Some nice new stainless steel exhaust studs for my Trophy 1200

Seized (left) and stainless (right)
exhaust studs

The majority of the nuts that clamp the exhaust pipes into the cylinder head were seized on to the studs. This meant that the studs wound out of the head when I tried to undo them. I decide to replace them with stainless studs that I'd make up myself out of M8 threaded rod.

I removed the non-seized studs by locking to M8 nuts against one another and winding the remaining studs out.

Cleaning out threaded stud holes
with an M8 tap

 I then ran an M8 tap into each of the threaded stud holes to make sure the new studs would go in properly. It is always important to be aware of the risk of electrolytic corrosion when using stainless steel with aluminium components. This is because it can attack aluminium more severely than with mild steel.

Installing stainless studs with thread lock

I decided to use a thread locking compound to prevent water ingress and to hold the studs fast in the head. I used the two-nuts method to install them in the head. A made a pretty neat job, though I say so myself ;-)

Stainless steel exhaust headers.
(and perished oil pipes in the foreground)

The exhaust itself was in good condition over all. It is made of stainless steel exhaust pipes with two chromed mild-steel silencers. It had a dented link pipe and snapped support bracket that runs under the sump. The centre exhaust clamp was also ground in half where it had presumably been dragged over a curb at regular intervals. 

The weight of it was *incredible* - like a sack of concrete. Then again, maybe I shouldn't grumble about all the metal it must contain since it has lasted 20 years.