Planet Minis

RonKMiller

The Good:

I've been looking hard for an "old school street style" exhaust for my project bike - and the pickin's were pretty slim. I finally found the style I was after. It's a "Chaly" clone of an older OEM Honda exhaust that apparently is very popular in Europe and Asia - but seldom seen in the US.

It has a large inner diameter (id) header pipe that is perfect for my 110 engine to allow it to breathe. Performance was a main concern of mine and this should work well.

It bolted right up with only a few minor modifications, and is solidly and squarely mounted to the cylinder head and frame. With a little tweaking it is an excellent fit without having to resort to bending the pipe without the benefit of a mandrel.

I only paid $54.00 for it delivered to my door by mail in two weeks. That is not a typo. It was double boxed and protected by plastic wrap. The box was a cut up combination of many other boxes, but well done and very sturdy. Obviously these folks are not only resourceful but "green" to boot probably out of necessity.

I don't know how it sounds yet since I am probably a couple of months away from firing the Lifan, but since it came with a silencer I should be able to "tune" it a bit for a reasonable (read street legal) decibel output.

The Bad:

Z warned me about buying stuff from Viet Nam regarding the overall quality - he told me that some stuff was OK and some garbage. Fair enough and very kind of him to share the benefit of his wisdom and expertise.

I bought it on Ebay pretty much sight unseen from Viet Nam. The only picture available was pretty blurry, so I knew in advance I was taking a crap shoot on what I was getting. I got crap, but I expected it. You usually do indeed get what you pay for.

What I got was a used, after market clone that was boiled in acid then refurbished/polished and chrome plated. It was obvious that it was a used piece since the mounting holes for the frame bracket attachment and silencer were mushroomed and distorted. That only comes from vibration and use, not a drill bit. The chrome job is mediocre at best. The neck also showed signs of recent welding that were not well covered by the chrome, no doubt to install the new collar. The soft metal collar does fit well, and once the Honda OEM metal crush gasket is added it should seal with no problem. If I want to spend another $50.00 I can get a decent chrome job locally. The current chrome will probably pit in a year - even in a dry desert climate. It is THAT thin...

The Ugly:

Well - it IS ugly, but for my purposes it is perfect, since exhausts made in the stone age were pretty crude to begin with. It fits in well with my scheme. A "modern" cannister type exhaust with alloy metals would be totally wrong. To that end the crappy chrome job even fits in.

Believe it or not I gave the guy who sold it to me a positive Ebay rating for several reasons:

1. It is an amazing VALUE for those on a budget - even though this was not one of my main considerations for buying it.

2. He did what he said and delivered it fast and DID NOT rip me off on the shipping charges: only $18.95. I like people that do what they say they are going to do.

3. He provided me with an incredibly economical option to what was available in other world markets.

With a bit of Dremel work cutting and smoothing the brackets, followed by some careful bending and a quick drill and tap job on the frame I've got exactly the "look" and - hopefully the performance - I'm after.

Attached Thumbnails

         

makotosun

Do you have a link for the seller? I'd be curious as to what else he has for sale.

RonKMiller

PM'd you.

makotosun

Thanks!

Lair

OT, but holy crap. That roundel fits perfectly. Which one is it? Bike, car. . .?

RonKMiller

Bike, stick on, very thin metal. Not actually stuck on yet....

pookiebear

If it starts to pit use 0000 steel wool (will dull it out some) and then try to find some clear engine paint. Polish it then paint. If it wansn't an exhaust you could wax it.

davez

Should be fine. Vietnam is the fastest growing Asian country now. I bet we'll be seeing tons of better things coming from there too (hopefully) Hey, doesn't Dillweed live there?

Adie 74

Hi Guys I am a westerner living in Vietnam, quite a lot of stuff out here, usually you have a choice of cheap and crappy or a little more and either original or very clean copy.

Increasing my knowledge on Chalys at the moment as I am in mid build.

LoudFastUgly

Great post.

Z50King

thats cool

badass67stang

Can i have a link to the seller please thanks

mexicanyella

Hey, cool hardtail project; hope to see it when it's together! Kray-zee sprung seat arrangement, too.

I was looking at an exhaust like that, from Vietnam also, I think, awhile back after seeing a photo of someone's early Dax here on PM that had the original pipe like that on it. I love the look of those pipes but ended up thinking it wouldn't work on my hardtail because it would interfere with the brake pedal. From the look of your pics, I think I may have been right about that.

But it looks cool with the frame bends. Keep us posted on your progress with that build!

big pete

search for 'Honda Chaly' and you'll find it

Adie 74

HI guys.

Sorry I am new to this site, I posted something with regards to supplying parts from Vietnam, but it got edited, so I presume I broke the rules here.

So all I can say is if you need any information on parts from Vietnam please contact me, doing a rebuild on a chaly at the moment and have also carried out work on a SS50 and C50 all the parts I used I bought here in Vietnam, parts varey in quality, but luckily for me I live here so I am able to look at the parts I need before handing over the cash.

Previous post contained a lot more detailed info but as I say I think maybe it broke the site rules.

I apologize if this is the case.

Adie

supernes550

Do up another thread and let us know what you think of certain parts coming out of vietnam. It would be cool to see what your opinion is as enthusiast and not as a company.