Kawi2strokes.com Forum

i also have a 69 H1 project that I got years ago. I had the bodywork painted, but I ran into a dead end (this was years ago) about getting the chrome, especially the pipes redone.
Is there anyone out there doing these at this point? I see a lot of restored bikes with nice looking pipes now, so I'm hoping that I can get this project cranked back up soon.

Atlas Plating in Texas.

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Iron On The Bayou.

I expect many of the restored bikes are fitted with the Doremi reproduction pipes. Depending on the condition of your originals, this might be a good option - they are very well made.

Re-chroming pipes is difficult & expensive. And, the welds will very likely be weakened in the process. This will cause the muffler to split at the seam within a couple of hundred miles. Unless you MUST have originals, the repro pipes are the way to go, and cost less than re-chroming.

And these new repros include new baffles as well, relieving you of the need to either decarbonize the old ones, and/or allowing you to outright replace the possibly rusty old with brand new ones. And of course you also get new head pipes, clamps, etc.

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"Only cheat the cheaters, boy - you can't cheat an honest man!" Mordecai Jones - The Flim Flam Man.

so true brian not worth fixing to me. new pipes the way to go.

Well, this is great news. When I last worked on this project, repros didn't exist and I never thought they would.
This might be just the incentive I need to get back on this.
Thanks, everyone.

I've used the new pipes on my H2 and my Z1 and I think they are beautiful and fit great.

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1969 H1, 1971 G3SSA, 1974 G5, 1973 H2A, 1975 S3A, 1975 H1F, 1973 Z1, 1988 HD FLTC, Captain America chopper, 2000 Excelsior Henderson, 1965 Bridgestone BS90

The guys with H2B/C don't have much other choice but to restore original parts. The problem is locating parts worth restoring as the platers I've talked to will not do any dent removal and finding H2B/C exhaust systems without dents and road rash is difficult. Good straight parts suitable for re-plating are often very expensive if you do happen to find some.

I currently have a couple dozen original H2B/C mufflers here with varying degrees of damage (scuffs, scrapes, dents) I plan to experiment with by sending to different folks to see what they can do. I've already sent some to a motocross pipe straightening shop but they're primarily geared to 'get it back close' crash repair before the next race rather than producing straight, round, smooth surfaces good enough for restoration work with new chrome plating. These could be rechromed now but you'll be able to see through the chrome where they were straightened unless more work is done first. Whichever shop you choose to do muffler rechroming must be told; do not attempt to polish the pinch-weld along the top and bottom seams.

Brown's Plating in KY was the most often recommended company for motorcycle chrome plating but they recently closed their doors and shut down their operation.

John Bartholomew in the UK is offering very accurately reproduced H2B/C exhaust systems but they're $2500 and there's a waiting list. Additionally, shipping to the US is very costly as he builds heavy elaborate wooden crates and the quote I got from him was nearly $1000 for shipping. His stuff is certainly a good option for owners in the UK but an expensive option for everyone else.

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Tried firing every stroke and every other stroke, every stroke is better.

3 H2's, all stock
Seats by Tony O'Connor, they're gorgeous
H2B, converted to H2C
75 Paint & Decals by Brian H
75 Euro Seat by Tony O'Connor
Eldorado Motorcycle Seats, Australia

rechroming pipes usually break if you use your bike as she should be used: mean trash it