| Author | Message | ||
     Electraglider_1997 |
Magazines never have the bikes long enough to experience a RUSTY muffler. If the mags would have seen the muffler rusting they would have made it public and it would now be a non-issue because it would have been fixed. The mags complained about steering lock and it was increased. | ||
| Johnboy777 |
I got mine replaced under warranty - then ceramic coated the new one black. Just invest $100 (old or new) and get it ceramic coated - end of problem. . | ||
| Ironhead1977 |
Mine is rust colored also. Time to get the grill paint out. | ||
| Dfishman |
I live at the beach.My rust on my 06 is minimal.A little care goes a long ways.I spray mine with S100 engine brightener.It keeps the rust at bay. | ||
| Edgydrifter |
I got a quote this week to have the headers and muffler ceramic coated for $95 here in OR. If/when the weather gets really hostile in the next few months, I will be pulling off the exhaust and having this done. | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
My muffler is rusty. I don't care. Problem solved. | ||
| Fastmag |
Mine has never rusted. Every oil change I wipe it down with WD40 to clean off the spilled oil from the filter. Besides the dents it still looks brand new after 30,000 miles rain or shine. | ||
| Invisible_monster |
My muffler is rusty. I don't care. Problem solved +1 | ||
| Packdog |
I just went and looked at mine. It's got too much caked on mud and road grime to tell if it's rusting or not. Guess I'll find out when it rusts all the way through and becomes obnoxiously loud. | ||
| Tginnh |
My muffler is rusty. I don't care. This is a new tangent on Uly muffler rust that I haven't read so far. Rust is a visual indicator of corrosion. Why would one not be concerned that a part of their motorcycle is deteriorating? | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
>Rust is a visual indicator of corrosion. >Why would one not be concerned that a part >of their motorcycle is deteriorating? The muffler is thick-walled mild steel. It will take a long time to rust all the way through. | ||
| Tginnh |
True. Admittedly, I can't stand the sight of rust. I wash my Uly as well. I know, I know... | ||
| Court |
My muffler is rusty. I don't care. Problem solved +12 Think . . . CORTEN. | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
Oh one more thing: 23,000 miles and I haven't so much as TOUCHED the muffler. If it rattled loose, I would probably mod it or paint it. | ||
| Babired |
If mine rusts off I'm getting a Drummer  Otherwise the bike looks well ridden! | ||
| Invisible_monster |
Why would one not be concerned that a part of their motorcycle is deteriorating? This ain't no show queen, it gets ridden. A little surface rust on my muffler does not make me fear some catastrophic failure. I find it amusing that so much time is spent discussing it. | ||
| Dfishman |
Here at the beach it is important to keep corrosion at bay.A clean bike lasts far longer in the salt air. | ||
| Cyclonedon |
my muffler started rusting also so I put the Buell stainless steel race can on mine. I can't stand to look at a rusty muffler, I don't want my motorcycle to look like it was poorly made with a rusty muffler on it. | ||
| Blake |
Buell absolutely needs to put some effort into improving the rust resistance of their mufflers. | ||
| Court |
Buell absolutely needs to put some effort into improving the rust resistance of their mufflers. | ||
| Johnboy777 |
I knew it - Blake and Court are really one and the same. . | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
A mild steel muffler makes about as much sense as putting all those electrical connectors, think 77 connector, down low on an Adventure bike. Muffler and connectors are down where they can get submerged on stream crossings, not a big deal on the muffler but those connectors shouldn't be underwater. | ||
| Cyclonedon |
never ran my Uly through standing water before but from what I hear, the 77 connector might start causing some problems if I did. I plan on installing the 77 connector upgrade to my bike this winter. | ||
| Ulyssesguy |
VHT Header paint... apply in thin coats and follow the directions on the can to bake it on... Or Ride uly through Washington muddy roads, ride back to paved road and continue riding for at least an hour, mud bakes on to form a ceramic like rust impervious barrier... Thats whats on my uly... On my lightning i have the Vht caned ceramic spray and it seems to be holding up very well...  | ||
| Odie |
It isn't "that" thick walled and it won't take "that" long for it to rust thru, trust me. I've seen them in all conditions. Rusted thru also. | ||
| Nobuell |
Ulyssesguy I plan to pull the muffler off this winter and paint with the VHT. I read the instructions and noticed the 600 deg cure. I have ovens at work that can go to 600 deg. but are there any parts in the muffler that will be affected by that temperature? Also, did you use primer, paint and clear as shown in the literature? Thanks Tim | ||
| Hughlysses |
I repainted mine with Duplicolor high temperature exhaust paint this summer, but for some reason their paint has gotten very hard to find. The VHT stuff is much more common. I removed the muffler and power-wirebrushed, sanded, etc. to remove as much rust as possible. I then treated any areas I couldn't get completely clean with rust converter. (Ideally, sand blasting to white metal would have been better.) I then painted the muffler per the directions on the can. IIRC the recommended curing process called for taking it up to ~200 degrees F for an hour, then 300, then 400. (Something like that). Unfortunately our oven wasn't big enough to hold the muffler. I wound up using a cheap heat gun (Harbor Freight) and reheated it several times, getting it as hot as possible for as long as possible the last time. While not completely cured, I'm sure it was better than just slapping it back on the bike. It's obviously done some additional curing since I've had it on the bike, but it seems to be holding up well. A small spot flaked off on the side near the outlet, but otherwise it looks factory new after ~3 months. Here's a link to Duplicolor's site showing the recommended process for painting and curing exhaust headers: http://www.duplicolor.com/training/highheat_traini ng.html | ||
| Electraglider_1997 |
These are all good ideas for what Buell should be doing before we bought the bikes. What gives Buell? I've got two ULYs in the garage now. Looks like I'll give them the Hughlysses treatment. Did you just run that heat gun into the the exhaust inlet and let it run? | ||
| Hughlysses |
EG- I ran it into the inlet, then all over the outside, then in the outlet, then changed the active valve position, over and over. I went through 3 or 4 cycles and on the last time I kept at it until I thought I had every part of the exterior of the muffler as hot as I could get it. You could definitely smell the paint cooking off during the heating process. After I got the muffler back on the bike, I let the engine idle for a good while and then shut if off again. The paint seemed to continue to cure for a while when I started riding the bike but the smell wasn't nearly as strong as during the initial curing process. A couple of months after I'd first applied the paint, I had the bike in the twisties riding it hard, and the smell returned somewhat. I guess accelerating hard uphill got certain parts of the muffler hotter than they'd been before. I've seen some good ideas on here for curing the paint: shooting a propane torch in the inlet, using heat guns, baking in a gas grill, etc. I'm sure you can figure a way to get it good and hot. | ||
| Ourdee |
Buell absolutely needs to put some effort into improving the rust resistance of their mufflers. |
