R60/2 headers on a R50/2

[Jerry Cook]

I was given a set of exhaust pipes for my project R50/2. They came from a R60/2.
The R60 pipes do not fit on my R50. Too wide .
I looked up some part numbers and BMW made different pipes for the R50 and R60.

But here in the parts catalog there is one number for both bikes.
Can someone expalin this?

possibly the new pipes are made to fit both.

are there any tricks to make R60 pipes fit on my R50?


I am probably going to buy some ? Stainless steel pipes sound like a better investment to me.
I dont think Mark sells them. I may buy EPCO pipes and mufflers later.

[Tom Hagan]

Jerry,

If R60 headers are too wide for the R50, the OEM cross pipe under the gear box is
longer for the R60. I didn't know this was the case. If you can pull the headers apart and
remove the old cross pipe, you can buy a new one from Mark (#18 11 4 090 248).

I bought Mark's exhaust over EPCO's to save some money and like it very much.
Excellent quality and nice tone. I've heard that EPCO's is very good, however, and
will probably outlast mine.

The connecting pipe does seem short on my R60, but it is an overlapping friction fit and it
is tight enough and there is enough overlap.

[Mark Huggett]

The original exhaust pipes for the R50 and R60 were different though the difference was minimal. Our after market pipes are basically a half way compromise so that they fit both R50 as well as R60 models. This was neccessary due to the tooling costs of the bending cams. This way our manufacturer was able to use standard bending cams. If we had special bending cams made according to original drawings, the tooling amortisation over 5 years would mean that one exhaust pipe would cost over CHF 315.00 a piece which was around the last price from BMW when they were still available. In these days of tougher competition and aftermarket products, only a hand full of customers would be prepared to pay this amount.

The comment from Tom Hagan about the crossover pipe... All the cross over pipes for the BMW twins between 1950 and 1969 are identical.

Best regards,

Mark
Mark Huggett GmbH