Originally Published In The January 2013 Issue Of Cycle Source Magazine
A huge problem with Pan heads is that exhaust leak around the head. It seems you just can’t ever get that exhaust clamp tight enough. Well, it’s probably A because your exhaust spigot coming from your head has been smooched and broken away to about nothing over the last 60 years of vibrating. This exhaust leak here is not healthy for your classic ride. You will end up burning up that exhaust valve and causing more problems to fix, no matter what your buddy says, trust me. So here it is
a new weld-on spigot to keep that original head on the road. First, I cut off the old one and clean the area with a stainless wire brush.
Here I just tack the spigot in place. Notice the tapper on the spigot so I can burn in a good weld. At this time I heat up the head and spigot together to achieve a temperature that will
soak in the aluminum weld real nice.
I clean again with a stainless wire brush and start welding.
As you can see, these spigots match up to the head beautifully. I use a little sanding disc on a die grinder to smooth it all out and it’s better then new. Here they are: the head I haven’t done and the one we just did. No more worries on that exhaust leak. Now make sure you mount your pipes solid on to your bike to reduce that vibration right around that new spigot and enjoy that classic ride with the original heads. Stripped down cycles rod@ strippeddowncycles. com strippeddowncycles. com
