Exhaust nuts,half rings sizing query

[Monstyr]

After an extended break from the bike I'm now back onto doing some small jobs again.
Last night while reorganising the pile of bits I brought out my new castle nuts to put them alongside the old ones, and thats when I noticed the half rings from the front pot were bigger than those on the other one (the front nut proved very difficult to remove and consequently was badly damaged in doing so,hence the new replacements) and dont fit into the new replacement nuts or the old rear nut. I didn't measure them but the difference is about 1mm I reckon, enough to be able to roll the smaller ring around in the larger nut.
Looking at the old nut its also a different finish to the other original one making me wonder if its perhaps off a different model thats been bodged on in the past- I had though the 350 and 500's were both the same but perhaps not

Anyone got an explanation for this?

The front cylinder on my engine is a replacement as its painted black- hence my previous query about engine finish,whether I should paint the rest to match or try and polish off the existing paint.
Cany anyone tell me which engine models were painted and which had natural metal finish.

Is this a possible reason for the difference in size of the half rings?


The new nuts screw into both outlets without any problems BTW, and it looks like new half rings will be needed on my list of replacement parts.

[unreal]

There are at least 3 different profiles of half rings to fit the different flanges on the the exhausts used over the years.
I've ended up taking the pipes to Rob at NML trying to get the right ones.
The castellated exhaust nuts changed over the years too, on my 74 short and bronze, 81 taller and plated.

Simon

[Monstyr]

I made it into NLM and got a few little odds and ends that I needed including half rings. Fortunately I remembered the correct type as I didn't bring any existing bike bits with me.
What I did find today when I came home is that the new rings dont fit either, fortunately, (and unlike the ones on the bike,) they dont seem to be made in steel so I was able to file them down a bit to enable the castle nut to capture them securely.

With my fork legs being sent to philpots on Monday I feel I'm getting somewhere at last.