1983 Sportster XLX.
How important is the exhaust pipe crossover? I'm talking about the pipe that runs between the two exhaust pipes. It runs horizontal. Is it supposed to be open flow in there? Does it have to be there? Are there advantages to having it/not having it? Any info would be helpfull. Thanks.

 

I am not an exhaust expert but here is what i know about this ...

The crossover helps with low end torque, but is not necessary.

Where the two parts join together must be well sealed. A leak there dramatically affects the tuneup. I used both the stock gasket and some Permatex Ultra Copper sealant.

It makes installing/removing the exhaust much more complicated. It gets in the way when doing pushrod adjustment. It interferes with the cable for the mechanical tach [pre-81].

 

I gave this answer in the other post, but I'll repeat it here:

Your bike will make a little more power with it, especially at real-world engine speeds. I've run my '83 XLX with and without it, and I believe the best setup to be the crossover exhaust headers with free-flowing slip on mufflers.



Mick's right about the pushrod adjustment - they're more difficult to get to, but after you get the routine down, it's no big deal.

 

+1.

I like the Cycle Shack taper tip mufflers; good sound but not too loud. I also have a set of Cycle Shack slash cuts, with the removeable baffles replaced with bolt&washer baffles, for "special occasions" where a little more sound is desireable [heh heh].

 

Great info guys. I suspect that I have a leak there at the joint. I wasn't sure if it mattered if it was a good seal at the joint. It sounds like it is important. So I'm going to tinker with it and see if I can get it joined/sealed properly.

 

I rode my 1980 for three years with a leak at that joint, all the time thinking that it did not matter as it was so far from the head. Wrong! I sealed it up with a new gasket 65781-82 and some Permatex Ultra Copper sealant. I then had to reduce the size of both jets in the carb. It was sucking a lot of air in thru that join.

I had to include the sealant - the gasket alone was not enough. The two parts do not fit together very well.

I also found that it was foolish of me to try to remove either just the front or just the rear, and to re-install. I would always get a leak that way. I had to remove the whole thing, and re-install carefully.

 

So what's the fix for the mechanical tach cable in the way of the crossover tube? I put stock crossover tube headers on my 75 xlh with Paughco mufflers and melted my tach cable.

carl

 

To me they're unsightly, leaky and heavy. Bikes never had them prior to EPA noise reduction standards...so what's that tell us? It's not like performance was recently discovered either.

Got 100hp/88ft lbs with these. And great sound