Opinions,,,

[st66]

Hi guys, OK so the story is has anyone had any trouble with Gibson pipes,,, just received a set of all speed short can pipes chromed from Gibson pipes and to be honest am dissapointed the welds are shite to say the least £720 delivered and the welds have not been dressed as such looks like he's welded them up with a stick welder and had them chromed is this the norm?? Any opinions would be good as I'm tempted to send them back for £720 I expected a tad better

[midlifecrisisrd]

Don't think they are tig welded so welds are not "seemless"

Think a lot is down to the chromers tidying and polishing

For reference here are some pics of the last set I got close up

I had a set a good few years ago that didn't fit well. Had to make up new stubs as they wouldn't line up at the rear

Steve

[yamman1066]

there all like that now

[rich]

Still knock spots off Higgspeeds, now they are terrible. Hand made so never going to be perfect.

[rigga]

Had some Gibson's for many years, suit the bike very well, period sound and looks.

I think for the money they charge now I certainly wouldn't buy again if I was in the same position, far better designed and built pipes out there, think their pricing is taking the proverbial now.

[midlifecrisisrd]

Dec 18, 2020 20:33:20 GMT 1 rigga said:

Had some Gibson's for many years, suit the bike very well, period sound and looks.

I think for the money they charge now I certainly wouldn't buy again if I was in the same position, far better designed and built pipes out there, think their pricing is taking the proverbial now.

Totally agree

At that money you can buy TIG welded stainless pipes with cans

Steve

[st66]

Chears midlife mine are much the same the odd spot a bit worse maybe so it's the norm! That's a head scratcher I guess,, deff not tigged,, I just expected a bit better is all, will see wot they sound like small cans,, but they are no way built like original all speeds tho,, 👍

[midlifecrisisrd]

They are not the same anymore

If you sit a pair of new beside originals they differ quite a bit. I'll see if I have an old pic

Oh and that's the good bits on mine, the rear was worse

They will sound awesome though

Steve

[jon]

I think they are TIG welded TBO, but they have to be built up more than normal to survive the polishing before chroming.

Otherwise the metal would become too thin during polishing.

I have a set of chromed Gibsons that look like the above. I also have some one offs in stainless. The welds are very different, but done by the same place. I’ll get pictures of the welds on the one offs at the weekend if anyone is interested?

Jon

[midlifecrisisrd]

Crap old pic of mine back in 89 and a new pair

Steve

[badger1]

I bought a set of Gibsons a few years ago, they fitted fine but I felt the same, welding was untidy, chrome was very poor especially on the rear brackets. I wouldn’t buy them again.

[dusty350]

I got my 400e Allspeeds delivered a couple of weeks ago. Exactly as I expected them to be, to be honest. They aren't the lightest or best made pipes - never have been - and well known for not really adding any performance gains over stock. And certainly not cheap for the chromed option - chroming adds just over 200 quid for a pair. I wanted small can, chromed Allspeeds for this build as that's what I've had on 400's before, and the pipes I bought new for my first 400 back in 86. I love the look, and the sound of them - they suit an aircooled 400 perfectly I think. And the welding is very 80's looking, and never bothered me;

20201209_125321 by dusty miller, on Flickr


Mutts/Alonze pipes and Kenny's TSA's are lighter, cheaper, beautifully made, quicker delivery times and offer proven performance gains, readily available in stainless that polishes up really nicely and you can get 2 lengths of cans to alter the sound if you so wish. Sounds like a no contest choice, but I felt the 400 build was right with the 'Speeds.
If you want mint welding, Mark Dent's pipes are another level - stunning quality, but that will be £950 a pair in stainless please

Dusty

[chippy348]

Dec 18, 2020 20:27:48 GMT 1 yamman1066 said:

there all like that now

I think they were like it back in the day, but nobody cared OR should i say was too picky about them. They slung the genuine yam ones in the bin and road down the local chippy to show off there new pipes. 

[st66]

I just remember back in the day, original all speeds sounded nice but couldn't see the welds at all, they were seamless,,, but I guess it is wot it is, £200 for chromeing,,, the chrome is nice it's just the original prep could be better,,, for £700,,,

[freddie19]

The early Allspeeds by Codnor fabrications where hydraulic formed and most of the welds are on the inner sides of the pipes so you hardly see them, so the pipes look almost seamless!
The one's that are visible are much better quality than what I can see there.

Really don't think I would be buying new ones for my bike now.....not only are they not very well made but from what I've heard the side and centre stands can rub on the chrome and the downpipes melt the belly pan on the LC2....omg!😵

[earthman]

I doubt that an arc (stick) welder would have been used here? Well the one I have would just blow holes through metal that thin. Lol

[lc350pete]

Wow they are £700 now 😳
I bought mine when they were £400 quite a few years ago welds were nice and tidy too
They fit well but are too close to the bellypan, I did ask when I ordered them about that they said there’s no issues with bellypan 😟

[dusty350]

I sold my 430e (again!) this summer, so cant do comparison pics unfortunately. I bought them brand new from M&P in 1986/7 for £99 !!, and they've been on the 430 ever since. Some of the welds look very different, especially the end can joint to the chamber;

20200101_114154 by dusty miller, on Flickr

20200112_175200 by dusty miller, on Flickr

The welds on the old pipes have definitely been dressed back more in places than on my new ones. I had a new pair of unchromed, bare steel 'Speeds that came on the Carbon Lc when I bought it - you can see the welds better on this pipe;

20161105_105759 by dusty miller, on Flickr

As I said before, this is how I expect Allspeeds to be, and how they all are I think. Clive Hurley used to do all the welding at Gibsons, but I believe he left a few years back so that may account for different welding style maybe ? I know the chroming people that Gibson use can be quite temperamental - had a couple of conversations with Gibsons during the ordering process, and they alluded to the fact the chromers could be a bit "highly strung" ! Must be all the chemicals !! I wonder if it's them that decide the final finish regards dressing back/prepolishing of the pipes ?
I've had Mutts/Alonze pipes, Tsa's and Allspeeds, and they are all awesome for different reasons. I like Allspeeds on Ac's and Lc's as they are old skool and look "right on these bikes, and sound awesome. I swapped the bare steel Speeds for new chromed ones on the Carbon Lc - this is initial start up so excuse the high tick over and lack of revving, but you get the idea

20171005_142919 by dusty miller, on Flickr

Dusty

Dusty

[liffy16]

Bought some for my valve 7-8 years ago unpainted and the welds were nice to be fair they had been dressed a bit ,cost about £370 ish if I remember, sprayed black and 2 pack clear on top they look like the old black chrome

[tonyd123]

They look OK to me. Perhaps you are expecting a factory finish on something hand made and welded in a small workshop in the UK?

[tonyd123]

Dec 18, 2020 21:00:56 GMT 1 midlifecrisisrd said:

Very nice! I bet that stops well 

[midlifecrisisrd]

Dec 19, 2020 11:18:03 GMT 1 tonyd123 said:

Dec 18, 2020 21:00:56 GMT 1 midlifecrisisrd said:

Very nice! I bet that stops well 

Pops your eyeballs out 🤣

Steve

[1250bandit]

I had a set of pipes made by Gibson for my 400AC

For the sort of money I handed over I expected a lot better quality & service
When I ordered them the first question I asked was do they fit ok with the centre stand (answer yes) did they hell I had to take a hammer to the stand its better but will never fit properly with the pipes.
Pipes where touching the rear shock mounts as well. So had to shave the mounts to get them to fit
Chrome is so thin the slightest knock and it chips off.

Every time I phoned them I found them unhelpful to the point of being rude.

Was told 10 weeks but ended up being 12 THEN it’s another 2 weeks to get them chromed (if that’s what they call the SH-T shinny stuff they stuck on them)

A mate of mine had a set made for his 350LC and asked the same question about the centre stand and was assured they would be fine. Well they weren’t fine and didn’t fit properly.

I would say if you want some pipes made go elsewhere to spend your money.

[Gunny]

Mikee had a set that broke up inside as well.

[freddie19]

Right, so this is my first attempt at posting a picture on the forum.... fingers crossed it works!

Here's a picture of the early Codnor Hypower Allspeeds on my LC2. It's not the best picture but you can see the smooth shape of the chambers, compared to the angular shape of the Gibson's.
Hardly any welds are visible on the outside of the pipes due to their hydraulic construction!

Love these pipes and I really think they suit the LC2 sooo well.
Oh..... and they don't sound too bad either!👍😁

[earthman]

Picture working for me.👍

[freddie19]

Hopefully this is a better quality picture!

[freddie19]

Yeah that worked.
Cheers earthman!👍

[4l04ever]

Those pipes are not hydroformed, as you can see the definite ridges where the sections are welded. It does look like they have the welds dressed right back to smooth, which does look better than leaving them rough.

[dusty350]

I agree, they don't look hydroformed to me either. Just large can Allspeeds. Codnor were the makers of Microns weren't they ? Although Metmachex used to weld the Microns together in the early days I believe.

Dusty