Drilling out cat
Tourer
Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 254
Likes: 18
From: Chicago, Illinois
I used the larger spade bit and it dug in and was a pain in the ***. It wanted to catch and the torque wanted to break my wrist. Went to the 1" paddle bit that I read was suggested and it was ten times better. It wasn't a simple process, it'll take some time but when all said and done worked out great. I thought I was going to end up drilling a bunch of holes to open it up and was quite surprised when the chunks broke off the bike and came out in large pieces. My pipe was off the bike which made holding it challenging but was easier to see everything inside was gone. The first hole is the hardest.
Last edited by criyi; Apr 6, 2018 at 08:19 AM.
3rd Gear
Joined: Apr 2018
Posts: 7
Likes: 1
From: Lancaster,pa
I did mine as well,took me several hours ,ruined a couple bits and the biggest chunk that came out was the size of my thumbnail! I left it on the bike but took crossover pipe off so junk coul come out there as well. I vowed to myself I’ll never do it again! Now it s for sale if anyone wants it PM me. I went with Magnaflow tru duals and the sound improved dramatically.
There is another seller on eBay that has been selling the decatted headpipes for years that only charges $100 shipped. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Wild-Pig-He...19.m1438.l2649
Tourer
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 280
Likes: 80
From: NW Illinois
I bought mine off of Ebay about 2 years ago, $100 shipped. I think the guy was in Minnesota. He gets nearly new dealer take-offs, cuts them open, cleans out and rewelds. Has a jig to hold everything in perfect alignment. Welds look great, not rusting. Mine looked like it had never been used. I wouldn't even mess with doing it myself just to save that 100 bucks. As a plus, the sound is just slightly louder, I'm happy with it.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 17,684
Likes: 6,062
From: Niagara, Ontario, Canada
i cut mine out and re-welded the patch, pretty easy. Those that drill and think they got it all, I don't think so. Even with it opened up, you have to dremel/chisel it out. Have a spare one in the garage.
Tourer
Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 456
Likes: 205
From: Manchester, MI
I looked at the options for cutting on E-Bay. I wonder who does these. There is the guy in Florida and the guy in Chelsea. If you look at the pictures, they both use the same except for the name on top of the peg board. These guys are not getting thousands of cores each year from the local dealer. These two, plus others, must be getting them from a high volume source.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Wild-Pig-He...19.m1438.l2649
https://www.ebay.com/itm/2011-Harley....c100011.m1850
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Wild-Pig-He...19.m1438.l2649
https://www.ebay.com/itm/2011-Harley....c100011.m1850
I looked at the options for cutting on E-Bay. I wonder who does these. There is the guy in Florida and the guy in Chelsea. If you look at the pictures, they both use the same except for the name on top of the peg board. These guys are not getting thousands of cores each year from the local dealer. These two, plus others, must be getting them from a high volume source.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Wild-Pig-He...19.m1438.l2649
https://www.ebay.com/itm/2011-Harley....c100011.m1850
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Wild-Pig-He...19.m1438.l2649
https://www.ebay.com/itm/2011-Harley....c100011.m1850
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Tourer
Joined: Sep 2011
Posts: 456
Likes: 205
From: Manchester, MI
I beg to differ. They are the same picture. Look at the mounting wire positions and count the rows and you will see the "Damaged area", though they look different, are in the same identical spot. The Chelsea seller just cropped the top off of the original picture and placed in his name. Again, count the rows. There is someone making these for multiple sellers.
Road Captain
Joined: May 2015
Posts: 668
Likes: 72
From: Wisconsin
Did the Ebay thing myself. Great price great work. I would recommend and get new gaskets for the manifold. Cheap and saves a trip. This guy on Ebay his welds are flawless. He must have a gig or a shop setup for it. Mine looked perfect and looked like new. Thinking takeoffs? From a dealership.