ST 1300 Exhaust clamp repair

Blue One

Blue One

Vendor
Joined
Mar 19, 2008
Messages
437
Age
70
Location
Canada (Edmonton Alberta) - Texas
Bike
04 ABS ST1300
The exhaust clamp bolts for the mufflers are famous for being stripped out.

Mine were when I removed my pipes for ceramic coating. The exhaust clamp bands have nuts which are relatively thin with only a few threads. They were partly stripped as were the bolts.

My solution was to get some new bolts, and rather than pay Honda's price for new exhaust clamps, I went down to the local bolt supply and got a couple of metric coupling nuts in the appropriate size.

They are long enough to cut in half and you end up with 2 nuts with more than twice the thread length than a standard nut.

Tacked them in place with the mig welder after cutting the originals off with the grinder.

New bolts and a little anti sieze thread lube and good to go.
 

Attachments

  • 306.jpg
    306.jpg
    246.1 KB · Views: 143
Good idea

I'll modify mine the same way if I encounter the same problem down the road
 
Great fix!

Your fix made me wonder if there's such a thing as a long acorn nut...
acorn-nut.gif

If so, the grit that ends up scoring the threads could be kept out. But I didn't find any long acorn nuts in a quick online search.
 
I bought stainless bolts and then cut them to "just" long enough. Why keep threads sticking out past the nut to rust.

I'll see how it works next tire change in a month or two.
 
These bolts just need a turn or two out to loosen the clamp for muffler removal. They never have to be completely removed unless they are damaged. Mine have never given a problem but I wear out rear tires fairly quickly so guess the clamp bolts loosened often enough to keep the threads in good shape.
 
The problem is the bolts rust. I got mine out, cleaned out the threads thoroughly with an 8 mm tap, and then used stainless steel cap screws (Allen head bolt). I drilled the head so they could be safety wired.

When I installed the new bolts, I coated them liberally with Anti-Sieve, not a lot of torque, and then safety wired them.
 
If you're buying replacement bolts and nuts, I strongly recommend buying stainless steel. The typical plated off-the-shelf hardware store bolts will rust in no time flat. Might want to consider a dab of never-seize on the threads, too. Make it a lot easier to remove them the next time.
 
+1

It sure would have been nice had Honda considered that when they put the clamps in. By the first tire change mine were already frozen solid and needed new clamps - total PITA.

Definitely gonna do this the next time they're off!
 
Well my stainless bolts are still fine but one of my clamps rusted apart and now my bike is down! Besides standard muffler clamps, what else is available besides Honda clamps?
 
For now I'd use a plain old hose clamp unless the bike is down for something else.
 
Last edited:
st1300r said:
For now I'd use a plain old hose clamp unless the bike is down for something else.
Click to expand...

Thanks Carl! I've got 1 hose clamp per side and it works great. They're stainless steel so may last longer than OEM clamps. Diameter of the muffler is 2.25 in. and if you don't like one per side put two on. Could probably fit three per side. Best part, only $2.95 each.

That connection doesn't seem to need much clamping force.

I'm going to leave them on and monitor, keeping the new OEM ones I ordered as spares. May never put them on.
 
I have gone for Race can clamps (59-63mm on the outer clamps and 47-?mm on the middle one (sorry receipt does not print the final figure and I have thrown the packaging!)). They are stainless steel screw clamps (Jubilee/Banjo clamp style similar to OEM - rather than the chuncky car 'U' bolt variety which some others use to good effect). They are reasonably elegant and seem to do the job.
They are stainless steel - originally supplied by C&C motorcycle products of Birmingham UK. I got them from Steve Jordan Motorcycles in Bookham in Surrey ?4.99GBP each - http://www.stevejordanmotorcycles.co.uk/ (they don't have much on-line yet but great service if you turn up). The guys came out with their calipers and measured before recommending these clamps. They look similar to the OEMs but have just one tightening bolt rather than two. I have only just put them on but as an OEM clamp was put on the right side the day before I got the bike I should be able to do a long term test of OEM right side and aftermarket left side both fitted within 1 month of each other. Will let you know how it goes in about 4 years hopefully!!

Update - smaller clamp size is 47mm-51mm
 
Last edited:
I just used automotive exhaust u-bolt style clamps. They eventually rust but at around $2 each just keep a couple spares on hand and replace them during a tire removal.

Sent from my XT881 using Tapatalk 2
 
Another reason I like my 1100, I don't have to unbolt the muffler to get the tire off. The axle slides out in an indentation in the muffler on the left side.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom