Author Topic: New Member, Old Problem  (Read 8826 times)

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waterman

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on: May 27, 2015, 03:55:06 pm
Greetings from the Bay Area

From browsing the forum I see that broken OEM silencers are not surprising, what I find odd in my case is that my bike (2014 C5) has less than 500 miles, and the silencer is very blue for such low miles.  I'll be contacting my dealer today to discuss replacement, but am interested in your thoughts on my particular system!  See attached pictures for location of failure and silencer coloration.

Many thanks
Matt


Craig McClure

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Reply #1 on: May 27, 2015, 04:14:07 pm
All the fault of the Catalytic Converter. Its function is to super heat & burn away naughty exhaust gases, which allegedly cause climate change. If you live in a personal liberty state (without emissions testing), You may install a Muffler of your choice with NO CAT CONVERTER >>>>YAY!
Mine is 3 years old & looks like new.
Best Wishes, Craig McClure


Bulletman

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Reply #2 on: May 27, 2015, 04:28:52 pm
All the fault of the Catalytic Converter. Its function is to super heat & burn away naughty exhaust gases, which allegedly cause climate change. If you live in a personal liberty state (without emissions testing), You may install a Muffler of your choice with NO CAT CONVERTER >>>>YAY!
Mine is 3 years old & looks like new.
Craig,
I've used various mufflers for the past 11k miles and never had that problem of discoloration.
"A Blast from my Past"
Black C5 2011


Vince

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Reply #3 on: May 27, 2015, 05:39:26 pm
     Most of this discoloration depends on your riding habits. If you give it a "thorough" warm up in your drive way there is no air flow to carry away the heat that is building up. Stop and go city driving has the same problem.
     If you put on your riding gear, then start it and ride away in about a minute, it will blue much less. Also try to ride in a way that encourages air flow. This means keep moving in an gear appropriate for the speed.


gremlin

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Reply #4 on: May 27, 2015, 06:34:52 pm
or, replace it (muffler) with something classier ......
1996 Trophy 1200
2009 Hyosung GV250
2011 RE B5


Craig McClure

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Reply #5 on: May 28, 2015, 04:40:07 am
Craig,
I've used various mufflers for the past 11k miles and never had that problem of discoloration.
Hi Bulletman, I also have had many mufflers over many years, & never had that problem. Maybe because I have never tolerated a Cat-Converter on any of my bikes.
Best Wishes, Craig McClure


High On Octane

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Reply #6 on: May 28, 2015, 04:44:10 am
Personally, it looks like who ever made this muffler made it their first day on the job.  Who knows what went wrong, but the construction looks terrible.
2001 Harley Davidson Road King


Magoo

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Reply #7 on: May 28, 2015, 05:04:10 am
Personally, it looks like who ever made this muffler made it their first day on the job.  Who knows what went wrong, but the construction looks terrible.

Glad I'm not alone in thinking this! That's one ugly muffler.


waterman

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Reply #8 on: May 28, 2015, 05:58:56 am
Thanks for all the feedback guys.  I think the one thing that everyone agrees on, is that the muffler is fugly. 

The dealer is on it so I'll hopefully have a replacement soon.  In the meantime I have a reverse cone muffler that I'll try on for size. 

Many thanks
Matt


Sectorsteve

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Reply #9 on: May 28, 2015, 07:49:48 am
They can really pump some crap outta that factory sometimes. The metals are substandard.


SteveThackery

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Reply #10 on: May 28, 2015, 10:56:58 am
Waterman, don't worry!  The silencer on my 2014 B5 looks exactly the same and has done so from a very low mileage.

The heat shield covers up the discolouration, so I don't care.  As Vince says, the heat shield makes the silencer run hotter because the air can't get to it, hence the blueing.

Having looked at your photo, the same is true of yours.  Put the heat shield back on and it'll look fine.
« Last Edit: May 28, 2015, 11:00:42 am by SteveThackery »
Meteor 350

Previous:
'14 B5
'06 ElectraX (Good bike, had no trouble at all)
'02 500ES (Fully "Hitchcocked" - 535, cams, piston, etc - and still a piece of junk)

...plus loads of other bikes: German, British, Japanese, Italian, East European.


High On Octane

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Reply #11 on: May 28, 2015, 12:12:54 pm
Waterman, don't worry!  The silencer on my 2014 B5 looks exactly the same and has done so from a very low mileage.

The heat shield covers up the discolouration, so I don't care.  As Vince says, the heat shield makes the silencer run hotter because the air can't get to it, hence the blueing.

Having looked at your photo, the same is true of yours.  Put the heat shield back on and it'll look fine.

And just HOW exactly is a heat shield going to fix a broken and severed weld?
2001 Harley Davidson Road King


gremlin

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Reply #12 on: May 28, 2015, 05:21:50 pm
Waterman, don't worry!  .......... Having looked at your photo, ............  Put the heat shield back on and it'll look fine.

I've gotta agree with H.O.O.  steve better take another look at those photo(s).  The inlet has completely severed from that silencer.
1996 Trophy 1200
2009 Hyosung GV250
2011 RE B5


waterman

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Reply #13 on: June 01, 2015, 12:21:36 am
Switched out the broken OEM silencer for a reverse cone I had for another project.  Both looks and sounds great!



High On Octane

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Reply #14 on: June 01, 2015, 02:26:59 am
Nice!  Did you just clamp it onto the stock head pipe?
2001 Harley Davidson Road King


gremlin

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Reply #15 on: June 01, 2015, 02:41:11 am
Switched out the broken OEM silencer for a reverse cone I had for another project.  Both looks and sounds great!

looks like a gatlin' gun !
1996 Trophy 1200
2009 Hyosung GV250
2011 RE B5


waterman

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Reply #16 on: June 01, 2015, 02:42:24 am
Yes - just a single clamp over the header pipe, and one bracket support unlike the two on the OEM silencer.  I did have to use a tailpipe expander to accommodate the OEM header pipe.

I took a brief ride after installing and the exhaust note is very pleasant and no louder than OEM at idle.  Perhaps a little more of a growl at mid-range.  Overall very happy.


JoeSchmofo

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Reply #17 on: June 01, 2015, 01:43:44 pm
You CAN get a gatling gun exhaust...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Wjb_Dmc3vo


gremlin

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Reply #18 on: June 01, 2015, 02:22:09 pm
You CAN get a gatling gun exhaust...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Wjb_Dmc3vo

Just the thing for a battle green C5 !
1996 Trophy 1200
2009 Hyosung GV250
2011 RE B5