The "New" Harley pipes are on!

I worked most of the day to get the pipes on. I lost my resolve and energy at about 4pm. After dinner I decided that I'd just clamp them on. Then I thought better of it, I thought possibly the pressure might shoot them off. So I set out to get at least one hanger attached on each side which i did accomplish at about 10:30pm. They're on there, it's ugly but they were on and stable.

I backed the bike out of the garage and started the Wing up. There was an immediate difference in sound. The old straight through pipes were more a blat. The harley pipes created a low rumble, no where near the rumble of the sabre or certainly not a harley. The first thing I noticed, since I was in shorts, was that I had leaks at joints on either side. I expected this, when I removed the old pipes there was a ring of doping/sealant around each of the pipes. The problem is that the rings didn't fit with the harley pipes. 

It's of little consequence, I need to remove the the new pipes and assembly. I sanded down the original rusted hangars and I want to paint my homemade straps and the old hangars. 

There are a couple of things to note with these pipes. The markings on the pipes say they are legal for an XLS, 883 and another bike, they remind me of my old 1980 BMW R100 pipes, they have a fairly straight shape. They do seem to block the rear axle, so they would have to come off to remove the rear tire. They have rectangular blocks welded on, and there is a 5/16 threaded hole for attachment. This means I'll have to carry a 5/16 wrench in my kit in case I have to remove them for tire repair. They did have crossover ports. I can't weld so I did the next best thing. I got a 1/2 galvanized pipe plug and put it into the port. It was a little small but since I used JB Weld epoxy putty the whole thing fit snugly. 

On the first ride, about an hour the bike seemed to be running cooler than on my other rides. This is just an impression. I heard more engine valve noise than exhaust noise.