Installing Jardine 4 into 2 exhausts on the Special

I installed a set of Jardine 4 into 2's on my '79 Special and have a few comments about them.

INSTALLATION

All required hardware was included in the kit. The 4 flanges are permanently attached to the header pipes and tighten against ring spacers. The instructions say "Use spacer nuts on standard model only" but I didn't have any parts left over so I'm not sure what they mean.

The right side (#1 and #4) header and muffler fit beautifully.

On the left side I had to do a little work. I had to grind about an inch of material off the bottom of my left engine guard for the header to fit. After solving that problem I discovered that the pipe was contacting the frame. I ended up "flattening" that area of the header pipe to obtain ~1/8 inch clearance.

As per the instruction sheet, extensions were required to mount the mufflers in the stock position (Specials only?). The extensions aren't as visible as I feared but I'll be changing the included nut & bolt to a metric head size.

I used a small amount of Hi-temp RTV to help seal each connection which was fortunate as the crossover pipe doesn't tighten quite enough and could rattle without it.

FITMENT

The stock rubber bumper, installed in a bracket on the left muffler, contacts the centerstand just right. The sidestand, however, won't go all the way up as the sidebar contacts the muffler. I think I'll be putting a piece of rubber tubing around this bar. NOTE The sidestand must be down and the bike on the centerstand when installing the left side assembly.

Unfortunately the mufflers are centered on the axle so I guess they'll have to be removed for rear wheel removal. (Unless the current "tool inquiry" thread is for real. Could the little hook on the right swingarm be for supporting the rear end with a "cable tool"?) The oil filter and drain plug are easily accessible.

PERFORMANCE and LOOKS

The chrome job is excellent except in the flange area where it is scratched. The crossover pipe, clamps, and muffler mounting extensions are not chromed unfortunately. There was a hard to remove decal on the right muffler stating that Jardine does not warrantee the system against blueing. Hmmmm....

I like the way the system sounds. A deep rumble, but not loud enough to piss the neighbors off at 6 am. The Hooker system sounded like a sewing machine compared to the Jardines whereas the broken stock system sounded like thunder.

In a test ride I'm still experiencing a power loss from 3000 to 7000 RPM but not nearly as much as with the Hookers. With Hookers there was no change in performance by applying the choke at ~5500 but with the Jardines there is a degradation. My busted up stock exhaust ran fine at all RPM's.

I guess the previous is just for simple comparison as I'm having intermittent carb problems (leaking needle and seat). So, todays project is to clean the carbs and retest.

I preferred the parallel look of the stock exhaust but the crossover style of the Jardine headers looks good and doesn't seem unbalanced like the Hookers. Ground clearance is slightly less than stock.

Hope this is of use to someone. I'll have some pics next week for those interested.

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