I wrote these up in a private converstaion for another member who asked for some tips and figured I might as well share with the broader group.
Some general pieces of advice before you start:
- The pipes come with only springs and the pipes themselves (at least mine did) however installation is pretty easy,hopefully these tips will help you avoid a pain or two in the a**
- An extra pair of hands might save you a scratch or two
- Dry fit everything first at least loosely to make sure you have a good plan. The fit is tricky and it only goes together in a certain order. Basically, fit the pipe that goes to the middle port first, then the left most port, then the right (aka forward) most port. Otherwise it doesn't go together well.
- Once you've confirmed the rough position and that it roughly lines up with the manifold then take apart, add the permatex and start fitting. I had to'persuade' mine quite a bit for a good fit.
- When installing on the bike put a soft microfiber cloth against the engine block where the middle piece goes, it fits so close to the block that you will need to 'floss' with the cloth to get it out. Using the cloth prevents rubbing against the engine block. and ensures the right fit.Sorry, I forgot to answer one of your questions ......
- Assembly took a decent amount of force to fit perfect, I expect that not every unit will be the same in this regard but if yours is like mine then I definitely recommend assembly of the three header pipes, maniforld, and the 3 to 1 pipe on the bench and then bolting on. The muffler can be added later. Remember time is a factor cause that permatex starts to get hard after 20 minutes and is llike rubber after 45.
- You will definitely need a tune as there is almost no backpressure after these headers are installed.
- I painted the manifold plate black with high temp header paint and I like the look. Many here have powder-coated the piece which is the better option if you have the money and time. If not, the header paint worked well for me just make sure cure if fully before install.
- the stock nuts would not fit deep enough so I bought some stainless steel nuts and lock washers from the hardware store (and painted them black with the same paint)
As for actual order let me recap and put the above into some sort of steps
1. Dry fit on the bench including
muffler
2. take
muffler off and Roughly put in place on the bike so you get the idea of the fit and placement (you can skip this step if you are the trusting sort)
3. Take apart and reassemble (without the muffler) all the pieces on the bench adding permatex high heat copper to the inside of the outer pipe for each joint (including where the pipe meets the header plate). Don't use too much as it may squeeze out and look a mess. Just enough to create a good seal as things shift.
4. Place a microfiber cloth against the engine around where the pipe fits closes (near the 3 to 1 joint) as this will ensure it does not rub against the engine
5. Put in the copper crush gaskets and permatex on the bike in the exhaust ports and then put on the exhaust (without muffler) as one piece
6. Tighten and torque to spec (alternating nicely will make sure you crush the gaskets evenly
7. put on the muffler (you may not need permatex for this but I did it
-- why wait for the
muffler? I had to spin the muffler to put in the
O2 sensor, if I didn't have the ability to spin the muffler I expect I would have twisted the O2 sensor wire much
8. let the permatex cure (like 24 hours I think)
9. Load your new Tune and fire her up!
10. Prepare to be awesome!
Hope this helps and feel free to add any questions or corrections.