…how to mess-up your R12S pipes and cat in a few simple steps…

[RoLoo]

…how to mess-up your R12S pipes and cat in a few simple steps…





…this little wish of mine was a set of pipes without a cat. …
…but no brand (Laser/HPE/Remus etc.) would fit properly in combination with the belly pan…

…so ; this is what I did…

…last week I bought me a set of brand new, original pipes, got me a few Dremel ‘Heavy Duty Cut-Off wheels’, and gave me an hour (or so) in the garage in order to let the cat out…

…I could only be a very simple job...
...I thought…

…but that cat was somewhat bigger than I expected to be…

…I honestly thought : ‘cut off that chromed top, and throw that cat away…



…but you can see it in picture # 2 ; there is some sort of (a very tough !) inner shell, and that inner shell is firmly welded to the outer one…

…so, I took another few of those Dremel cut-off thingies, and cut that inner shell in half…

…and from there it isn’t that hard anymore…



…I’m half way, and with the cutting and such, it took my some 2 hours to come this far…

…BTW ; you can still see the other half of the inner shell, and I will leave that half where it is (because it is welded to the outer one, as I mentioned)…



new set of pipes. I will keep the ones that came on the bike as a spare





top of the cat’s outer shell is already gone (and I was surprised to see this inner shell)





half of the inner shell is gone too





yes, yes, yes, half of it is gone...






…I’ll keep you guys posted regarding the final result…

[SergioK]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't the metals inside a catalytic converter highly carcingenic. If so, I hope you are using proper ventilation and air filtering for your lungs.

[squall_line]

I thought that the metals in the cat were Platinum, myself. Not sure if it's mixed with anything else, though, other than all of the carcinogenic crap that's spewed out of the engine into it.

If that's all platinum leaf, it would be nice to be able to melt it down and sell it at market value by the ounce, but I'm about 90% certain that it doesn't really work that way...

[SergioK]

No, not all the metal in a cat is platinum. If it were, then it would be worth several millions of dollars, considering that 1 ounce of the stuff is about U$D1000. They bond minute amounts of platinum to other metals, but I'm not sure what kinds.

[wswartzwel]

Um ... a hammer and a big punch poked up the tail pipe, will shatter that stuff... then pour it out. no dremel needed.

[wswartzwel]

And ...........you guys worry too much about carcinogens... Go smoke a few cigars and that will clear that platinum right out of your system.

[JonyRR]

I think he should take that platinum into Amsterdam and trade it for some 'AK47' at the nearest coffeehouse (pronounced cough-ey house )

Rick Steves said the AK blend was the best at one of his seminars...

[Tirebiter]

Originally Posted by SergioK

No, not all the metal in a cat is platinum. If it were, then it would be worth several millions of dollars, considering that 1 ounce of the stuff is about U$D1000. They bond minute amounts of platinum to other metals, but I'm not sure what kinds.

Traditional automotive cats are honeycomb ceramic based units that have a cerium oxide coating as the primary catalytic material with sprinkles of platinum and palladium thrown in for good measure. (Sergio, you were surrounded by cerium when you picked up the SN Memorial cowl at Mountain Pass. The ore we mine contains cerium as well as the rest of the rare earth elements, so not to worry, ya aint gonna keel over )

I hear that the motorcycle cats are not ceramic based because of the severe vibration from a typical MC engine (go figure) so the honeycomb is made of nickel (as seen in RoLoo's photos). Not sure of the catalyst mix but would guess they have figured a way to plasma spray cerium oxide with parts per million levels of Pt and Pd on the surfaces to act in the same way an auto unit would......

Brock

[markjenn]

And the objective of all this time/expense is...?

- Mark

[Bob in Tucson]

Originally Posted by markjenn

And the objective of all this time/expense is...?

I assumed for our entertainment. And so far as I am concerned, it's working.

[GotRoad?]

Interestingly, RoLoo's cutaway shows anything but a honeycomb structure. RoLoo, have you examined the catalytic insert more closely? Can you say anything about the support structure those curly bits are attached too?

[shreddr]

Ron I hope you didnt pay too much for those pipes, because you could have bought a Remus header pretty cheap.

[signit98]

Originally Posted by GotRoad?

Interestingly, RoLoo's cutaway shows anything but a honeycomb structure. RoLoo, have you examined the catalytic insert more closely? Can you say anything about the support structure those curly bits are attached too?

They are already destroyed in his picture and from that angle you would not see it anyway, as it is flow-through and not up and down in the cat...

[SergioK]

Brock, thanks for the info. That was a fun jaunt up there... boy I miss my old bike. I'll have to stop by again some day.

[mikek]

I did all that to a K12RS pipe a few yrs ago.

Cat chamber was 2 layers thick also, with a layer of perf metal and steel mesh (think steel wool) between the layers.
Once inside the chamber I found 2 separate cats for cyls 1/2 and 3/4.

There was not perceptible gain in performance, exhaust note is very slightly more 'throaty'.

My main goal, other than just to 'know how', was to get rid of all the heat that the cat held in the chamber directly below my gearbox, I HATED hearing that thing creak and pop with heat, and having the muffler canister boil spit 15 minutes after the bike was shut down.

MUCH COOLER now.

[RoLoo]

Originally Posted by shreddr

Ron I hope you didnt pay too much for those pipes, because you could have bought a Remus header pretty cheap.

...only 100 Euros (some 142 bucks)...; so pretty cheap...

...and I 'need' the original shape of the pipes in combintion with the belly pan, that is the reason why I didn't bought a set of aftermarket pipes...

[RoLoo]

Originally Posted by GotRoad?

Interestingly, RoLoo's cutaway shows anything but a honeycomb structure. RoLoo, have you examined the catalytic insert more closely? Can you say anything about the support structure those curly bits are attached too?

...I'll try to make a picture for you !...

...BTW ; I 'made' those curly bits, in order to remove that metal cat. ...

[RoLoo]

Originally Posted by wswartzwel

Um ... a hammer and a big punch poked up the tail pipe, will shatter that stuff... then pour it out. no dremel needed.

...I wish life was this simple...

...I can hammer all day on that thing, but it's a (very tough, and firmly welded) metal cat, not a ceramic one...

[RBMann]

Ron-

What type of floor covering is that?

RB

[RoLoo]

Originally Posted by RBMann

Ron, what type of floor covering is that?

...just plain simple (office) carpet...