike. You may becainse rusty if you don't do it for a long time, but you never really forget how to do it.
I'm not an expert at welding by any means, but I know how to make a nice weld bead and i know how to get the job done.
It takes years of welding to get those professional looking welds.
The key to a good weld is metal penetration. you should be able to butt weld 2 peices of steel together (just 2 peices of steel butted up end to end). after the weld is cooled, you shoudl be able to put the 2 peices of steel in a vise, and hit it with a hammer several times. the steel shoudl bend before the weld breaks. The weld shoudl be as strong as the actual steel. If the weld breaks then there was not enough penetration.
a welding class would be a good idea if if you only plan on welding a few things here and there because one day you may decide to weld up your own frame from scratch.
IN this case, it woudl pay to know what you're doing.
yes a good mig welder will run you around $400.00 - $500.00 depending on what you get. you don't want welding torches for this sort of thing. you need a wire feed welder that uses gas to cool the weld (usually argon) but now they make then where no gas is required, and the wire has flux built in it to promote good weld adhesion. welding torches are good for brazing (which is like high heat soldering usiung brass rod as the "solder". this is good for light weight repairs where there is very little stress and/or heat after the area has been brazed.
You can pick up a cheap wire feed welder for a couple hundred dollars, but you will only be able to weld fairly thin metals. (like sheet metal) If you never plan on welding anything thick, this would be fine.
Actually, i use my neighbors welder, i don't own one.
I took welding classes way back in high school in the 80's, and if you are taught right, and practice on occasion, welding is almost like riding a bike. You may becainse rusty if you don't do it for a long time, but you never really forget how to do it.
I'm not an expert at welding by any means, but I know how to make a nice weld bead and i know how to get the job done.
It takes years of welding to get those professional looking welds.
The key to a good weld is metal penetration. you should be able to butt weld 2 peices of steel together (just 2 peices of steel butted up end to end). after the weld is cooled, you shoudl be able to put the 2 peices of steel in a vise, and hit it with a hammer several times. the steel shoudl bend before the weld breaks. The weld shoudl be as strong as the actual steel. If the weld breaks then there was not enough penetration.
a welding class would be a good idea if if you only plan on welding a few things here and there because one day you may decide to weld up your own frame from scratch.
IN this case, it woudl pay to know what you're doing.
retromike3
Member
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welding
they have been making very strong brazed bikes for a hundred years. I remember a test that was done for a bike tech magazine were they had a TIG bike, a filet brazed and silver brazed bike and out them on a jig and stressed them till they failed. In each case the tubing failed before the weld.
One of the things you can do with a bike that has been brazed together is fix it. I have replaced head tubes and drop outs on brazed bikes but if its bin TIGed if you dent it or bend it you toss it.
I used to own a mountain bike that was TIGed together but it was finished with brass. That was an old Jamus I had converted to my first motorbicycle.
I started out with a set of tanks because I had a limited set of funds(still do) and I could get a good TIG welder with a high frequency circuit or a frame jig and a set of tanks.
Beware of over-generations sometimes they are less than they appear.
mike
they have been making very strong brazed bikes for a hundred years. I remember a test that was done for a bike tech magazine were they had a TIG bike, a filet brazed and silver brazed bike and out them on a jig and stressed them till they failed. In each case the tubing failed before the weld.
One of the things you can do with a bike that has been brazed together is fix it. I have replaced head tubes and drop outs on brazed bikes but if its bin TIGed if you dent it or bend it you toss it.
I used to own a mountain bike that was TIGed together but it was finished with brass. That was an old Jamus I had converted to my first motorbicycle.
I started out with a set of tanks because I had a limited set of funds(still do) and I could get a good TIG welder with a high frequency circuit or a frame jig and a set of tanks.
Beware of over-generations sometimes they are less than they appear.
mike
Fletch
Member
Thanks guys for all the insight... I'm really considering that class. I never took it in HS but I know many people do. I will post a pic when I get a chance.
HeadSmess
Well-Known Member
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opinions differ as to best jointing to use.
if its mild steel, use a mig. set, point, pull... too easy.
anything else really should be brazed if you value your life.
TIG welding, oxy welding... ANY welding, in a hiten or cro mo frame, really requires post weld heat treatment....meaning expensive! and invariably, warping... (tig welding seems to have this aura of "magic" about it, but anyone that does it knows its no different to anything else and all up to the operator...)
this also applies to alloy frames, and in fact, is even more crucial! aluminum is like cheese....
now brazing, or even nicer still, silver soldering...the way to go.
unfortunately most good brazed frames are also "lugged", ie, the sockets at each junction...these are hard to fabricate. some arent though... watch for cracks!
and never mind the fact your mounting a vibrating engine into it...
meh. if you go oxy acet...you need gas. go mig, you really should use gas...gasless wire sux... so you need gas...get an inverter stick/tig...youll need gas for the tig...
you need gas
sorta expensive, sorta not... reminding me i got another bill
if its mild steel, use a mig. set, point, pull... too easy.
anything else really should be brazed if you value your life.
TIG welding, oxy welding... ANY welding, in a hiten or cro mo frame, really requires post weld heat treatment....meaning expensive! and invariably, warping... (tig welding seems to have this aura of "magic" about it, but anyone that does it knows its no different to anything else and all up to the operator...)
this also applies to alloy frames, and in fact, is even more crucial! aluminum is like cheese....
now brazing, or even nicer still, silver soldering...the way to go.
unfortunately most good brazed frames are also "lugged", ie, the sockets at each junction...these are hard to fabricate. some arent though... watch for cracks!
and never mind the fact your mounting a vibrating engine into it...
meh. if you go oxy acet...you need gas. go mig, you really should use gas...gasless wire sux... so you need gas...get an inverter stick/tig...youll need gas for the tig...
you need gas
sorta expensive, sorta not... reminding me i got another bill
motorpsycho
Active Member
Like i said, I'm no welding expert or authority, but i know how to mig weld, braze and stick weld.
There is a ton to learn about welding so the more info i can pick up, the better.
There is a ton to learn about welding so the more info i can pick up, the better.
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