modifications to stock muffler

[WTF304]

So i had a thought, and instead of just tossing the factory muffler aside i had an idea. I'm planning to open it up and have a look see, and possibly coming up with something that can be packable, and maybe shortening the over all length of the body. Playing around with ideas, and as i go along I'm going to take pics of everything, one at a time. I'm lucky enough to know a guy local to me that's a welder and fabricator, hopefully i can catch him when he has some time and he can weld up and maybe make a few things.

This isn't going to be an overnight thing but as i go along I'll leave some updates and info. Might even make a trip to a local yard and get some idea's, weather permitting.

[J6G1Z]

I think you will find several chambers, walls & off-set baffle tubes. May be more work that it's worth to hollow out the original muffler & adding a glass or stainless steel wool covered perforated core.

Good luck
J.

[WTF304]

I did see all of that, which is fine i still have other idea's. still going to shorten it up a little....

[J6G1Z]

I saw a picture of an FT Ascot for sale on Craigslist that looked like the original muffler had been shortened. It had 3 exhaust outlets  on the end. It looked odd & unfinished.

I feel that you will invest more time & effort trying to hollow out the factory pipe, then if you just purchased a reverse megaphone muffler for $60-$80 that will slip right into place. That way you could save your original muffler for the future owner, or to return the bike to stock. If you don't care for the look of the reverse meg... Some guys have used sport-bike canister type of mufflers. Sometimes they are too big & look out of place on the Ascot. Then of course there is the Super-Trapp for the ultimate in tune-ability.

How much is your time worth?

Good luck
J.

[WTF304]

Either way I'm still going to get a supertrapp, atm I've already removed the rear baffle and the front one was already taken out. I'm not worried about the time invested as it's something to do while winter is still around, plus it's not costing me anything right now to do it. Tires, brakes and the front forks need a do over and when it's nicer out I'll be able to move some things outside so i have room in the man cave to work. I thought about swapping the forks, might still go for that too depends on the cost. I'm sure the originals would be just fine once they have been taken apart and rebuilt,  along with new springs.

I've already swapped the rear shocks to a factory set from a CB550, they feel great. The factory muffler is a 4" round can so modifying it won't be as bad as you may think, and if i make it up as a repackable unit the most trouble i think I'll have thus far is finding a good size core. Like i said i do have other idea's in store just trying to see what will be more beneficial to me as well as the bike. And i will touch base to show progress and i have done

[J6G1Z]

I forgot how original & clean your bike might be. If it's a cherry, you might consider keeping it close to being stock.

If the bike is showing its age & ready for a make over, the best bang for the buck, is a first generation Honda CBR600 Hurricane. I believe the year range is '87-'90. If you can find a CBR600 Hurricane roller or parts bike, you will have a much better set of forks that slide right into the original FT triple clamps. You will also have dual disk brakes up front & a 17" sport-bike wheel. The 17" CBR600 rear wheel fits right into the FT Ascot swing-arm like it was designed for it. You will have to fabricate a very simple rear brake caliper stop strap out of some steel or aluminum strap. This will dump the front of the bike about 2"-2.5" & reduce your ground clearance under the oil sump, so beware of speed bumps. This swap will also make your FT Ascot handle excellent & stop much like a sport-bike. It is an awesome swap. Here is what I did to my bike:
http://ascot500.com/index.php?topic=79.0
http://ascot500.com/index.php?topic=16.msg43#msg43

J.

[WTF304]

She's clean and all there, but not a jem. Some areas got very little rust, by the battery tray mostly ...

I don't want to drop the ride height,  but i did find another honda model that used the same style front wheel and it did come with dual front disc. Same fork tube diameter and a bit taller i took a measurement a while back but I don't remember which honda model it was and year. I think the speedo gear was even the same.the P/O bought one of those trail tech gauge setups, claimed that the speedo stopped working properly. There was something wrong inside the factory unit so i left it the way he set it up, still don't like it all that much but it works for now till i find something i like better.