Grey Flash 2751

This has been a giant faff!! Much more than was anticipated… The Grey Flash exhaust pipe is just a 2″ straight-through racing pipe, right? Well, there were several types employed and there is very little data out there. The period shots we had of 2751 were as good as any a place to start.

Bert decided to make a template from the old pipe to make the pipe bender’s job easier. For a full week we back ‘n’ forth’ed his tweaks. Getting the bend right around the tacho drive was, to say the least, challenging… Too much taken out or added meant that the pipe was no longer parallel to the ground and looked hideous. It had to be right.

MPH 866 features a fascinating account by Jim Mathers of his rescuing of 3685. He was lucky enough to acquire an NOS racing pipe, from Harpers, which appeared identical to the one fitted to 2751. The tragedy is that that bike was badly damaged in the NMM fire though…

Notes by Bill Hoddinott and David Dunfey were devoured; their input and advice is always much appreciated.

Finally, the bike was ready to be transported to the pipe benders for an exhaust pipe to be fabricated by the traditional method.

Ben at Raysons set to work… Two weeks later Bert got a call to come and collect the bike.

Safely back in Bert’s workshop he set to work. The pipe needed trimming to length, brazing up at the port and the bracket sorting out.

So much work went into this… We may not have got it perfectly correct but it’s as close to “dammit” is to swearing! And this was a crucial undertaking as the pipe is very visible and would have looked horrible had it been angled incorrectly. Big thanks to Bert and Ben! Off to the platers with it now. It’ll come back as shiny as a new pin and will need tarnishing.