do people supple oem pattern parts that dont fit ?
ive just gone to fit a braand new exhaust from armours, and the front bracket is 15mm too short...as its stainless i cant even tack a bit on !

its cheaper now to take it to a local engineers than return it !

bugger.

email (option): chris.astinbarker@btinternet.com

Chris, at least with stainless you can weld/modify it. Imagine if it was in glorious chrome?

Ron

email (option): ronpier@talk21.com

I have never had one from Armours that did fit.

But they are still the best available.

Rob.

email (option): robmiller11@yahoo.co.uk

Do you still have 'Trading Standards' in the UK ? Doesn't stuff still have to be of merchantable quality and fit for purpose ?

I imagine that they've pretty well given up these days, otherwise they'd be closing down the sellers of cast-iron forks but some of these firms could do with a kick up the backside.

Bought four repro headers for the 741 before finding the NOS one.

Now I know why the repros did not fit.

email (option): unpob@yahoo.com

I had to shorten mine at the cylinder end, I did that piece by piece until the bracket ended up exactly at the stud it should fit on. After that fitting it was nearly straight forward.

Henk.

email (option): ahum@quicknet.nl

I found that the way to go with chromed systems was to ask Armours to supply not chromed, that way you can make changes and then have it chromed yourself.. Its a bit more expensive this route, but it does mean that changes can be made. Of course sometimes you have to wait a while for them to do this ( and it seems to depend on who you speak to ).

On the positive side ref stainless, most grades weld very well.

I just wish that some of the imperial pipe sizes were available...BSA did use some interesting pipes sizes.. sadly no longer available..

dave

email (option): d.weston@virgin.net

Mine from Armourers also didn't line up. Add to the frustration that I had imported it into Texas so had a hefty freight bill. Fortunately after a lot of mental anguish, I did what Henk apparently did. Cut the offending amount of metal tube off from the barrel side. I also had to remove metal from the opposite end as well so that the muffler would be able to bolt up without having an excess of pipe stuffed inside of it.

My thoughts before seeing this thread was that Armourers made the pipe longer at each end so it would work on more motorcycle variations. Don't know that for certain but will give them the benefit of the doubt. The stainless sure looks nice after having the welds buffed and then bead blasting the ensemble for a dull lusterless finish.

email (option): dgordon4@austin.rr.com

Same story...stainless system from Armours.

Both pipe ends had to be cut down, ft bracket reworked, pipe hit frame and KS hit muffler so pipe required a bit of rebending.

On a positive note, the fit of the pipe in the cylinder is good, seals very well, but it does require a few mallet blows to insert...

Now installed, all is well, but hardly a bolt-on!

JDE

email (option): teladelujo@msn.com

Has anyone let them know the pipe doesn't fit..?
My mate bought an exhaust from Armours for a GP triumph and it had a dent on the top of the curve that looked like a centre punch had hit it. He'd had them for months before even taking them out the packaging and thought he couldn't send them back. I said he should at least let them know about it. The bloke had an idea how that had happened in the making of the pipe and replaced it without a problem.

email (option): horror@blueyonder.co.uk

Because I know them well at Armours, I'll tell you what I know:-
They make all their own silencers but the pipes are entrusted to three local tube bending firms who use pre arranged jigs. Hundreds of these pipes are made at a time and I'm sure discrepancies occur with the jigs and lack of care by some of the operatives. Of course at Armours they can't test fit anything, so they go out to the customer needing tweaking.
During the course of selling say ten systems, they might get one complaint, then their attitude is, that it must be something wrong with the complainers bike.
I know they do take pride in a nicely finished product and go to amazing lengths to get good plating done.
As has already been stated. (For a chrome system) If you don't mind paying the postage to and fro. They can send an un-plated system for you to fettle, then chrome it later. This is why life is easier for us with WD bikes in either bare metal or stainless. Ron

email (option): ronpier@talk21.com

That's the advantage of our London Exhaust boys; they make their own pipes, and will fit everything to your bike, before chroming/Schooping

email (option): viaconsu [at] planet [dot] nl

I've been going to Armours for years and bought pipes and silencers for all sorts of bikes from little Villiers stuff to a Brough Superior and never had a problem, chromed or unchromed, they even made me a special one off for a James Trials bike a couple of years back. This doesn't mean there aren't folks out there who have had probelms, I'm only saying I haven't, just my two penny worth.

Well I've had numerous problems with Armours pipes..and some with the silencers. I've had pipes that wouldn't fit into the exhaust port because the pipe wasn't round..pipes that wouldn't fit into the silencer..incorrect bends..brackets incorrectly dimensioned AND in the wrong place..appallingly bad 'necking' and deformation of the pipes on the bends..incorrectly dimensioned silencers and brackets etc. etc....In fact it's hard to think of a problem I haven't had and I used to expect some fault pretty much every time I bought one. I no longer use them generally...
Pipes should be tested on a jig during production to ensure the bends, offsets etc. are correct and either reworked or rejected if faulty..Is it seriously being suggested that you should buy an exhaust system EXPECTING to alter it for correct fit etc.?. The degree of deformation on the bends is simply unacceptable in my opinion and entirely curable...it is just a question of correcting the tooling specifications and it does seem to me that the manufacturers should have invested in the correct tooling to do the job they have chosen to do.. They (Armours) are ultimately responsible for the product they sell and if there are issues with the accuracy of work or quality control carried out by thier suppliers they should either address that or bring manufacture and inspection 'in house' to solve the problems...Isn't it supposed to be the Indians that are passing on sub standard parts to thier unfortunate customers? I'm sure they have had enough complaints to realise there are problems..but they have yet to put those right, so are they really concerned?
Personally, I find it hard to understand why in this high technology age we supposedly live in there is so much of a problem bending a piece of pipe without f*****g it up...Ian

email (option): ian@wright52.plus.com

Hi, I also recently fitted the stainless steel tipped up silencer from Armours.

Like Chris the bracket is too short, the pipe didn't go in the barrel and I bended the pipe a little more to get the pipe run closer round the timingcase. Like many of you I didn't expect it was a straight fit because of previous experience.

But I really like the result and I am even more pleased by the sound it gives: Very quiet at normal running and loud barking when the engine has to pull, great sound!!



Regards, Michiel

email (option): m.wijbenga@hotmail.com

I bought my complete exhaust system from Londen in Holland; fitted like a glove. No rust either.Perfect.

Hi Michael...Stainless?...Ian

email (option): ian@wright52.plus.com

London makes no stainless systems as they consider it not to be original

email (option): ahum@quicknet.nl

could i have some measurements please from " them what know "...

the system i got is . like michiels the wrong radius bends and sits far too low, at least to my eyes.

how high should the pipe be from the ground with the bike on its rear stand ?

could someone please measure the distance from ground to silencer at the bracket point please, and also the height of the flat part of the down pipe as it loops under the gearbox ?

email (option): chris.astinbarker@btinternet.com

Contact details for Londen?

email (option): unpob@yahoo.com

Hello all:
Gee, this must be a real quality control issue, rather a lack of quality control. After reading these posts, I went out to the garage to test fit the one I got from Draganfly (Armours supplied).

The pipe fits snuggly and flush into the exhaust port as far as it should go, but the bracket appears too short at about 1/2 inch and the bolt hole is about 3/8 inch below the attaching bolt centerline in the motor mounting plate.

Does the header pipe rest just above the frame in the area between the frame and timing cover, or outside the frame just touching it? My header pipe just hits the frame. A little higher and it would slide into the space.

If it sits just inside, then the pipe radius is too large making the bracket about 1/2 inch too short to sit flush with the engine mounting plate. If the pipe fits inside I believe that would solve the shortfall on bracket length and may also help the alignment of the bracket bolt hole with the mounting bolt????

I had already primed it with high temperature primer and high temperature black. A classic cart before the horse screw-up; however, the engine was in the shop being re-furbished and I was trying to get ahead of the game.

I do not believe I can tweek it enough to fit properly, especially if it requires tightening of the radius.

It may just require cutting at the exhaust port as Henk suggests, which is easy enough. It is also too long at the other end for the muffler or silencer, about 3 inches maybe, for the silencer bracket to mate up.

Any suggestions on how to tighten the radius if that is the problem, i.e. if the pipe needs to fit above the frame in the space??? I hope that it just a matter of shortening at the exhaust port. Thanks.

Doc

email (option): h2odoc@nmt.edu

I believe the exhaust pipe line on the AA bike on the forum picture is correct. I also had to tighten the radius on my stainless pipe by heating it and using the rails of my bike trailer to tweak it. Naturally I marked the pipe so had to do some filling and sanding before bead blasting it. (A fork in a tree trunk would have been better). I also had to slightly bend the front bracket to get it to line up. This is the result, which looks ok to me.
As some of you know, I have a good tube firm here in Poole. Nowadays, where possible I will get them to copy an original pipe, or take the bike to them for fitting. Ron

email (option): ronpier@talk21.com

www.london-exhaust.com/

email (option): viaconsu [at] planet [dot] nl

My B31 silencer came completely empty- I could see right through the darn thing, no baffles or excuse for baffles either and this after going through Armours catalogue and getting all those nifty numbers right. I had to get a replacement as my old one which was beyond redemption, now I've cut the old one horizontally and am in the process of replecating it.
In all fairness the last complete exhaust system that I got from these guys went right onto my AJS without a hitch. I'm guessing that there is a quality control issue over there which needs looking into. The Indian exhausts aren't too bad, it's just that they use crappy metal..oh well! At least they have baffles in them.

I think the baffle system at Armours, is simply a perforated tube right through the silencer. On the stainless silencers they also add some stainless steel wool around this tube. Mine blew out over a couple of years and they cut the end off my silencer and re-packed it.....But after another 2 years it's all blown out again......Sounds good in a tunnel though. Ron

email (option): ronpier@talk21.com

Yes, while we are all having a moan about Armours well made but poorly fitting systems the lack of baffling is worth a mention...my M20 is very loud, though as Ron mentioned, the silencer is a few years old. My B33 system was far too loud straight from fitting so I think they should do some work on that apect as well...Oh for the mellow sounds of an original M20 exhaust or a new Burgess ....Ian

email (option): ian@wright52.plus.com

Any suggestions on how to tighten the radius if that is the problem, i.e. if the pipe needs to fit above the frame in the space??? I hope that it just a matter of shortening at the exhaust port. Thanks.

Doc

[/quote]

Hi Doc, I welded the front of the pipe (side which goes in the cylinder) on a piece of steel clamped in the vice, then heated it up until red and put my whole weight on the other side of the tube. This way will save you a biketrailer and a tree

If you do this before shortening the pipe you will also get rid of the welds easily. The discoloration of the heating will disappear after blasting.

But actually quite sad that it is needed in the first place

Goodluck, Michiel

email (option): m.wijbenga@hotmail.com

i had a B40 silencer enpty so i stuffed it with small hole chicket wire worked a treat

email (option): roger.beck@node6.com