so a bunch of you have been giving me some tips on working through some exhaust issues since I bought my 13 king last year.

I cannot describe the frustration and 20+ hours I have probably put into trying to get the 2-1-2 fuel moto headers installed. (note; the fuel moto headers are awesome and so is fuel moto, not the topic here).

What I have now found has me a bit pissed off.

I was talking with a buddy today at work and he just switched out the headers on his brand new 14. He started saying he couldn't get his "X" pipe installed because the flanges just wouldnt line up on the bolts. Mind you, this is a brand new bike.

I told him I had the same issue the first time I installed my fuel moto pipes, but I spent days on end prying and pulling, giving up, and going back to it. It took some major pulling on my part to get mine lined up (again not fuel motos fault just fyi).

So he started thinking there might be something to it. He just called me and said his front flange was bent to all hell. All he ever did to it was TAKE IT OFF STOCK!

Sure enough I just pulled mine off (never really took a hard look at it) and mine was all bent to hell as well. I included a picture but mind you I just spent about 15 minutes hammering this thing in my vise to try and get it reshaped... and this is better but about as far as I can get it to get flat.

So is this a WTF moment or what?

 

seriously, this is the reason I may have damaged my fuel moto pipes. Not to mention stripped out my mounting bolt, and now have a serious dent in my head pipe that I had to put J and B on to repair... so pissed. All because this flange kept my pipes from lining up properly.

 

sure it's not made like that to go on a certain way? can't imagine bending that heavy flange on those little studs.

 

I think bending header flanges is common on motorcycles and should not change anything. Not sure about the x pipe though.

 

They should be straight. Torquing on them is bad. Things ya ought to look at before tearing stuff up... Some folks might be better off not working on their stuff???

 

Get new ones. Looks like you forced them on & over tightened them. Do you have a HD Service Manual? I don't have my manual here or I'd give you the specific way to install the flanges & torque specs. Good luck.

 

Finally a good answer.

 

unfortunately you are right, bit of an ahole about it but you are right.

You did however miss the part where I told you my buddy just took his off from a stock bike and the front was bent... so his was obviously over torqued at factory.

On a side note, I ordered my service manual when I got the pipes, but had to wait for the dealer to turn and order them (why dealers dont keep things like this in stock I will never understand). So basically I was impatient and wanted the pipes on, so I did it without torque values.

Should people not work on their own stuff? Maybe, but I spent 8 years building bombs for the USMC, I think I can handle a few nuts and bolts. A bent flange is nothing to get all "some folks might be better off not working on their stuff" ..ish.

I always thank people for their advice, and I will continue to learn and make mistakes. If you are afraid to fail you are afraid to get better.

 

patience is not a virtue that i have either.

the torque values are not that high. here is a snippet from my 2010 manual. i don't think the values have changed since, but you can verify after you get your manual.

 

much appreciated sir.