No two Vincents are exactly the same, right? But exactly how different can they be? Is it possible to have three aberrant Vincents but in exactly the same way? I have three C Vincents, two Comets and a Rapide. All have exhaust pipes sourced from the VOCSC. All the pipes fit correctly. Two of the bikes, one Comet and the Rapide, have stainless absorption silencers acquired long ago. The other Comet had an absorption silencer of unknown origin which was horribly tatty and extremely loud. I purchased a spiral baffle silencer from the Spares Co. to replace the tatty one. It was superb with good quality with great chrome. I offered it up to the Comet. It didn’t fit. The welded on mounting bracket was too short by almost ¾”. The exhaust pipe would have had to have passed through the gearbox for it to fit. This Comet is fitted with a Dave Hills centre stand but comparing the stand plate with the original pillion plate showed that the silencer mounting hole was in exactly the same position. Much head scratching followed. I then offered it up to the other Comet. This one has a ‘D’ type centre stand but utilises the original pillion plate. It didn’t fit – and for the same reason. In desperation I tried it on the Rapide. Same result. I returned the silencer to the Spares Co in case it happened to be a rogue one, but no, it was the same as all the others in stock. Ian tried it on several machines and it fitted perfectly. Has anyone else suffered this phenomenon? Currently I have fitted a Feked item, which has iffy chrome, a mounting lug that is too short, with a poorly drilled undersized hole and welded on ¾” too far back requiring extra bodged bracketry to fit. On the plus side it is quieter, crisper and has ‘subjectively’ enhanced performance. However I should like a better quality silencer that fits as it is meant to. Any ideas?
Hugo