Looking for a rivet band for a Sil Motor oval carbon can.

[utopia]

Bit of a long shot but it doesn't hurt to ask.
Last year I rebuilt the pipework of a Sil Motor 2-1 exhaust system.
Now I'm looking to refurb the can.
Its a carbon oval and came to me in a damaged condition.
One of the rivet bands was missing and had been replaced with a jubilee clip.
The carbon sleeve itself was a little damaged too and I had originally intended to replace it but after a bit of a fiddle I've managed to dismantle the can without further damage to the sleeve, so I'm now intending to reuse it, albeit in a slightly shortened condition.
The upshot is that I need a single rivet band which matches the hole spacing on the Sil Motor end cap ... which is different to the hole spacing on Termis.
The only source that I have found thus far is Daniele Moto in Germany, but while their unit price is a very reasonable 8 euros or so for a single rivet band, they want to add on a flat rate shipping charge of over 30 euros, which I'm obviously reluctant to pay.
I suppose I could contact them and plead for a reduced postage charge but my German lingo isn't really up to that.
Another option might be to try to make one myself but working in 0.5mm thick stainless would be a bit tricky.

Does anyone know of an alternative, british based or english speaking supplier of Sil Motor spares ?

[Darren69]

Probably not the answer you wanted but can't you trim both ends of the sleeve and fit matching Termi bands for example? Sils are fairly popular so maybe you will find some.

[utopia]

I didn't really want to drill another set of holes in the end caps.
I had done a quick eyeball comparison of my single Sil rivet band to the ones on my old Termi cans and determined that the hole spacing was different .. but by just enough to make it difficult to re-drill without the new holes clashing with the old ones.

However, thanks for spurring me out of my lackadaisical attitude and making me go and check that out more rigorously.
And so, following a quick fluster of my mother's old dressmaking tape, I know that ....
The six holes in the Termi bands look to be at 60mm spacing throughout.
The Sil band is slightly longer and for some reason its six holes are unequally spaced at 62, 67, 62, 67, 62mm.
In practice you could nearly enough line up a pair of holes at the centre or at either end, but the remaining four would either semi-overlap, leaving an oval hole for the new rivet ...or just be annoyingly close.

But at least I know, now.
And it begs the question .. what is the spacing on the bands on std Ducati cans ?
I no longer have mine to measure but I had assumed, for no sensible reason, that they were the same as the Termi ones.

Also, I'd rather not cut any more length off the can as it has already been shortened.
Originally I thought it had been cut down by quite a bit (it does look what you might call bordering on the semi-stubby) but having seen the innards, I'm not quite so sure now.
It turns out that the inlet and outlet bores are different sizes and the central perforated tube is tapered accordingly .. meaning that shortening is almost impossible because the endcaps would no longer fit.
So, maybe it's just had the original rivet holes trimmed off one end, losing just a centimetre or two on the length.
Anyway, if it was much shorter it would look like it had been stubbied "for style" .. and it's not quite that kind of bike.

It was quite noisy when I ran it last year, but I now know that was partly due to at least two thirds of the can having no wadding left in it at all. :rolleyes:

[350TSS]

you could try these people
https://www.pipewerx.co.uk/webshop/-search/?query=rivet+bands

or

https://www.ebay.co.uk/str/Fuel-Exhausts-Ltd?_trksid=p2047675.l2563

[Darren69]

This place is Sil Motor agents in Germany and they have rivet bands.

https://www.daniele-moto.de/en/index/marken/silmotor.html?isorc=1306

They look even spaced to my eyes though.

[mickj]

There are plenty of firms making exhausts in the UK, (fuel, pipwerx, sp engineering, quill, Beowulf etc) it might be worth ringing around to se if any of them can help.

[Mr Gazza]

12mm wide. 300mm long. 6 off 4.5mm holes @ 58mm cntrs.
One band is scuffed.

Could you fill the holes with epoxy and paint a black band round the can to cover the repairs, then fit the "new" rivet bands over the repair and re-drill?

https://i.ibb.co/KLgkPqj/DSCF7397.jpg (https://ibb.co/9V0LDT9)

[Darkness]

I cant see that shortening it by 10mm would make much difference to sound or appearance, so it would let you start again with a fresh set of holes.

Don’t forget that you need blind SS pop rivets.

[Mr Gazza]

I should in theory also have some 4.5mm blind rivets.. It was only 20 years ago that I re-banded those cans.

Jeff the standard cans don't have rivet bands at all.

Edit... A deeper rummage did not produce any rivets, but I did discover two more bands, so I have two damaged and two not.
I also found the yellow, general relay from my first Monster, I mentioned putting it my pocket to nurse it along in a recent thread... How nostalgic.. :biggrin:

[utopia]

Darren ... yes I had spotted Daniele Moto but they are the German company that wants over 30 euros just for postage.
I might even have considered paying that but there is also the uncertainty that the bands are exactly the same as mine, until I have them in my hand.
If they differ, that's 40 euros wasted.

Mick and 350 ... yes, I had pondered contacting pipewerx or others to see if they had anything suitable.
I will probably do so but I wouldn't be all that hopeful that their own std bands would match the Sil, with its unequally spaced holes.
Worth a try though.
Maybe they have plain bands with no holes or slots, for use on odd cans ... but again, I wouldn't be holding my breath. And anyway, drilling new holes in such narrow, thin stainless wouldn't be particularly easy.

Gazza ... are they the bands off my old 750 cans ? ... edit .. ah, apparently not.
Its useful to know the 58mm spacing of the holes but sadly, that's still too close to avoid a clash with the existing rivet holes.
Or is it ? ... in a eureka moment it has occurred to me that I don't need to match any of the existing hole positions .. I could shift the band around by 30mm or so and then the new holes would be well away from the old ones.
Of course, it wouldn't look perfect in terms of symmetry but it would be sound mechanically.
I'll ponder that a bit more.

Darkness .. the central perforated tube is tapered, so cutting anything off either end changes its terminal diameter and then the endcaps wouldn't fit.
In fact one end has already been shortened by about that much and I have had to thin down the inner tube a little to restore the fit with the endcap. I'm not sure that there is any scope for further thinning without overly weakening the tube.

Thanks for your input, everyone.
Its all helpful, even if it doesn't actually provide an ideal solution to the problem, cos it can sometimes generate a new train of thought.
I'm still thinking that having a go at making my own strap might be the best course of action.
Well, either that or accepting that I need to pay the excessive postage cost to Daniele Moto and just suck it up.
Or even writing a pleading message to them in english asking for specially reduced postage rates and putting it through google translate perhaps .. hoping that subtle nuances don't get lost in translation.

[Mr Gazza]

Jeff I just edited my previous post. I've got four of those bands, of which two are undamaged. No not from your silencers, which are not banded. These are from some un-branded carbon cans I fitted to my first 750SS about 20 years ago.

I might be able to find time to run them over to you if the weather cheers up, and pick up the swinging arm. I also have another little tit bit for you.. Can you make our meet on March 8th? Either at Arbuckle's and/or at Ramsey, Cambs.

[utopia]

Jeff the standard cans don't have rivet bands at all.


That's interesting.
I had considered changing the carbon sleeve for a titanium one, which I deemed would be strong enough to be able to do without any rivet bands.
To that end,I did in fact buy a titanium sleeve but when it arrived it turned out to be slightly larger than the original carbon sleeve, meaning that it didn't fit the endcaps properly.
I toyed with the notion of fitting some sort of gasket strip to take up the difference but it all got too messy and I abandoned the plan.

[utopia]

Yes, I had your march 8th meet penciled in already actually.
Might not have the bike ready but .. horrors .. I've actually bought a car recently, so I could come in that.
Well to be fair, its only really half a car .. one of those little citroen C1 things.
Perfect for someone who doesn't really want a car at all though.
And the same colour as the monster.

[Mr Gazza]

Yeah! It'll be good to see you. Only a couple of weeks away now.
If the weather is foul, we'll probably just meet for breakfast at Arbuckle's and leave it at that. Otherwise we will either ride on to Ramsey after breakfast, or meet for breakfast at Ramsey.
We'll firm this up next weekend and post up.

[Dukedesmo]

Undrilled straps here; https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Universal-BSAU-Marked-Rivet-Strap-Plain-Strap-4-8mm-Rivets-Exhaust-400x15/162015169244

A bit expensive for what they are though IMO.

[Darkness]

Darkness .. the central perforated tube is tapered, so cutting anything off either end changes its terminal diameter and then the endcaps wouldn't fit.
In fact one end has already been shortened by about that much and I have had to thin down the inner tube a little to restore the fit with the endcap. I'm not sure that there is any scope for further thinning without overly weakening the tube.

If the taper is something like 20mm in 400mm of length, the change in diameter from cutting off 10mm would be something like 0.5mm. Are they really made to that level of precision?

[utopia]

Dukedesmo .. that could well be the solution I'm looking for.
And I will need to buy rivets anyway, which will cost around a tenner, so that price doesn't seem too bad to me.
Thanks.

Darkness .. As best I can measure it, the diameter would get bigger by about 0.4mm if I cut 10mm off.
I agree that's not much, but it needs to be added to the minimum of 10mm or so that I estimate has already been cut off.
Thus the total effect would be 0.8mm on the dia, meaning a 0.4mm reduction in wall thickness of the perforated tube.
Again, as best I can measure it, the wall thickness of the perforated tube is only 0.5mm to start with.
Its a lot more marginal than you might think.
Tbh, that's tighter than I thought it would be until I measured it just now.
Also, the length of the can sleeve is only 270mm, which I already consider to be a tad short really, so I'm reluctant to cut even 1mm more off it.

[bigredduke]

Have you tried this supplier?
http://www.aa16.co.uk/store/cgi-bin/cp-app.cgi

Careful with that C1, we had one for the girls to learn to drive in. 0 - 60 eventually.

[Flip]

Jeff for the cans I’ve refurbished I’ve use these for the rivets:

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F 310463748209

If you haven’t already got a decent rivet gun it’s worth the investment for stainless rivets as they can be pretty tough on the usual style hand operated ones.

Exhaust bands I’ve drilled myself from bought cut strips- loads of suppliers on eBay.

Don’t forget if using a carbon sleeve to line it with some heat reflecting tape or it’ll burn if it gets a ‘hot spot’ as the sound proofing ages.

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F 303207108234

Finally for wadding I am a big fan of Acousta-fil:

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F 360974388595

[utopia]

Thanks for that, Phil.
I had already planned to use acousta-fil, following your recommendation a while back.
Presumably, since the acousta-fil expands to fill the can, it would be necessary to line inside of the carbon sleeve rather than wrapping the fill with heatproof tape ?
Mind you, the old fill was completely burnt away for about 2/3 of the length of the can when I dismantled it, without any signs of burning ... but I'll line it on rebuild anyway. I have some plain aluminium tape that I was thinking of perhaps using but maybe something like you suggest with a fibreglass layer would be more appropriate.
And lastly .. excuse the daft query but just to be sure .. when they say stainless rivets they do mean that just the core is stainless and the main rivet body is aluminium, don't they ?

Interesting to hear that you have successfully drilled your own rivet bands.
I was anticipating that they could easily snarl up as the drill broke through on such thin material.
I was thinking that I might use a centre-drill instead and perhaps finish to size with a taper reamer or a file.
Did you use a normal twist-drill ?

[350TSS]

I would have thought you can drill the SS if you clamp it in the vice between two bits of sacrificial 6 mm aluminium plate

[utopia]

Careful with that C1, we had one for the girls to learn to drive in.
0 - 60 eventually.


Yeah, its a beast alright. :rolleyes:

Actually, I was pleasantly surprised at how well it drives and how it doesn't particularly handle like a small car.
But then, when I'm on four wheels I'm not that fussed about performance.
And at £20 per year tax, it can sit on the drive doing nothing most of the time without costing me too much money.
As cars go, I actually rather like it.

[Dukedesmo]

And lastly .. excuse the daft query but just to be sure .. when they say stainless rivets they do mean that just the core is stainless and the main rivet body is aluminium, don't they ?



Probably not, full stainless rivets are a thing and they are very good and (unnecessarily) strong but you need a heavy duty rivet gun to fit them and they are a pig to drill out if/when you want to remove them.

Best to use aluminium on a carbon can IMO as future servicing may well see you damaging the carbon on removing the stainless rivets...

[utopia]

I would have thought you can drill the SS if you clamp it in the vice between two bits of sacrificial 6 mm aluminium plate

Yes, that was part of my thinking too.
I probably wont be exactly sure how I'm going to do it until I actually make a start.
You know how it is.
One problem that I foresee is that the vice might get in the way of the drilling operation.
And I would prefer to drill it on my little drill press if I can, rather than offhand in the bench vice, but then the clamping becomes even more tricky.
But thanks for the input.

ps.
Fortunately, I inherited a number of taper reamers (for finishing the holes for taper pins) from my father.
I fancy that these might come in handy, enabling me to drill the initial holes quite small and then enlarge them afterwards with said taper reamers.
.... hopefully.

[utopia]

Thanks again, Tim.
That is both handy information and good advice, I reckon.
Looks like I need to source some blind, aluminium, gas-tight rivets.
The original rivets were aluminium bodied but with stainless pins, and were fairly easy to remove by simply drilling off the aluminium heads.

[bigredduke]

When I cored the cans on my S4R, I used SS rivets to secure the end caps. Although they are a bit harder to "squeeze" into place I just used a normal rivet gun. I have some left, how many do you need?
The rivet body is 3.94mm dia, 9.82 length, rivet cap is 7.72mm dia. Total rivet pin length is 43.42mm. As far as I can tell, both the rivet body & pin is SS.

Fair point about using them on carbon sleeves though.

I didn't have any issues with exhaust gases leaking from the rivet head, I guess they take the path of least resistance through the normal outlet.

[hhmunro]

Drill speed is very important with drilling stainless, check which stainless it is, information on the WWW, and use a lubricant...

[Dukedesmo]

I didn't bother with blind rivets as I had plenty of the normal kind laying around plus, I think if it starts blowing gases through the rivets then it's a sign that you need to re-pack anyway!

I wrapped the entire package of wadding with aluminium tape - there are several benefits to this;

You can 'form' the correct shape for the can, making it easier to insert.

Slides in easier as there is no wadding to snag on the sleeve

Adds an extra layer of heat protection to the carbon once the wadding has burnt out.

Termignoni only use a couple of wraps of paper masking tape but I suspect this is to keep the cost and assembly time down rather than best practice.

If there is not already some in there use some SS gauze around the perforated tube before wrapping the wadding as this helps protect it (Termis have this, not sure about others?).

[Flip]

I didn't bother with blind rivets as I had plenty of the normal kind laying around plus, I think if it starts blowing gases through the rivets then it's a sign that you need to re-pack anyway!

I wrapped the entire package of wadding with aluminium tape - there are several benefits to this;

You can 'form' the correct shape for the can, making it easier to insert.

Slides in easier as there is no wadding to snag on the sleeve

Adds an extra layer of heat protection to the carbon once the wadding has burnt out.

Unfortunately you can't really use this method when using Acousta-Fil as you pack it quite loosely because it expands when heated filling any gaps in the process (you can actually hear the can has got quieter after it's first proper hot run up).

Acousta-Fil ready to go in:

https://i.postimg.cc/5N0XFSXZ/IMG_4299.jpg (https://postimg.cc/w3CqCJcV)

So after giving the inside of the can a wipe over with some IPA (Isopropyl Alcohol) I then use an adhesive aluminium or aluminium glass mat tape stuck to the inside of a carbon can to protect it and because Acousta-Fil doesn't fill (sorry for the pun) the can initially there is no real problem when putting it all back together.

Again, when re-assembling I also smear a light coat of clear RTV silicone sealant on the faces where the can meet the inlet and exit spout just to ensure there are no leaks (a fussy MoT inspector could fail it for not being gas tight even if he accepts the volume- stupid I know but there you are) then I finish it off with blind rivets.

All the cans I have done, whether stainless, alloy or carbon have all had stainless steel gas tight rivets used so it seems logical to use the same when re-packing them and because the carbon is essentially 'sandwiched' between the metal spout and the rivet band it doesn't do any harm in my experience.

Gas tight stainless rivets compared to open aluminium ones:

https://i.postimg.cc/0yggyjpL/IMG_4356.jpg (https://postimg.cc/gnKtMYtD)

As for drilling them out I use a 7mm Dewalt Cobalt drill bit in my Makita cordless drill- it takes the heads off nice and clean and then I simply tap out the rivet body with a correct sized punch.

https://i.postimg.cc/R0MNQdMx/32A05D1E-B81C-4BEE-99E2-D8EEF851789E.jpg (https://postimg.cc/RWDSvc6g)

They go through Stainless like butter:

https://i.postimg.cc/Y9P07wQt/380EA0B7-F1AC-4943-8A44-F71B0B9A7E5C.jpg (https://postimg.cc/tZhpdwrc)
For drilling the bands I make a mark and centre punch where I want to drill and go up in 0.5mm increments from 1.5mm (the smallest my cordless drill chuck will take) until I get the size I need and I just hold the band with a pair of pliers and drill into a piece of wooden block.

A late 80's Micron for a CRMC race bike I am doing, notice this is an alloy can with a chromed steel spout and no bands were/are used for this combo:

https://i.postimg.cc/ydxx2Ngf/52A22181-2127-4F15-BCEA-826C1F08277F.jpg (https://postimg.cc/2bpCZrxv)

A 1990's MIG race can I have salvaged for my Yamaha Thundercat which is slightly unusual in that the inlet is Stainless Steel and is also the link pipe (like our Monster's) while the spout is alloy and the can as you can see is Carbon:

https://i.postimg.cc/YCNvWZBx/DD44F1B0-1072-4B4C-9191-9F9716132A56.jpg (https://postimg.cc/rDmy6hmd)

Finally the rivets on the FBF cans on my Monster after their re-packing:

https://i.postimg.cc/q7jgmKRh/9DB7AF18-CAC8-4412-9C3B-85C7EEDC9E75.jpg (https://postimg.cc/CZnF5zbS)

[Darren69]

So just send your cans to Flip and he'll repack and sort 'em for you! :)

[Flip]

So just send your cans to Flip and he'll repack and sort 'em for you! :)

Like I haven’t got enough to do!!
Thanks for that :D !!!

[Darren69]

Yea, I know that feeling too well. 3 bikes is just 2 too many for me too atm. Just keep an eye out for that postman carrying exhaust sized UKMOC parcels for ya! :) Seriously though for a second or two, what sort of mileage could one expect from Termis before they need re-packing? Typically I mean, under normal road use, not track?

Oh and on another non-monster note, sorry, what can I do about this missing rivet? It's just been bugging me, but been like it forever.

https://i.postimg.cc/59BPp3Z5/DSC-0052.jpg (https://postimg.cc/14zc3pR4)

[Flip]

Yea, I know that feeling too well. 3 bikes is just 2 too many for me too atm. Just keep an eye out for that postman carrying exhaust sized UKMOC parcels for ya! :) Seriously though for a second or two, what sort of mileage could one expect from Termis before they need re-packing? Typically I mean, under normal road use, not track?

Oh and on another non-monster note, sorry, what can I do about this missing rivet? It's just been bugging me, but been like it forever.

If it were me unless they have got really noisy, like offensively so I wouldn't bother as they are stainless cans unless you are noticing any discolouration from hot spots (you can get away with it a bit more when they are not carbon cans).

This is the inside of my Ferracci cans after around twenty years and 30,000 miles:

https://i.postimg.cc/DZPS1CdK/IMG_4214.jpg (https://postimg.cc/34WrTFcL)

But it was the fact they had cracked on the outer weld of the inlet that prompted me to open them up.

This is after they were re-welded:

https://i.postimg.cc/QMpCr6zW/IMG_4306.jpg (https://postimg.cc/Lq82tV2H)

Once open I found that the perforated tube was also falling apart so that had to be changed too:

https://i.postimg.cc/DwTXBDL8/IMG_4310.jpg (https://postimg.cc/kBTG5Tjm)

As for your missing rivet, if the hole is clear can you not just pop one in?

[Flip]

At the risk of 'exhausting' this thread, I've just had a look through the photos from when I did my Monsters' Ferracci cans and notice the bands used on them have an overlap whereas the ones I have taken off the Mig can do not, so I shall be making the new bands a little longer to overlap as I think it looks much neater.

https://i.postimg.cc/5t9FMCPJ/IMG_4219.jpg (https://postimg.cc/TKSPVpMN)

[utopia]

Nah, it'll take more than that to exhaust this thread, Flip. :rolleyes:

So, current state of play is that I have re-lacquered the carbon sleeve and knocked the inlet endcap back into shape, removing a few dents as best I could.
I then offered the sleeve back up to the innards, only to discover that the inner perforated tube has taken a knock and was not concentric, meaning that the can didn't want to go back together nicely.
A bit more tippy tappy with an ally-faced hammer and a further trim of one end of the sleeve has it trued up close enough as makes no difference and the endcaps now fit on neatly.
I was polishing the endcaps but had to come in from the shed after just one was done cos my polisher is ancient and gets a bit hot if you run it for too long.

Flip, the innards of your old can were way better than this one was.
Shame I can't do pics but the charred remains of the old wadding was only 12cm long and the rest of the can was merely an open echo chamber.
On the plus side, the perforated tube was lined with stainless gauze and this was still in good nick.

I've been pondering the rivets all day and I must admit that I'm erring towards a preference to fit ally ones.
As Dukedesmo suggests, I reckon its a better bet for a carbon sleeve and also should make later dismantling for repacking a lot easier.
I'm a bit worried that the carbon sleeve wont like the crushing force necessary to fit stainless rivets.
And anyway, ally rivets were fitted originally so it makes sense to stick with that.
Sourcing some suitable blind ally rivets might not be so easy though. I've not found a supplier yet.

Thanks loads for your inputs, everyone.
It makes a huge difference, not only to the quality of the end result but also to the enjoyment of the process in being able to chat about it as I go along.

[Flip]

I agree, if it had aluminium rivets in originally then it would be logical to fit them again. Worst comes to worst you could always revisit it if they work loose through vibration over time.

You need to search aluminium closed end rivets but something similar to these will do the trick and I can recommend About Town Bolts as a supplier.

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F 310432569591

In fact, thinking about it I can’t really see any reason why you couldn’t use a rivet band made out of alloy as opposed to stainless if you wanted. It’s really only there to give a uniform spread of pressure to hold it all in place and to protect the carbon from being damaged by the rivets themselves.

[BigOz]

If you want the rivet holes in otherwise scrap bands filled in let me know, I should be able to TIG them closed without much bother.

The bands will need refinishing after the welds are dressed back.

Andy

[utopia]

Thanks for the offer, Oz.
I'll bear that in mind but I might try and cobble a new band together.
And anyway, the second band was missing so I don't have a scrap one to weld up.
I did very nearly contact you yesterday though when, while I was polishing up the second endcap (the inlet one) I discovered a short crack next to one of the welds.
In the end though I got impatient and so I nipped down the road to see the chap who mig welded the main pipework together when I first refurbished and modded the system last year and got him to tack it up.
Its not as neat as your tig would have been I'm sure, but its done adequately and I can continue rebuilding the can.

On the rivets ...
Call me fussy but I wanted to use ally blind pop rivets on an ally mandrel .. or as a second choice ally rivets on a stainless mandrel.
It was relatively easy to source ally rivets on a plain steel mandrel but I didn't want the rust spots and I also didn't really want the crushing power of a steel mandrel on assembly to a carbon sleeve.
For a couple of days the only suppliers that I could find would only sell me a box of 500, at an unrealistic price.
But then I was lucky enough to find a guy on ebay who was selling 100% ally pop rivets for use on land-rover bodywork.
He reckons they're the size I require and so I've nabbed 50 of those for six quid.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Land-Rover-Series-2-3-Body-Capping-Blind-Closed-Pop-Rivets-x-50-100-Aluminium/321657129009?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649
Darren .. let me know your address if you want a couple to replace your missing one.

Then I looked at getting some sort of heat shielding liner for the carbon sleeve.
I have some plain ally tape that I could have used but I was more inclined towards a composite ally/fibreglass tape and so I went out searching the local Halfords and other car parts stores.
I thought I had drawn a blank but then struck lucky right at the end of the day when I found some very high quality sheet membrane in a thick woven fibreglass/ally laminate.
The funny thing was (and the reason for telling the story) the guy in the shop actually knew the bike.
He was a regular at a local pub where me and my mate Tony often go to play at an open mic night.
He had even heard us do the lurve song that I wrote about the bike .. and had seen it parked outside.
Small world.

Anyway, that's the progress to date.
Sleeve is now lacquered, endcaps polished and welded where necessary, acoustafil and rivets have been ordered and heat resistant membrane sourced.
Just need to order some stainless to make a strap and we should be ready to reassemble.

[hhmunro]

Sorry Utopia, didn't spot You were the OP, or would not have offered advice on drilling stainless...

[utopia]

No worries mate.
It was good advice anyhow.

[Flip]

Darren .. let me know your address if you want a couple to replace your missing one.

Alternatively, if yours are stainless (I suspect they are if your cans are SS or Ti) and the hole is roughly 5.0mm I have a couple of 4.8mm x 13mm with a 9.5mm head (flattens to 10mm) you can have if you want?

Anyway, that's the progress to date.
Sleeve is now lacquered, endcaps polished and welded where necessary, acoustafil and rivets have been ordered and heat resistant membrane sourced.
Just need to order some stainless to make a strap and we should be ready to reassemble.

Glad you’re making progress - looking forward to seeing it done and fitted. I quite like the ‘uneven’ single can look on a Monster.

[Darren69]

Alternatively, if yours are stainless (I suspect they are if your cans are SS or Ti) and the hole is roughly 5.0mm I have a couple of 4.8mm x 13mm with a 9.5mm head (flattens to 10mm) you can have if you want?



Glad you’re making progress - looking forward to seeing it done and fitted. I quite like the ‘uneven’ single can look on a Monster.

Cheers Flip, yea, all the end caps and the pipework is Ti, it's a full JHP Ti system, made, I believe by Promotive for JHP race team but I think the can sleeves are ally, at least they appear to be but I might be wrong as it seems odd to me that they would be, when every thing else is Ti. Unless they were replaced? They did have JHP stickers on originally, which I removed.

[utopia]

Ah, the sweet smell of success.

Its all done now and ready for fitting.

In the end I bought a piece of 0.5mm thick 304 stainless for a fiver and made my own rivet band.
It wasn't as much of a problem as I thought it would be, but that's probably because I proceeded with extreme caution.
It turned out that the best tool for drilling the holes was a no2 centre drill, which is 0.187" dia. and could then easily be opened out the extra couple of thou to make them 4.8mm.
For the slots, I used the same centre drill and cut a line of holes roughly 5mm apart and then joined them up with a file.
Finally, I cut the strip at 15mm wide using an ancient pair of tin snips. This made the band curl up like a clock spring but I was able to ease it back straight again without too much bother.

The rivets arrived and were perfect for the job.
I'm glad I went for ally shanked rivets as I reckon stainless steel shanked ones would have required too much oomph to snap and risked crushing the carbon sleeve.

The postie delivered the acousta-fil just before teatime today, so I set about building up the can.
Its all done and ready to fit now.

I suppose its a bit late to fire her up this evening ... and anyway, I haven't had my tea yet.
I might make one last post tomorrow to let you know how it sounds.
It certainly looks the business now.

Thanks for your assistance, all.

[Doggy]

Interesting reading, glad it turned out how you hoped . Be nice to see some pics!

[utopia]

Be nice to see some pics!


Yes, apologies for the lack of pics.
The sad truth is that I'm now so old school that I don't even own a phone that has a camera on it.

Took the bike out for a short blast this afternoon.
Sounds bloomin' luverly.
It has a much nicer bass boom than it had before.
Its also quiet enough without my homemade baffle fitted now, so I've left that out for the time being.

[Doggy]

Great stuff. Look forward to hearing it at the weekender