I have just fitted a sportster muffler to my savage and thought some one might find it interesting how i did it. On the choosing HD mufflers tread it says that the sportster mufflers are the ones "you dont want" but here in Australia the more suitable $20 cast offs that you get there are $200 ++ from the dealers here so 2 brand new sportsters form ebay for $50 was what i had to work with. took a bit more thought but it wasn't that hard really. measurements are in metric but you get the idea-

Step 1. I dont need the cross over pipe so...cut it off ! 5 inch angle grinder to the rescue!!

Step 2. I measured the internal muffler size 44.3 mm and external header pipe size 42.1mm exactly then off i go to the local auto store and pick up a stainless steel car tailpipe tip. Take your verniers as of the ten of the "same size" they were all slightly different and i measured each one to get the best size for what i wanted. ie extreamly tight fit. (The 17 year old shop assistant was very confused with me as to why .2 to .3 of a mm was so inportant) i ended up with 44.6 mm and 42.5 mm.

Step 3. Gently insert the car tip into the muffler using special tool - FBH ! until it is in as far as it can go - 105mm. this then goes past the cross over hole and into the muffler to seal it up.

Step 4. measure up the mounting brackets etc and cut off the end to suit. this ended up just before the hole from the cross over pipe which had the rear muffler mount point line up with the front bracket hole.

Step 5. cut new slits to compress as clamps tighten however as the insert pipe was so tight i only put 2 in.

Then ... follow the many treads on here to finish mounting it all up, tighten the head bolts first, i also smeared Ultra Copper Hi Temp RTV on all the surfaces to help with sealing. i put 2 wide HD clamps on and positioned them to cover the hole as well so where it lines up it has - the header pipe finishes past the hole, then the insert jammed in past the hole and the 2 clamps over the top.
Sounds and looks much better and no leaks !!

car tailpipe inserted

The only problem I can see,  is the Copper silicon sealant you used won't do you much good,  it's only rated to 750F on an intermittent basis, which is not near enough for a MC exhaust system.  That stuff is gonna break down in a hurry, especially if your running your bike hard or at a lean condition.

R.F.

Nice mod Scott, good on ya!