Staintune Exhaust Installation Guide on BMW K1200RS

By: Bill Wright
October 1999

Background First off, I consider myself a competent shadetree mechanic. I do most of my maintenance and repairs on both my bikes and autos. By no means am I a certified BMW (or any other brand) mechanic.

The only “special” tools I used for this install were an Inch-Pound/Newton-Meter torque wrench and a T-50 Torx head socket. Staintune says High Temp Silicone Sealer may also be used. You will also need 4 new exhaust manifold gaskets (11-62-1-464-061 ?) from BMW.

In my opinion Staintunes’ instructions were very limited. What caused me the biggest problem is when I took the header pipes out of the box, only one of the four header pipes going into the “collector” were welded. Of the other 3, 1 was very tight, 1 very loose and, like Goldilocks, 1 was just right. I found out later this is as designed, it’s intended to give the exhaust the ability to expand and contract. Staintune gives you the option to use the silicone on these joints. I would avoid it. You would need to move the header pipes too much to get the silicone in and getting them re-positioned was a pain. Otherwise, installation was relatively straightforward.

1. With the bike on the center stand remove the belly pan and seat, I also chose to remove the shield between the exhaust and toe shifter, it’s only 2 bolts and gives you more room to work and less chance to scratch the new pipe.
2. Remove the Oxygen Sensor from the stock pipe, I needed an additional 6″ of cable length to reinstall in the new pipe so you may want to cut the cable ties under the seat that support this cable and get the extra length now, I just had to reposition the cable connector.
3. Remove the 8 combination hex/torx nuts holding the exhaust to the manifold, it’s not uncommon for the studs to come out with the nuts, don’t worry about it, then remove the rear mount. *** DON’T FORGET TO REMOVE THE 4 COPPER WASHERS INSIDE THE EXHAUST MANIFOLD, they may be hiding and will most assuredly be stubborn about leaving.
4. Fit the new header system. I put 4 small dabs of silicone sealer on each of the exhaust gaskets to make them stay in the manifold while fitting the headers. Slowly and evenly snug up the nuts, DO NOT tighten yet. I took it very slowly, tightening the nuts in a rear-to-front pattern in very small increments until snug. Reinstall the oxygen sensor and tighten.
5. Put the clamp over the muffler and slide the muffler onto the collector pipe, then attach the rear mount bolt. Twist the muffler as needed to align the mounting bracket. I had to use a Dremel Tool to grind the bushing so the muffler hanger would seat. You could grind/file the hanger hole on the muffler instead.
6. Start at the front of the system and working your way back, incrementally tighten all nuts and bolts. The final torque spec on the headers is 22 N-m (apx. 16.2 ft-lbs) but PLEASE double-check those figures. (I tightened mine in 7/14/22 N-m increments)
7. Wipe the system clean of all grease/oil and silicone, (I use Windex) then wipe it again.
8. Start the bike letting it run for a few minutes and check for exhaust leaks. Shut down.
9. Reinstall the toe shield, belly pan and seat. Double-check your work.
10. Now, get on your bad motorscooter and ride…and enjoy a new authoritative sound.