Man, that's gonna leave a scar. :-)

As Bagga stated, #24 is attached to #35. See pic. Your Y-exhaust was bound to crack, but faster without the brackets. Poor design by Harley that we all suffer.

 

That's interesting. I wonder where mine ended up. I'm going to take a good look at the mounting point by the starter tonight and see if there is evidence that the bracket was ever on there.

Looking at things with a fresh head this morning, it seems like my options are:

1) Weld up what I have and hope for the best. I'll run it over to Mark (the indy next door) and see what he thinks. I've also got a brother in law who's a professional welder and an absolute wizard. He could weld two pieces of bubble gum wrapper together. The advantage of this option is that it's cheap and fast. The disadvantage is knowing that it could break again at any time.

2) Get a replacement header pipe (like the one from Schex?), and then figure how to integrate it with my mufflers. Looking at the broken one I've got here, I'm thinking I could cut a couple of inches off the flange end of my header pipe, cut a couple inches off the new pipe, then weld the old flange to the new pipe. Wouldn't have to modify my mufflers and would probably last forever.

3) Get a complete set of new headers like these Paughcos. I like the fact that they eliminate the "Y" joint. Not sure if I care performance wise about the effects of a "true dual" exhaust. Those things are kind of spendy (best price I've found is like $360, and that does not include heat shields). The one thing I worry about on those is the way the exhaust tucks pretty close to the left side passenger floorboard on my bike. Not a lot of wiggle room, so fitment would have to be pretty much dead on if they are going to work.



With just over a week to get this sorted, I probably need to make a decision and go with it pretty damned fast here.

Why is it that I always seem to find myself in this situation right before a trip???

 

Most time saving options.

1) To make the run, save money, and buy yourself some time, I would have it welded up and find that bracket. Good welders can do anything.

2) Go to Indy, local Harley dealer, or Craigslist for a whole take-off exhaust system from 2003 and earlier (no sensors), or they may have an Evo header in the attic somewhere. Two options there.

3) Amazon Prime two day delivery, if you want new.

 

First thing that popped through my mind was the image of Dr. Hess rebuilding his bike outside a motel room....

0maha: This what I went through when I discovered this on my FLHS:



The area had already been welded once before. Too thin to even think about welding it again. Then there was the whole problem of the backing/support plate being there.

The MoCo has long discontinued the crossover pipe. There is a company that must have boughten up all the old stock, but they want almost $500 for it. And you have to order it through a dealership or independent, as they don't sell the the common people...

I looked at both the Paughco offerings, and the reviews were sort of 'wishy-washy'. Finding a good used 'take-off' set (IIRC up to 2006 will work) is difficult. Lot's of wrecked parts. Not so many good parts.

Ended up with the Thunderheader on mine. For under $900 (eBay), it was just more cost effective to go that route:



Although I really like the looks of dual mufflers out the back, I just couldn't justify the expense of trying to replicate the OEM set up. And my SuperTrapp slip-ons were in need of replacing after 22 years.

 

Well, had a good conversation with Schex and also just got back from visiting over at the indy next door.

Mark (the indy) found a few cracks in my pipe I hadn't noticed. The weld where the downtube meets with the horizontal section is coming apart as well. There's no redeeming that one.

Decided to go ahead and order the Paughco 735G. His distributor shows they have one in Chicago, so it should be here tomorrow. God willing and the creek don't rise, everything will line up and be back together just in time for the three days of rain in the forecast later this week.

Thanks again for all the advice and offers here. Much appreciation!

 

Because you keep daring Murphy to do things like this!!!!

 

True, but observe that I am never asking "Why is it that I always seem to find myself in this situation DURING a trip???

Edit: And in that spirit, I have to note that at least nothing else can go wrong now!!!

 

Unrelated but I find the 130 psi to he on the low side but at least it is the same on both cylinders. Next year, you should do a refresh with rings, clean up the heads, and an EV13 cam.

 

If I were in your shoes, I'd have gotten a set of newer pipes without the flanges and a set of newer stock slip ons to start. Eliminating the flanged head pipes gives you a ton of options when upgrading.

 

Come on. That's silly. There may be good reasons to put in a cam, but there's nothing unhealthy about a stock Evo, cold, showing 130/130!

Funny you should say that. Schex said pretty much the same thing earlier today.

If I had known then what I know now, I'd have bought '95+ mufflers, cut off my flanges, and gone that way. As it is, I'm kind of stuck since I love the fishtails and don't want to have to buy them over again.

Live and learn...