Date: Sat, 15 Aug 1998 09:09:44 -0500
From: Colin Sharpe
Richard W. Dennison wrote:
>I have used them on my Atlas for 5 years. Of course they don't
keep the
>pipe tight, but if you have a loose pipe, it'll stay on to get you
home
>where you can tighten it with a fresh copper bushing. I recommend
them
>for people who ride their bikes and don't happen to have a full tool
set
>with them. They are not a solution for avoiding checking and
>re-tightening your pipe nuts.
>
> Rich Dennison
We're back at the start. Keeping the exhaust rings in place when they are loose is the cause of the problems with stripped threads. The rings jingle about in the alloy threads and the threads are then worn away, resulting in a head off and an expensive repair.
I have had exhaust rings come loose, and have managed to tighten them with the most basic tools, a hammer and punch. A brick and piece of metal from beside the road will do at a pinch.
Use what you like, but the lock rings have been suspect in NOC circles since at least the mid '70s.
English.