[87013sz]

Hello gents. So I have a question regarding the full Akra evo exhaust on a 2004 blade. I have tried my best to make sure the exhaust went on as per instructions manual found on the Akra site, but for some reason, I am having issues with clearance. The front headers are nearly touching the radiator and also underneath, the pipes run super close to the fairings, especially the left side. So much so that the left side melted 😭 Just a couple of weeks after I managed to source a costly full OEM fairing set 😡 At least my sprayer assures me that it is fixable

Anyways, now as you all may know, the headers are fitted to the engine via sleeves and flanges and springs. Should the headers (Red) fit ALL the way in into the sleeves until they mate with the stepped bit (Blue)? Or just pushed in tight and that's it? Cause mine can only go in half way through the sleeves and I think the cause is the cerakote, adding more material and less tolerance.

If someone can confirm this I'll go ahead and sand down the cerakote in the parts where the pipes are mated together hopefully everything will fit better and adding more clearance from the radiator and lower fairings. Thanks in advance guys

 

[87013sz]

Unless the cerakote was applied too thick, I don’t see that being the issue. The pipe should slide into the blue circled flange all the way as to seal. I would disassemble, see if you can burnish the cerakote in that area with 320/400 grit wet sandpaper. When you reassemble, use some copper anti-seize. I have found this to let slip joints slide together like butter and aid in disassembly in the future.

As for the headers sitting close to the lower fairing, I would apply some heat tape to the inside and see if you can slightly space out the lower fairing.

Thanks for the help bud. I removed the exhuast AGAIN 😅, sanded down the mating surfaces and applied copper grease as you mentioned and indeed the header is now pushed all the way in to have a proper seal with the sleeve. Also, the grease made life a hell lot easier, totally forgot about the copper grease 🤦‍♂️

It looks like it has slightly more clearance. let's hope there won't be any melting issues