How to remove cross over pipe

I have been trying to remove the cross over pipe from my 1979 R65. For the last two months I have been hitting it with PB Blaster. Then I applied heat and even with a pipe wrench I can't get it to budge. I would just leave it on if the clamping thing on the other end wasn't broken off. Any suggestions. If your going to say cut it off, how?

Thanks,

I don't know how to get it off for sure, short of cutting but do know how I would cut it if I decided I had to do it. First I would cut the pipe off beyond the length of the stubs on the header. An angle grinder or hacksaw would do this fine. Then I would use a Dremel style tool with a cutoff disk attachment. I would carefully cut slots on opposite sides of the crossover pipe. I might even make four such cuts 90 degrees apart. I would then use an awl type tool driven in between each of the segments and the exhaust header. This should physically break the rust free. It would be necessary to very carefully control the depth of the slots so as to not unduly damage the header. This would have to be a slow deliberative process.

jschara said:

I would just leave it on if the clamping thing on the other end wasn't broken off. Any suggestions. If your going to say cut it off, how?

Thanks,

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Why do you need to remove it?
On my 1984 R100RT I left mine unclamped so I could spread the headers when changing the oil filter.
If I remember right the clamp on one side fell off the first year.

Thanks Paul. If I do do cut it off, your tip makes sense.

Lee. I just thought that it had to have a tight fit for better exhaust.

Thanks again, Jim

After 41 years of heat cycling, internal water/steam and acidic vapor exposure, and whatever environmental exposure the outside of the pipes have seen, I’d tend to expect that the headers and crossover pipe have effectively welded/corroded themselves into a single piece that’s unlikely to be non-destructively disassembled into its OEM component parts. Reuse the assembly as-is, or re-lube the supply chain and treat the bike and yourself to a new set of pipes.

khittner said:

After 41 years of heat cycling, internal water/steam and acidic vapor exposure, and whatever environmental exposure the outside of the pipes have seen, I’d tend to expect that the headers and crossover pipe have effectively welded/corroded themselves into a single piece that’s unlikely to be non-destructively disassembled into its OEM component parts. Reuse the assembly as-is, or re-lube the supply chain and treat the bike and yourself to a new set of pipes.

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Very practical advice above.

If the OP is dead-set on removing the pipe, I would suggest the application of *serious* heat from a welding torch, until the pipe is glowing red. That much heat liquifies the rust and is a common technique in muffler shops dealing with decades-old auto exhausts. And of course, some discoloration is going to occur on the header pipe, which means a new crossover pipe will look somewhat out of place. That leads back to how nice a new set of headers and crossover will look, and how with a proper coat of heat-resistant anti-seize how easy they will be to remove in the future.

Best,
DeVern

Cheap crossover

If the crossover is the same size - ie 30mm ID - as the /6 /7 bikes here is a tip that I will pass on to those cheap bastards like me. The chrome wand sections of older vacuums are the correct diameter and have very good chrome and thick wall section. Mine are 250mm in length and I cut 2 shallow slits, maybe 25mm, at each end at 12:00 and 6:00 to allow just a smidge of compression of an appropriate clamp. Yeah, the bright chrome is as obvious as a missing tooth but disassembly is waaay easier than wrestling with an old rock-dented original. Just as with the headers, a little anti-seize will keep them free of corrosion for a long time. If the crossover for the R65 has a different diameter, please ignore.
Cheers,
Russ '76 R90/6 '78 R80/7 '78 R100RS

Good tip. I'll keep that in mind.

Thanks, Jim

The crossover pipe for an R65 is smaller diameter than those on the rest of the /7 bikes, but, perhaps your local Kirby representative still has a solution that could be cut and/or bent to fit, in the finest airhead manner.

jschara said:

I have been trying to remove the cross over pipe from my 1979 R65. For the last two months I have been hitting it with PB Blaster. Then I applied heat and even with a pipe wrench I can't get it to budge. I would just leave it on if the clamping thing on the other end wasn't broken off. Any suggestions. If your going to say cut it off, how?

Thanks,

Click to expand...

Good evening, Timely topic as I just pulled down a set of X-Over pipes that originally came off a 1982 BNW R110Rs that was left over from a pile of parts I bought several years ago after a chap I knew made a Bobber out of it! I bought home a 1972 BMW r75/5 that as in dry storage for some 20 years that had exhaust pipes that needed replacing and thought I would use the ones off the 100RS.Only one problem is that after all these years then X-Over pipe would not let go on the right pipe side. Oh here we go again. Been to this rodeo before and I knew patience is key. Soaked the X-Over and right slip ranges and heat , clamp in a soft jaw vies and slowly wiggle back and forth, First two or three times, didn’t budge The previous ownwe or mechanic ground off the clamp attachment, so I then heated it to about 130 degrees F, placed a sharp flat chisel and slightly tapped enough to spread ever so lightly the groove section. Put more thread penitent this time down the X-Over pipe and rehaeat and wiggle it back and forth! Slight movement and keep wiggling and it eventually came off

Ok that’s my story, but I have a question about R100RS and R75/5 exhaust pipes. Are they interchangeable? I took the R100RS gave them a cleaning and tried to see if they fit. I am surprised to say they fit fine and I had a set of sealing rings from another project tht fit perfectly. Would appreciate a comment and I am going into the shop tomorrow to see if the mufflers will still fit!

What year R100RS? It appears that the part numbers and size (38mm) are the same between the /5 and the twin shock RS. Not so for the post '84 RS...different animal.

20774 said:

What year R100RS? It appears that the part numbers and size (38mm) are the same between the /5 and the twin shock RS. Not so for the post '84 RS...different animal.

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I was told it came rom a 1982 100RS!