Any RMS exhaust systems still around?

[julianharty]

This is partly to satisfy a hankering to ride a Morini with the RMS system as I loved the one I had in the 1980's and partly a genuine request to see how practical it would be to either buy or clone the old RMS 2 into 1 exhaust system. I've only found a couple of mentions of the RMS system here on the forum, so I understand George Lane may still have one http://www.morini-riders-club.com/forum ... rms#p31119 does anyone else have one? or a clone?

Also, do any of you know how well it actually suited the engine?

And finally for now, was there anything similar to suit the 500?

Thank you, Julian

[morinipablo]

i once came home from donington park to norwich with an rms round my neck on the back of my mates morini
it was seconed hand and went on his bike
it ended up on mine and i cant comment on the performance increase but by god they sound good
i still have it and despite being very battle scared it is still in one (ok 2) peice
i would buy a new one tomorrow
had a chrome one a few years ago which went to my mates in cumbria which may have been a clone

[julianharty]

Thank you for letting me know there's at least one more in use. If you or your mate in Cumbria ever want to make it available either for sale or to explore making a copy do please let me know.

Oh and if you're willing and able to record your bike in full song with the RMS system then you might make me and many others happy listening to the recording. YouTube is your friend in this regard

[Steve Brown]

Hi Julian, I wish I still had mine to copy. Yes, they did sound great but I don't think they actually made any extra power. I fitted mine in about 1980/81 and it was on the bike for years and many miles. Eventually I had to repair it but don't remember exactly why? Maybe it had rotted or maybe I'd damaged it in a prang? I do however remember that in desperation and abject poverty I couldn't afford to buy anything new. The 350 was my only transport back then. I ended up welding a silencer from some Motad system designed for an XJ600 or similar onto the RMS junction pipe. I had expected it to strangle the bike as it was so very quiet, but was pleased to find it went just as well as it ever did!
There was an RMS system for the 500 too, I had one for a while but no idea where that went. It looked Identical but of course had larger diameter pipes and was taller to fit around the taller engine of the 500.

If someone was willing to loan a system for copying there are a few people who will make copies for us. My personal favourite is Den Tietze at Alldens exhausts in Lincolnshire who made the pipes and silencer for my 500 Camel project. Not cheap but top quality and an absolutely perfect fit. I would ask him for a lookalike RMS in stainless but with a silencer that actually made a bit of an effort to reduce the decibels for Cadwell park. It would still have to sound gorgeous though, obviously..

[julianharty]

Steve,
Thanks for the various details including recommendations for people who can make the exhaust systems. For the 350 at least, I used stainless steel milking tubing when I made my first custom exhaust system around 1984. It might suit an RMS clone for the 350 too if it's still available.

As you say we might also want/need ways to attenuate them yet keep the gorgeous notes they produce.

Julian

[SupermotoDave]

The 500 RMS had different lines, it tucked in better and did not have the pronounced ’kick’under the rh footpeg that was always the first thing to touch down. I still have it’s rusted out remains in the shed as I replaced it with a Valentini? On my old 350 mongrel. The Valentini tucks in better but I prefer the looks of the RMS
I have a suspicion that reproducing it in stainless might affect the sound as stainless is usually harder than cheap mild steel, and will probably be made in a thinner gauge and both of these things can affect the resonance.

[julianharty]

The stainless steel used for milking was malleable and quite thin. That said I'm struggling to find somewhere I can buy it from. Dave, I'd be very happy to collect your rusting RMS exhaust, and I'm fine with also reproducing it in mild steel. I'm under an hour's ride away (lockdown permitting, restoring an RMS exhaust probably counts as an essential journey!)

Nowt wrong with mild steel, especially if it helps the exhaust sing

[Steve Brown]

Definitely nothing wrong with mild steel and as Dave says it will resonate differently too. Wasn't it Velocette riders who found that out? I seem to remember reading that if you made a repro fishtail silencer out of heavier gauge steel or just stainless of the same gauge, that it would not expand and contract with the pulses. The suggestion was that Veloce had built all that into their originals. Also they had a different idea regarding perforated tubes to everyone else. A good Velo sounds lovely on song as well so I copied that baffle tube idea in a few of my DIY silencer jobs. Works quite well and doesn't seem to lose any power either. I recently did it with my AJS twin on it's siamesed pipe. It's very respectable and the bike is no slower than it was before-I normally ride it with a sidecar fitted so you get plenty of occasions when maximum thrust is required.

[simonnorthroad]

My 500 Morini came with an RMS pipe on.
I do have a 350 2-1 that may be an RMS system...its not Valentini, they were name-stamped

[julianharty]

Simon,
What are your plans for them? and can you either upload or email me some photos please?

Thank you

Julian