I suspect the header on my problem child 851 is bent. First clue - evidence of the right side muffler contacting the swingarm/hugger and scratching both. Second clue - a new Termi high mount system doesn't come close to fitting on the right side. It hits the turn signal for one thing and doesn't match up to the new mounting bracket.

I already knew the bike had fallen onto it's right side at some point during it's life, the story was it happened when stopped and nicks in the paint on the fairing support that. I'm surprised that would have bent the header. I've tried loosening the exhaust and moving things around but that's not cutting it. When I fit high pipes to my 900ss years ago I remember there was some realignment of things involved but on this bike it's just too far off. The left side can be persuaded to fit BTW.

Is there a "typical" place these things bend when the bike falls over? FWIW I also slid on a set of factory high mounted pipes and had the same issue, the left side and right side don't fit the same way, so I really don't think it's the new pipes. The low pipes don't fit perfectly either, but they don't exaggerate alignment issues like high mount pipes do.

Does anyone have a known good header for a '91 851 for sale? I've seen a few out there on the typical sites but I'm leery of buying used since there's no way to tell if it's any better than what I already have without mounting it up. There is no visually apparent damage to the one I have now after all.

Bending the current part back while mounted on the bike could be a problem, using heat to help tings move is basically out. I could use a borrowed good part as a template to figure out where mine is bent. I have access to measurement devices used to check production automotive exhaust systems, and tables/stands to set up a fixture to check things against, I just don't have the known good part as a reality check.

So...

Are bent headers common?
Does anyone have a known good part they would part with?

Thanks

P.S. Sorry for the rambling post. I'm multi-tasking at the moment... phone conference at w*rk...