Quick question, exhaust bracket + cable shortening

[Stephen Arsenal]

Hi guys I´m in the garage and its freezing,I´m trying to fit the exhaust on the chain side ,but the bracket does´nt line up,here is a picture of how it was before I took it apart,not sure if even this was correctly fitted,or should the bracket fit on the outer side of the hole ??cheers.steve

[MG]

The bracket should fit on the outer side.
Depending on the exhaust pipes and the silencers it might also be necessary to add one or more washers (or spacers of differnet thickness) to align the silencers correctly (so that both have about the same angle in relation to the frame/swing arm).

[Stephen Arsenal]

oophs

[Stephen Arsenal]

Thanks Mg,any time you want to take a weeks holiday up here,just say( bring your spanners mit) danke-steve

[MG]

Don't say that twice, I might really come! 
When's the Techno-Classica in Essen this year? 

[Stephen Arsenal]

Hi Mg,the other side,the clutch lever side,the bracket must go on the inside yes ?(because the the kickstar lever would hit the silencer when pushed downwards,?)

[MG]

Hm, actually not. You could try and swap the two silencers, as the bracket is not in the middle of the silencer usually.

[Stephen Arsenal]

Hi Mg,I guess its march,you are more than welcome to drop by (without spanners).Since you are on line,a couple of more questions.I must shorten the brake cable by about 3.2 cm,should I tie a knot in it,and then weld it into a ball or onto the end fastner,my welder guy will not cut the wire and reweld the nipple,he sayes its too dangerous.Also I have excess brake cable,does it just hang(photo 1) or does it follow the fork arm upwards (p2) cheers

[MG]

Hi Steve!

As for the cable: For shortening you would have to use silver solder. Here in Austria I got a set with flux and a solder with a low melting point (350°C) at a local hardware store (but I'm sure it is available at many places). You can work with the normal blow torch here and it works for steel, brass, stainless and copper. This is the problem with the ready-made cables, because they often use some kind of zinc alloy or something like that for the nipples, so if you shorten it, you need a new nipple (from brass or steel).
This is how you do it: You apply the solder to the point where you plan to cut the cable. Outherwise it will fan out when you cut it. Cut it and then put it through the bore of the fitting and use a centre punch or pin of some kind and a hammer to fan it out. Then you pull it back into the nipple, apply the flux and solder. File away any excess solder or overlaying cable when cooled down.

If you were nearby, I'd say drop by and I'll show you, but unfortunately its quite a piece to Münster from here.  

The cable usually hangs loose, I bent a small loop from welding wire and attached it to the middle front mudguard bracket to fix the cable a bit, so that it doesn't rub against the mudguard and fork legs all the time.

[MG]

Just remembered: In case you have the Haynes manual, I think the process of cable manufacturing is explained in there as well (incl. some pics).

If you shorten the cable, you could as well shorten the outer cover. There has to be enough excess so that it can move freely with the front wheel when you turn the handlebars, on the second pic it looks like its simply too long.

And just to make it clear once more (I think I might not have explained it clearly before): I have the cable run along the fork leg like your third photo shows, but I havent attached it ot the leg somewhere, so it runs freely down through the wire loop at the mudguard stay.

kind like that :

[MG]

one more thing Steve:

ALWAYS cover openings at the engine with a rag or something (cylinder bores, intake manifolds, pushrod casing, etc.). If something falls in there unnoticed you will be in serious trouble when starting here up!

[MG]

Steve,

I just had a flash of genius  : Your bike is a '59, isn't it? 58 and 59 had the bellied silencers with a welded-on bracket. Nowadays usually only the later version (60-62) is available. These have threads and a bolt-on bracket like in the picture.
So maybe herein lies the reason for your problem. I suppose you might be able to mount the brackets on the silencers either way round and change the distance to the frame by that (they have that double-kink and turning them round will make a difference, albeit much a smaller one than changing their position on the frame lug).

[Stephen Arsenal]

Hi,yes its those brackets I have,but the chain side is either off or way off,will see,will be heading back into garage as soon as the sleet clears,will cover the middle bit,cheers-steve

[jimmy]

G`day Stephen
                     a word of warning, if you are using a blowtorch don`t heat the cable red hot or you will destroy the tensile strength and put a potential failure point in it.  Also splay the cable out well in the recessed hole as this is what does most of the holding when you grab the lever, the solder is packing that stops the wire folding back.

regards JIm

[a10gf]

Adding to this double topic (too late to split, good to make a new topic when leaving the initial subject...), a few pics from one of my old books. Agree with jimmy, too much heat and it could snap when you most need it. Have used normal tin solder with correct decapant flux and got lasting results.

[chaterlea25]

HI Stephen,
Cable soldering is a skill I was taught by an older motorcyclist when I was a teenager!

Use tinmans solder, a good flux (Bakers fluid) and the advice given about splaying the cable is very important.
DO NOT USE ELECTRICAL SOLDER
I melt some solder using an old soup ladle as a solder pot, alternate dipping the cable end in the flux and then the solder until the solder has penetrated all the strands. Wear eye protection!!!!!

I always make up my own cables as you have found they seldom fit!!!!!

I would NOT use silver solder as the temp involved will damage the cable

HTH
John  O R

[MG]

John,

Just to make it clear and to avoid misunderstandings:
I wrote about a special silver solder with a working temp. of 350°C (662°F), which is about the same temp. as with normal tin solder. This is not the one used for silver brazing which uses far higher temperatures! It has the advantage of a significantly higher tensile strength than normal tin solder, which gives me additional peace of mind for this critical application.

Another thing I forgot to mention: After the cable has cooled down after soldering, I put the nipple in the vice and give the cable a good pull to check the work. You would rather want it to come off in the vice than on the bike.

Regards, Markus

[bsa- bill]

Hi John and Marcus - a question for you

I am having problems with font TLS brake cable, can't seem to get the correct length in a cable of quality ( got one almost correct length but looked about the correct gauge for a pushbike).
I do have one good cable with a brake switch incorporated (handy, I could use it) but I had to shorten the outer and now need to shorten the inner  , these cables are around twenty pounds plus.
I'm thinking of investing in a solder pot http://www.mrtechservices.co.uk/product.php/501/248/quick_100_4c_solder_pot
What's your opinion
it can be bundled with lead free pellets - is lead free OK or is it significantly different from tinmans

All the best - Bill

[MG]

Bill,

I only know the lead-free stuff from electronics. The working temperature is a bit higher (around 50°C), and it is a bit more difficult to solder, yet not really a problem. But I have to say that I'm not overly impressed by that lead-free solder concerning the wetting and flow characteristics. And there are some problems associated with it (google for "tin whisker lead free", if you are interested), furthermore there's not much long-time experience available yet. So whenever I have the choice, I use the good old tin-lead alloys. I guess there is a reason why they are still using it in aerospace and medical industry.

Just my two pence worth.

[a10gf]

afaik, only use pure tin solder as used by plumbers, with a separate decapant.