exhaust keeps braking,ideas?

i totaled my bike 3 weeks ago and it bent and broke my exhaust pipe and dented in my muffler. so i heated up the bends and got the angle somewhat back and took the big dents out of the muffler, but the more i rode the more the more the nuts kept backing off the flange on the head, and then the pipe started cracking along one of the bends, so i took my mig welder and went as low on the heat as i could and covered the crack in a desperate attempt to seal it. then above the weld a new crack and another patch job,then below the first weld another crack....and on and on as i fixed them and rode some more a new one would pop up.then today,i went for a 20 mile ride and in the middle of it the pipe cracked again in another different spot only this time all the way thru and separated the muffler from the pipe.

is there anyway to repair this pipe without replacing it,i think the muffler is still good and this may give me the chance to build my own straight pipe with the muffler on the end.

what materials do you need to make an decent exhaust system on these bikes,all i have is a mig welder. any thoughts that avoid having to buy a new one would be appreciated.thanks!

2door said:

Pipes aren't that difficult to fabricate. 3/4" electrical conduit, called EMT, works. You just need a bender, available almost anywhere, Sears, Home Depot, Ace Hardware, etc. Instead of a flanged end I used an explosion proof, or, hazardous location, electrical fitting. It screws together and has a gasket between the male and female ends. I welded the male end to a flange for the cylinder port. You already have a wire feed welder so the hardest part for you will be bending the right angles so everything clears. EMT is cheap so if you mess up you're not out much on materials. Pipes are sort of fun to design and build. The high performance guys won't like the one pictured below but the bike performs adequately for me. Its very quiet too.
Tom

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thanks, i think thats what im gonna try, i just dont have to much time left in the season to ride before the weather turns crappy here in chicago other wise id wait the 5 days for shipping on a new one,im just eager to get back out on the road before its to wet or cold to ride.