Kawi2strokes.com Forum

I recently obtained several sets of used H2B/C complete exhaust systems and I'm looking for advice on best path to follow for restoring back to original. Most of the mufflers have all the usual small dents and scrapes and some have surface rust which likely means pitting in the base metal after the acid wash. I have access to a good automotive hot tank so cleaning will not be a problem. My initial thoughts were to send one set at a time out to Bruce in NV for dent removal then ship clean straight pipes to the plater. I have seen a few problems others have encountered with rechroming original exhaust parts and will try to prevent that from happening. I am also aware of the risks involved grinding the welds too much and I have seen a set of pipes someone else had replated and the rust pits show through the chrome. Not too good in my estimation after going to the effort and expense to have them redone.

Thanks in advance, rusty34

_________________
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

You have little choice with the h2b and C at least till the fella in the uk is up and running with repro's.. The h2 exh is much thicker steel then the early h1 which has serious problems with the welded areas once rehromed.Not such an issue with h2.

Tell us more a about Bruce in NV, services?

_________________
Current bikes: H1 69,71,72,76 KH 500, H2 72(2),73,74,75(3) , 77RD 400, 08 KLR 650. 76 KZ 900, Yamaha RZ 500, ihave so many triples gave up listing them.
Have seversl tons of H1/H2/S parts for sale, http://www.triplestuff.net dhg1337@gmail.com

Well, Ric had a problem with his 74 H2. Rechromed, and the seams split from polishing......

_________________
Twist the throttle, tilt the horizon, and have a great time. What triples are all about...........

Sent 2 H2 pipes to a chromer in Sacramento, Ca the other day. Pretty clean, no dents or gouges for the most part. 6-8 weeks turn around. Keep my fingers crossed they turn out OK.

Still looking for a clean 74-75 H2 right outer pipe. Found 2 for sale. One has the usual scratches at the lower front and a few small dents. The other is real good but has 2 quarter size dents. Before i buy need to figure out how to have the dents removed.

_________________
Current bikes: H1 69,71,72,76 KH 500, H2 72(2),73,74,75(3) , 77RD 400, 08 KLR 650. 76 KZ 900, Yamaha RZ 500, ihave so many triples gave up listing them.
Have seversl tons of H1/H2/S parts for sale, http://www.triplestuff.net dhg1337@gmail.com

Many years ago I was told that you can fill small dents with braze then smooth it out and rechrome. Don't know how true this is but it might be something to check out with the company doing the chroming.

As kawbulman mentioned above, John Bartholomew is working on H2B/C reproductions in the UK but is not ready yet so finding good usable stuff to work with is our only choice for now. In my experience so far, most of the H2B/C stuff that shows up for sale is pretty well beat up and even those are often expensive. I was fortunate enough to find four sets of H2B/C exhaust systems recently but again, none are usable in their present state so I've decided to experiment with them to determine how to go about getting used exhaust systems properly restored. I'm going to be fairly picky with all of them because I will need to be able to resell afterwards which may help others who have also been trying to find good H2B/C exhaust parts.

I have a friend in WI who bought an H2B with 2K miles which had fairly rusty pipes from sitting. He sent them to a local shop for re-chroming and they were returned with rust pits showing through the new chrome so along with the risk of weakening the welds from excessive polishing you will have to be careful about who does the work. From what I've learned so far two of the best out there for show quality chrome seems to be either Browns Plating Service in Paducah, KY or Ogden Chrome in Ogden, UT. They'll copper plate and polish first to remove surface imperfections before final chrome but it will not be cheap. A big concern with all the platers is not corrupting their tanks with two-stroke residue. I've heard some platers will seal the ends and openings and work the outside only but I don't know how you fix the dents that way. Seems to me you will need to get the pipes fairly close before you send to the plater unless he can straighten and fix dents. About all the OEM RS chambers you see for sale out there have a big scrape and dent underneath near where the chamber meets the downpipe clamp which is an appearance area so it needs to be right. Are these from crashes or do H2's actually handle that well?

Bruce in NV is also known as Motocross Pipe Repair and I believe he reworks bent and dented pipes with heat and air pressure. I sent him one set in April of this year to see how that works out and have checked in with him periodically for progress updates but nothing yet so this might not be a good option. He may just be a busy one man shop and I'll have to wait my turn. Pacific Crest Pipe Repair in Oregon (piperepair.com) is another which has a good on-line reputation but I've not contacted them yet.

_________________
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

Here is a link that might be of interest: http://3cyl.com/mraxl/kh250restore/muff ... fflers.htm

_________________
Answers are here: http://kawatriple.com/

My first set of pipes, had a few dings, but after a lot of probing they all had about 10-15 BB sized rust holes in them the whole length of the pipes. Found a guy that said he can repair and re-chrome them relatively cheap. I actually sent my entire H2 and another bike to him, to have all the chroming, re-zincing of everything, polishing aluminum, refinished front forks, restored wheels. I gave him a deposit for most of the work. I received every thing back and it was all very nicely done , including one pipe for the other bike.
So after seven months my pipes are still not done, every month he says they are almost done. Now he is asking for more money. I said when they are done i will pay what is due. I pretty much knew at that point i needed to find some more pipes. The rusted ones where not worth much anyway, he can keep them. Live and learn.
I know i don't need Brown's level of chroming, nor the price, personal choice. The bikes came cheaply chromed in the first place.

_________________
Current bikes: H1 69,71,72,76 KH 500, H2 72(2),73,74,75(3) , 77RD 400, 08 KLR 650. 76 KZ 900, Yamaha RZ 500, ihave so many triples gave up listing them.
Have seversl tons of H1/H2/S parts for sale, http://www.triplestuff.net dhg1337@gmail.com

I agree that the original chrome was not really all that good and I would actually be happier with a good original finish than a Brown's finish but that would mean lucking out and finding a complete set of NOS pipes. Or it would involve more than just getting someone to put one layer of cheap chrome on, my buddy above tried that and has chrome plated rust pits now. It's actually easier to over-restore something than to exactly recreate the original appearance which I think is why you often see that on restorations. It would likely take a lot of skill and be more expensive to restore a beat up set of old rusty parts and make them look like you turned the clock back 40 years. My interest in this is more of a labor of love and for the sense of accomplishment. I'm still learning my way around these things and I'm determined to learn how to do it with craftsmanship. I'm one of the engine builders in the engine shop for a large NASCAR company with four teams. My co-workers are all the best in the business and will pick apart anything I do with intense scrutiny so I can't come rolling in with something second rate.

_________________
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