I need some advice. I always thought my pipe was on a little crooked. The amount of pipe around the cylinder looked uneven when i got the bike. There was a ton of silicone around the pipe. Theres been a small exhaust leak for a while. I should have checked it out sooner but I was having fun riding. When I bought the bike the top mount was torn. I replaced/shimmed it and had to grind the pipe bracket because it was rubbing the tank. I thought I had it all straightened until yesterday. I pulled the pipe off cleaned and polished the pipe. And cleaned the cylinder. I tried the pipe on the bike with a 1/16 exhaust gasket and without. I wanted to hang/shim the pipe so it would be tension free. Both times, the pipe looked like it was designed for another bike. Holding the pipe flat against the cylinder the pipe mounts were way off. The mounts are so far off they cannot be shimmed. I figured I needed the springs on to really pull the pipe down. I put on the springs and o-rings etc.. With the springs on, I could see the pipe was evenly seated. But no matter which way I rotated the pipe the mounts were still way off. I could make it fit if I forced the pipe at an angle and bolted it up. But there is a lot of tension on the mounts. Would a pipe for another bike almost work on the 500? Or, is this the way it is with aftermarket pipes?
hey uzi9mm,
i can say a view things that can cause your issues with the pipe.
how old is your k5 ?
how is it been treated,
reason im asking is if that bike is 14 years old and heavely abused then the frame itselfs gets out of shape!
seems odd but it is true i did experience it myself with my former mxk5 when i got it.
that bike has been crashed severe in the past and that was noticable very clear after a view inspections.
2 out if 3 pipe mounts where snapped ..
tailpipe snapped..
also that f#ckin kit around the pipe..
it really did look like yours...never to fit again
but i saw if i could get the tension out of it it would stay in one piece at least.
so my advise go check the perimeters of the frame and subframe,
see if its not bended in any way,
then if that is good looking ,that pipe if not bended itselfs ,should fit without major adjustments or use of force.
also linking the muffler must go without tension cuss if you tighten the bolts it gives in ,then use a shimp to keep it in its place while tightening the bolt
i did my pipe like that on this crash bike and its sitting there tight ,and no snapping mounts or leaking anymore.
suc6 with the struggle