Mistral h-pipe with T3FB?

[yackee]

Hi all,

After a long absence I am finally getting my T3 (floorboard model) back together. I am in the process of installing a new Mistral exhaust system. I have the h-pipe too. (https://www.mgcycle.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=26_95&products_id=5864)

Just to make sure I'm not going crazy, it seems that the h-pipe doesn't work with the floorboard model, the "cut-out" on the police-style side-stand bracket forces the left-hand header close in to the frame, and leaves the right-hand header away from the frame. I assume there is no solution (apart from cutting off the side-stand bracket, which I don't want to do)?

Thoughts appreciated!
Jason

[John A]

I have cut the h pipe and installed a slip joint because if it’s in a bind it will crack. I used some band clamps like the muffler clamps. I think I used clamps for an Ambassador because they have to do down small enough for a good fit on the slip joint.

[yackee]

I guess my question is whether the T3 floor board lower rails, with the large bracket for the police-style side stand, need a different exhaust header than a non-FB bike? the problem seems to be that the Mistral header interferes with the bracket (or vice versa), so that the exhaust header can't rotate "out" from the bike to where it needs to be in order for the headers to be even/centered and for the left-side muffler to line up with the hanging bracket.

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

Sounds like the Mistral crossover is wider than the original. Do you have the old crossover? If so, compare the widths. If not, I should have one around that I can measure.

[n3303j]

I guess my question is whether the T3 floor board lower rails, with the large bracket for the police-style side stand, need a different exhaust header than a non-FB bike? [SNIP]

Accidentally purchased an 850T "H" pipe for my 850T3 FB. The pipe for the T is too wide at the entrance and forces the LH header into the sidestand mount as you mentioned. So I guess the answer is that a floorboard bike needs a narrower "H" pipe than one with rails.

[yackee]

Accidentally purchased an 850T "H" pipe for my 850T3 FB. The pipe for the T is too wide at the entrance and forces the LH header into the sidestand mount as you mentioned. So I guess the answer is that a floorboard bike needs a narrower "H" pipe than one with rails.

Interesting, thanks! The MG Cycle description of the head pipes describes them as having the correct curvature for bikes with the police-style side-stand, which they seem to have. However, the Mistral  h-pipe definitely pushes out the right-hand-side muffler a bit, so that the mufflers aren't exactly centered. My impression is that the h-pipe could be narrowed by 0.5-1.0 inches, roughly. That said, I did get both mufflers to attach to the frame at the stock hanger location. But they are slightly off-center when looked at from the front of the bike. And the mufflers have a slight "rise" going to the rear of the bike.

One other problem I had, in addition to or actually in combination with the side-stand bracket issue, was that I had also replaced the stock engine-to-frame bolts with MG Cycle's stainless steel bolts, which are threaded rods with nuts at both ends. The attraction was that I would be able to remove either side's frame rail in the future without knocking out the entire bolt. The problem was that the rod is pretty long, and if installed evenly it would further restrict the placement of the pipes, both at the front and the rear of the engine. 

[n3303j]

That's what they make hacksaws for.
Some low profile nuts and a hacksaw and you have clearance.
And probably a reduction in clamping force.
I think the standard bolts are set to 50 ft/lb?
Don't know if low profile stainless nuts would support that torque?
Not sure 50 ft/lb is required to retain the engine & transmission?

[Groover]

Interesting catch. Best to report this back to MGCycle so they can add that to their description.