Wonder what's inside those Fishtail exhausts (Part 1)

Hi everyone,
A newbie here, but have already tried a different sound with the prorace slip-ons. They sound nice and aggressive, but way too loud. I also think fishtails are part of the character of the bike.

Anyway,
Has anyone drilled the baffles? Where exactly is the drill site? What is the airbox update to make the bike sound better?

Thanks for the colonoscopy pictures too! Pretty cool!
 
Morning, someone may have drilled a Fishtail but they are so expensive to replace I doubt many would risk it tbh. Your quest for more noise may depend on the country you live in because of aftermarket availability. There are some threads on the forum about disabling the exhaust flapper servos, air filter replacement and deleting the air intake snorkels that may be of interest to you. Ive had the stage 1 HD’s in years gone by but no longer want that sort of attention everywhere I go. Mines remaining completely stock.
 
P
Nefiawy said:
Hi everyone,
A newbie here, but have already tried a different sound with the prorace slip-ons. They sound nice and aggressive, but way too loud. I also think fishtails are part of the character of the bike.

Anyway,
Has anyone drilled the baffles? Where exactly is the drill site? What is the airbox update to make the bike sound better?

Thanks for the colonoscopy pictures too! Pretty cool!
Click to expand...
Place some aftermarket baffles in the Pro race pipes. It will reduce the db level.
 
I met today with a master welder fabricator in the Milwaukee area and left my complete exhaust system with him.
His welding skills are unbelievable. He showed me custom motorcycle work he has done and several projects including swapping a Nissan GTR motor into an RX7 complete with custom fabricated turbo plumbing and intercoolers he fabricated himself.
I know numerous forum members were searching for someone to do fishtail surgery here in the states. I’ll keep you updated and pass along any photos of the progress.
 
MilwDave said:
I met today with a master welder fabricator in the Milwaukee area and left my complete exhaust system with him.
His welding skills are unbelievable. He showed me custom motorcycle work he has done and several projects including swapping a Nissan GTR motor into an RX7 complete with custom fabricated turbo plumbing and intercoolers he fabricated himself.
I know numerous forum members were searching for someone to do fishtail surgery here in the states. I’ll keep you updated and pass along any photos of the progress.
Click to expand...
Sounds like a cool shop! Good luck and I have stocked up on 🍺 and 🍿
 
Eckypooh said:
Took some pictures of the exhaust internals from the butterfly back, you can see some poor welding and overspill possibly restricting flow. only one baffle in there and the rest of the sound proofing is in the massive cavity of the fishtail itself.
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I've got 2 spare anybody in Scotland got the skills to take them to bits
 
MilwDave said:
I met today with a master welder fabricator in the Milwaukee area and left my complete exhaust system with him.
His welding skills are unbelievable. He showed me custom motorcycle work he has done and several projects including swapping a Nissan GTR motor into an RX7 complete with custom fabricated turbo plumbing and intercoolers he fabricated himself.
I know numerous forum members were searching for someone to do fishtail surgery here in the states. I’ll keep you updated and pass along any photos of the progress.
Click to expand...
Yes, please keep us updated.
 
OK - so collected the exhausts from the post office .....

I've attached some pictures - the main thing is that the bottom weld is cut above the bottom lip and goes nearly all the way along - allowing it to be re welded without deforming the existing seam - the outside is unmarked. The internals are removed and the mesh cut off as shown.

One bracket is removed or comes loose and they mark that to obviously line it up on reassembly.

I don't know how the welds will weather so I suspect will need to wax them with something.

It is a lot of money but the skill required is great I suspect and takes years of practice..

If they work and sould well when fitted I'll be happy - I won't be fitting till the weekend so if you need any more pics just ask

IMG_6604.JPGIMG_6605.JPGIMG_6606.JPGIMG_6607.JPGIMG_6608.JPG
 
SPR said:
OK - so collected the exhausts from the post office .....

I've attached some pictures - the main thing is that the bottom weld is cut above the bottom lip and goes nearly all the way along - allowing it to be re welded without deforming the existing seam - the outside is unmarked. The internals are removed and the mesh cut off as shown.

One bracket is removed or comes loose and they mark that to obviously line it up on reassembly.

I don't know how the welds will weather so I suspect will need to wax them with something.

It is a lot of money but the skill required is great I suspect and takes years of practice..

If they work and sould well when fitted I'll be happy - I won't be fitting till the weekend so if you need any more pics just ask

View attachment 12531View attachment 12532View attachment 12533View attachment 12534View attachment 12535
Click to expand...
That weld job is outstanding!! Imagine he welded w stainless steel comparable to the fishtail stainless steel. You should be able to buff the weld out. I didn’t gut mine out when I cut it short so curious on the sound result.
 
SPR said:
OK - so collected the exhausts from the post office .....

I've attached some pictures - the main thing is that the bottom weld is cut above the bottom lip and goes nearly all the way along - allowing it to be re welded without deforming the existing seam - the outside is unmarked. The internals are removed and the mesh cut off as shown.

One bracket is removed or comes loose and they mark that to obviously line it up on reassembly.

I don't know how the welds will weather so I suspect will need to wax them with something.

It is a lot of money but the skill required is great I suspect and takes years of practice..

If they work and sould well when fitted I'll be happy - I won't be fitting till the weekend so if you need any more pics just ask

View attachment 12531View attachment 12532View attachment 12533View attachment 12534View attachment 12535
Click to expand...
Thanks, I passed these along to the fabricator here in Milwaukee who is working on mine.
I’ll have him take a few pics of his work and post those here.
If he’s interested in doing this for other forum members I’ll pass his info along. If nothing else the shipping will be significantly less expensive for those of us here in the U.S.
 
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Noelpolar said:
Looking at the welding it sure looks stainless..... mmm...... a Tig for xmas.....
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I mig welded the slash cut on my fishtail with stainless steel wire. Yes the fishtail is stainless steel. If it was chromed mild steel, I wouldn’t have been able to polish it out. It will just rust. I am a novice mig welder. Tig welding is the way to go on a master piece like the BMW fishtail. If I decide to cut my other set, I will hire a professional tig welder.
 
33Cruzr said:
I mig welded the slash cut on my fishtail with stainless steel wire. Yes the fishtail is stainless steel. If it was chromed mild steel, I wouldn’t have been able to polish it out. It will just rust. I am a novice mig welder. Tig welding is the way to go on a master piece like the BMW fishtail. If I decide to cut my other set, I will hire a professional tig welder.
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The fabricator I’m working with tells me he uses a gas of some sort when he welds stainless. He showed me examples using the gas and without. The difference is less discoloration and better looking beads.
 
No
MilwDave said:
The fabricator I’m working with tells me he uses a gas of some sort when he welds stainless. He showed me examples using the gas and without. The difference is less discoloration and better looking beads.
Click to expand...
Both TIG and MIG welding uses gas, I believe to minimize contaminants. You can also MIG weld with stainless steel flux wire which eliminates the need for gas. TIG welding is for fine welding. It sounds like your fabricator maybe a pro at MIG welding and can do a great job. I like working w stainless steel because if I don’t like the results, I can grind it and start over again. I can polish it when I’m happy.
 
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