Crack At Headers

NicholasK · Dec 21, 2023

Had the pipes taken off by my mechanic for coating. The coating people discovered a crack in the top of both header pipes as per the pics below.

A question then is do they need to be replaced now before they are coated (a £250 job)? I am prepared to risk not to replace them at this juncture, but I am trying to assess the likelihood of the crack getting worse in the next say 3 years. Has someone had a similar issue - located at this particular point of the headers?

2017 Bonneville street twin. 11k miles.

Eldon · Dec 29, 2023

You haven't specified the model, but I have a similar connection on one of my Triumphs namely the 900 street twin.
Is the crack shown actually in the gasket material or steel?

If I recall correctly the gasket is clamped to the next section by a vee section split clamp so would be nothing to worry about. In actual fact and if my surmising is correct, then really you should have removed the cracked section before shot blast.

TRIPLE X · Dec 30, 2023

I agree with Eldon. Surely it is just the gasket that needs replacing?

Glenn2926 · Dec 30, 2023

It looks like the gasket that’s cracked not the header. The shot blasting probably cracked it. I would have thought the gasket should have been removed prior to shot blasting.