Dominator exhaust

[ray1301]

A short story that others may find useful.....

I have owned my RD08 2001 Dommie since last november.

Whilst doing some maintainence recently I discovered a blow on the right hand exhaust. On further inspection I was horrified to find that the muffler pipe that connects to the downpipe was perished beyond repair.

I was then even more horrified to find that not only is there no Honda replacement muffler, but an aftermarket system was going to be around £250. Horrendous considering that my exhaust system is perfect, no other rot on mufflers excepting the damaged connector pipe.

Weighing up my options:
Have a custom repair made....
Replacing entire exhaust system
Even considered purchasing some suitable downpipes from ebay to cut/weld myself.

All of these were either expensive, complicated or just too much hassle.

Finally I opted for a cheekier solution....

I contacted a company that makes aftermarket exhausts for the Dommie, spinning them a white-lie about my new exhaust getting damaged before it could be fitted. Gave them details of the damaged pipe on the right hand muffler, and asked if it would be possible to purchase just this pipe, to initiate the repair.

To my surprise, this worked, and they were more than accomodating. They told me I'd have to go through their UK dealer, and even contacted the dealer before I had a chance to call them myself. The dealer was aware of my request, and helpful beyond belief.

They will be contacting me next week with a price and shipping for the part, so all I will need to do is have it welded on.

Just one of those little 'life' lessons....

'If you don't ask, you don't get'

I will update this post when I know the costs, and when the item is shipped, giving the details of the manufacturer and dealer I have used.

I hope this can be of use to others.

[Jockywockycocky]

Hi ray1301, very interesting post. I've just picked up my first Dommie where I have exactly the same problems with both connectors ... why pay for a new exhaust when you can rebuild the original with just new connector pipes.
If you can include pics of before and after it would be greatly appreciated ....

[Rubberchicken]

I know I know

Because the originals are made of pig-iron and it's not just the pipes that rust.

My original cans looked downright nasty at 25000 km and the link pipe broke in half at 30k. Replaced by stainless laser 65.000 km ago and apart from a bit of yellowing and a whole lot of muck there's not much to see on it.

[Jockywockycocky]

Hi Ray1301,
any news on those connector pipes ? mine's about shot and the dreaded MOT is a month away.
By the way is your Dommie an 02 or 08?

[ray1301]

Didn't have any luck with Marvin afte all. They wanted a ridiculous £50 to post the replacement con-pipe from italy.


solved the issue simply using a cb400 downpipe. 2 cuts and welds created a perfect replacement of the s-bend connector pipe. But you'll need access to a welder or the gear. Just remove the chrome layer with a sander/paper so you get a nice steel/steel weld.

Recently traded in the Dommie, and after checking the bike over, especially the exhaust.... they commented that at least the exhaust is recent. Amazing what a recoat of VHT paint will do.

Dommie was 2001 on a 'Y' plate. Italian built.

Hope this helps.

....Now having fun of my ZX6R

[MadWelshBiker]

I just replaced BOTH silencers on my Dominator. Got Honda originals from Dave Silver at a stonking £140 each. Both pipes went within 100 miles of each other and on both of them it was the ratty link pipe from the headers to the cans. The cans were in perfect nick (apart from wanting some paint).
Mike