Repacked the joint at the silencer.
As some of you know, about a year ago I replaced the stock torpedo silencer on my G5 with a Harley Sportster silencer.
These are built for a 1 3/4 inch exhaust pipe and it fit rather loosely on the stock RE exhaust pipe.
To fill in the gap I had cut a strip of aluminum from a beer can and wrapped it around the pipe where the silencer clamps.
At the time, it seemed to work but recently when the heat shield melted the heel on my shoe I started thinking something might be leaking.
My bike also started backfiring when I shifted down and let the engine do some braking.
Anyway, today I held my hand in the area of the silencer clamp and it was blasted by pulses of exhaust gas so I took it apart.
The aluminum "packing" was totally gone leaving a few small beads of once melted aluminum in the joint. (Aluminum melts at around 1100 degrees F).
Measuring the inside of the Harley silencer I found it at 1.750 inches in diameter. Measuring the RE exhaust pipe at the exit I got a value of 1.653 (42mm). That would leave a gap of .096 or .048 per side.
I don't have anything that thick but I do have some steel "plumbers tape" that measured .032 thick so I cut a length that wraps once around the exhaust pipe. I figure the split end of the silencer should flex enough to collapse and eliminate the .016" gap.
For those who don't know, plumbers tape is a soft steel strip about 3/4" wide. It has holes punched thru it for bolts to pass thru and it is used to support pipes. It is inexpensive and most Hardware stores carry it.
After some gentle tapping with a hammer and screwdriver I managed to drive the tape into the gap between the exhaust pipe and the split end of the silencer.
After tightening up the clamp I started the bike and the joint seems to be sealed. I'm not feeling any "puffing" in the area.
I think the steel tape will last for quite a while. If it doesn't, I'll let you know.