1962 dominator 650ss chrome exhaust pipes.

Hi Bob.

Unfortunately you are not alone. I bought a downpipe set for my Morini and when fitted the cross pipe/balance pipe between the pipes was more than 10mm out if line. Of course, Armours insisted it was my bike that was wrong,  not their jig. A search at the time revealed many people were experiencing similar issues on a variety of different bikes. For me,  I resorted to heat, bend and repolishing to get a fit as they were about the only people able to supply the pipes I needed.

That said, there are a lot of people who are totally satisfied with their Armours pipes, so it suggests that the issue lies with their quality control.

Good luck, 

George 

I wonder if the problem lies with the size/bend of the pipes they are using as patterns to create their templates. I bought a pair of pipes for my 1960 Dommie 99 from Armours and they were a perfect fit straight out of the box, no bending or fettling required. You could try Feked - I’ve had pretty good pipes from them for various bikes.

Good luck

Tony

My book shows a 62 650 with a 2-1 pipe. Chrome very good and bought from a known trader,

That is what I use with no issues. The camera does not lie. (Silencer came from RGM.

I've also had this problem, & not just with pipes from Armours. Years ago they sent me a pair for my '62 650ss, the timing side fitted well but the drive side sat hard up against the primary chaincase. I returned them & got a set from Feked which fitted fine.

More recently whilst rebuilding an OIF A65 I got Armours to supply a siamese pipe set, but unplated. These I adjusted to fit with the  oxypropane torch & welder & then sent back to Armours for plating. As supplied there was no way they would have fitted, even the bracket for pipe to frame strap was in the wrong place & would have interfered with the revcounter cable.

... get their pipes from Armours.

Years ago when I first had bikes, Armours had a reputation for making the best quality exhaust systems and were lauded by many journalists. That was the early 80’s.  When after a time away from bikes I got an Atlas, around 2005 I wanted 1-3/8” downpipes to replace the 1-5/8” originals (ex-Berliner export bike re-imported) and silencers to replace the corroded originals, I remembered the Armours reputation, so went to them in person to see if they could help.  They were able to supply 1-3/8” downpipes, though they were surprisingly long with a 1-5/8” section about 6” from the end for the silencer.  I was told I should shorten them if necessary, and that if the angle out of the head was not correct, this was ‘normal’ and I should not return them, but instead rework the flanges with a hammer to achieve the fit I wanted - so not exactly quality precision made then!

I was shown a silencer and it was immediately apparent that it was nothing like the profile of the originals, having a long parallel stub pipe to connect to the downpipes and the main body of the silencer finished abruptly at the stub pipe, rather than having a reduced diameter before the end, if they makes sense?  I commented the silencer was nothing like the original shape and was told quite bluntly that the silencer had been copied from a ‘certified’ original snd was correct fir an Atlas.  As for mine, they said those must be pattern silencers - they are clearly not, as they see identical to period brochure and road test photos.  I was quite surprised at the dismissive attitude and needless to say I did not buy the silencers.

With some trepidation I did buy the downpipes, together with a pair of ‘just in case’ sweptbacks, but for various reasons, the bike is still languishing in many pieces and I have yet to see whether it was good or bad purchase.