Substitution of original Harley-Davidson escapes

In this tutorial we will perform a simple operation, that any garage addict could undertake with the right tools and following a simple procedure.
It is about the replacement of the complete exhaust system with an escape 2 in 2 with fish tails.

The escape
The test motorcycle will be on this occasion an HD Softail Fat Boy model of 2004, which has been installed a pair of tires with white band and a high handlebar, and we will complete its character with a pair of fish of fish of fish, in the style of the motorcycles of the Mexican gang of the Sons of Anarchy series ... "Cholo" Style.

We have chosen for the operation some Samson 2 collectors in 2, where the rear collector leaves directly on the left part of the engine, creating a cleaner and more classic image.
The silencers are a fishtail (fish tail) also of Samson, which fit perfectly into the project and will provide a serious and robust sound.

Facility
To start the work we will disassemble the original exhaust system completely,

including the escape support that is subject to the chassis

And we will mount the new supports.

To install the left support we have to extract 2 plastic caps from the chassis that protect the threaded holes where we will locate the screws of the new support.

With the escape disassembled we will take the opportunity to replace the joints of the exhaust collectors, for this we will extract them from the cylinder head

and carefully we will position the new ones.

Now we are prepared to screw the new collectors, the first step for this is to reuse the clamping flanges to the ass, which we will remove from the old collectors.

We continue riding the collectors

And we will verify that the gear change lever rod interferes with the rear cylinder collector.

Samson's people have taken this into account and that is why the kit includes a new change rod that passes under the escape.

With the collectors in their place we can already proceed to assembly of the silencers, all this without tightening of any screw, that is, we have to leave the "loose" system and start tightening the screws from behind forward, following the indications and tightening pairs of the service manual.

We will continue riding the heat protectors of the collectors, for this we will place them in their position and hold them with the screw clamps.

Final checks
Before going out to try the escapes we must verify that the queues are perfectly parallel and correctly located, otherwise we will loosen the escapes again and make the tightening again holding so that both sides are in the same situation.

It is also very important to clean them very well before starting the engine, because the fat or sweat of our hands that have been attached to the surface during assembly can leave permanent spots if they heat up a lot.
Once these checks have been made, we can go out to try our new escape, important to know that if the motorcycle is of injection, the switchboard will be paddled, and if it is carburation we have to install a Dynojet or similar kit.

Frank Burguera

#mecanicaharley