Britbike forum Forums British Motorcycle specific Brands Triumph bulletin board Cross over pipe? Yea or Nea?

Does the exhaust cross over pipe significantly reduce exhaust noise? And do they help keep the spigots from loosening up.
I have a 68 T120R which didn't use them. I don't like the way they look and I suspect they will complicate removing the pipes
but, that being said, I'm getting ready to replace my exhaust pipes and wondering if I should consider getting pipes that use it.

i had em on my 72 with pipe-in-head push-in pipes. worked fine.

the pipes rotted out and i installed press-in stubs and have been using earlier-style aftermarket pipes ever since. they work fine too.

i do have a set of aftermarket alphabet 2-into-1 headers that ive been using for a long time. they have no crossover pipe but do have a connector rod bolted between the top of the pipes, as there is no pipe-to-crankcase bracket.

if your are running the usual lower L-shaped bracket between the pipe and the crankcase i dont think you need to worry about the upper crossover pipe.

some people will have suggestions about how that crossover pipe affects the powerband, though. i dont know anything about that.

I deleted the balance tube because it made the pipes too hard to remove and replace. I use the earlier pipes just like Keven.

I haven’t noticed a difference in noise or power.

I'm torn myself, on one side they do reduce the noise quite a bit, which I like. On the other hand, I find they tend to set up a resonance of sorts at some speeds, which is annoying. They can look messy to some, but don't bother me much, though separate pipes do admittedly look cleaner.

As for the claimed increase in torque, my butt dyno isn't sensitive enough to feel the difference. They aren't very difficult to fit I think, but removing them when rusted together is a right pain. As you say, they do stiffen the whole assembly up. Separate pipes needs proper support to avoid loose spigots or fractured pipes. A have genuine low mileage 67 Bonnie in my shop where the silencer clamps are tied together with a brace. I've never seen these used on a bike before, though they're in the parts books, and I actually have one one the shelf.

If I ever get to build my 1970 frame 6T I'm planning on fitting a balance pipe exhaust with the original style "Resonator" mufflers, as I want a smooth and silent tourer.

SR

My 72 came with the cross over pipe and baffled mufflers. I got rid of that right away and put on the 68 style, because of the looks of it, but kept the parts. Over the years I tried every combination of with and without there is. By far the best performance is no cross over and no baffles.
As they used to say "if it's too loud, your too old". Ha, ha.

S R
I put that brace on my 72 because I thought it was a good idea. Problem was the center stand banged on it. I slid a piece of water heater hose over the brace. Problem solved.

I wouldn't use crossover pipes on a 68.

For authenticity, I'll keep the balance tube on the '70 TR6R I'm working on.

But appearance-wise, I'll take the cleaner looks of the '67 "no-balance-tube" pipes every time.

Here's a home market TR6, very original and not butchered. One owner for nearly 40 years, rides like new. Paint and exhaust are new.
The cross over pipe doesn't bother me very much, but this 67 (with a probably genuine 12700 miles on the clock) does look even better! It's the bike with the braced pipes I mentioned. It's let down by a half-a$$ed paint job and a cheap seat, but is a joy to ride!

SR

I LOVE the big "Home Market" tanks!

I found one for my TR6R, and I think the bike will look better because of it.
I'm setting the bike up for touring, a bit lower performance but hopefully smoother running.

BEAUTIFUL bikes Swede!!!

I guess I can't abide that balance pipe on my 68- but you know, I just don't know what else to try to keep those damned spigots from loosening up. The exhaust pipe is clamped to the motor's case, there's a stay connecting the two exhaust pipes together under the foot pegs, and the silencers are connected to the foot peg brackets, so I don't think the pipes can rotate- and the pipes are clamped on to the spigots with a finned clamp...So how are those spigots rotating loose??? I've removed the first view thread on the spigots (per John) and verified the spigots are bottoming out on the seats. And still every year when I put the bike up for the winter I remove the pipes to check the spigots and sure enough, every year the timing side spigot is loose. I'm thinking of trying some Loctite 272 or ultra copper as an act of desperation.

If you have steel push over type spigots and they are coming loose...try the Ultra High Temp green Loctite and mix up a slurry of it with iron filings and apply.

Mutter Fume .

I poisonly wouldnt use locking compound / cement 9 loctite ) THOUGH it's unlikely to chew out / take metal with it , IF theyve been in ' a while '
like a few thousand miles . itll be burnt out or crystalised !

Theres Copper Coat / koper Kote . Copper Graphite PRESSURE SEALING Anti Sieze Compound ! . Now you know ! .

This is very good for lots of things .Like Steam pipes . ( then theres Stem pipe Gasket paper !! ) and stains superbly . !

Oidinarrilly - Fit the Exhaust LOOSE , Nipped just , at head - bolts or rubber bands thrown in elsewhere . FIRE IT UP , run it for a few minutes .
Whip It of .

Use your 12 inch steel bar to cautiously & firmly ' BOTTOM ' the steel stubs . Now there right for life . Or a season or two , anyway .
( If you think youve got problems , the usually self inflicted Commando ' Issues ' make yours pale into insignificance ) .

The Trick on anything like this is CLEANLINESS .
( The stupid plastic FORD gear lever retainers fall out , incessantly . If Oily .) CLEAN OUT THE HOUSING . CLEAN THE THREADS
PROPERLY / COMPLETELY . On Both . No Residue on a white rag . Test Fit finger tight , for galling . No Major Burrs tolerated .

Now your gear lever wont fall out , if fitted DRY maybe one drop of loctite . EXHAUSTS . Slop on koper Coat ,
So As ALL the threaded surfaces are PRE COATED when you smear it round & disperse excess - so It Dosnt stain .

With The ' Firmed in ' warm ( Hot ! ) to get the differential expansion licked . Your home & hosed . Stub wise .
AND theyll come out WITHOUT tearing up the threads . Warm , with a Tap of a Hammer on the 12 in tommy bar .

Your not trying to wring their neck , you aretaking up the slack , a thump with the palm of your hand is about right .

Put On the pipes , give em a good wiggle , Nipdown fittings , give anuther wruggle to neutralise . Pull em up firm . the Bolts .

=============================================================================================

PIPES Wassel apparently were O.E.M . supplyer ( Major )

MUFFLERS , if its running correctly itll idle along and wont need much throttle , on the STRAIGHT THROUGH Glass Pac. mufflers
Triumph speced *

* ( on straight through mufflers ) in their PERFORMANCE FIGURES .

You can always throw mutes ( Commando ) up the ends . so the ' twitter ' like NORTON did . to cut the crackle .

But thats like muting the worlds best Saprano .

https://www.shopevengineering.com/
They fixed my 72 over 30 years ago. Have not had a problem since. They are sponsors of this site. Scroll down to the bottom of this page.
All the suggestion so far are temporary at best. EV will fix it permanently.

https://cybermotorcycle.com/gallery/triumph-1968/Triumph-1968-05.htm

https://www.motorcyclespecs.co.za/model/triu/triumph_tiger_tr6r_69.html

https://magazine.cycleworld.com/article/1969/3/1/triumph-tiger-650

dont butcher triumph heads . Beware of large hammers .

https://britcycle.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/06-3763.jpg

MUTE .er . . .

I have the crossover pipe on my '72. But it has push in pipes. That system needs all the help it can get to stay in place and in one piece (thank you BSA.)
As for your loose spigot, you might try something I did on an A65 with conversion spigots. Drill and tap between the fins on the head and install an Allen plug to hold it in place.
I only remove the exhaust when I need to remove the head, which I'm thankful is not every year.

Randy- I had trouble with one screw in exhaust stub coming loose. I did the thing where you remove some threads from the stub as John Healy said to do and it has been tight ever since.

Dave

I've done the removal of a couple threads thing John Healy advised a few years ago verifying that the spigots bottomed on the seat. I took the head to EV Engineering last year to have that insert job done. Ed said the spigots tighten up as they should and didn't advise doing the job. He just cleaned them up and reinstalled them. I don't mind having to check and retighten the spigots each year but I'm worried that a loose steel spigot may damage the threads in the aluminum head. The set screw idea has potential. As does the heating up the head and screwing in a cold spigot. As does super cleaning before installing.
Will look into that "Copper Kote". Thanks all for your ideas! I'll keep trying. Hard to believe just a small thing could cause such an ongoing problem.

Seager Engineering in the UK make oversized spigots on CNC equipment, you pick the oversize

https://www.seager-engineering.com/index.php



I used 10 thou over in my 1969 head, note the proper 2 threads cut off the end so the insert seats properly.

I know this question is a serious issue….. sorry, Just can’t pass this up….. This guy did not have BritBike.com for needed help!!

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