| Author | Message | ||
     Quadcricket |
So after bringing in my bike because of a loose exhaust header the mechanic noticed that the muffler had actually split off of the header entirely due to a bolt that had wiggled off that supports its weight. Since I am still a pretty new Buell owner is something like this very common? Do I need a bolt-check checklist like I did with my old KLR650? I love the bike too much to give up on it so I just want to learn the proper care to keep my new exhaust from falling off. I am going to splurge on the Micron if I can find where and how to buy one. My 09 Uly was orders of magnitude cheaper than the BMW I was looking at so I don't mind putting some cash into her. Any tips and advice are appreciated. | ||
| Froggy |
Which exhaust do you have? I've never heard of anything like that happening to a properly installed exhaust, my guess is the exhaust was swapped at some point and not properly installed. It is known that if you ride with broken muffler straps that the header studs can break, which doesn't sound far off from what you are describing. | ||
| Griffmeister |
I had that happen a couple of times before I figured out what was wrong. The bolt sounds like the one that holds the bracket that the front muffler strap fits in. I broke two or three of those bolts before I realized they were under stress from improperly installing the (stock) muffler. The torca clamp on the header to muffler joint will deform the inlet enough to make the muffler a tight fit on reinstall. This can make it difficult to get a neutral fit before tightening all the straps. I have since learned to use a pipe expander to be sure that the muffler slides easily onto the header. Of course these engines vibrate like hell and things do loosen up anyhow.. | ||
| Quadcricket |
Yeah, it is a stock exhaust. The bolt missing was for the front muffler strap so what you said makes sense Griffmeister. I am replacing the stock exhaust with one I ordered from Buelltooth. I found out the hard way that Micron went out of business like ten years ago.  Hopefully it will install okay and I guess I am just going to have to keep a socket wrench in my top case from now on to check the muffler bolts from time to time. | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
The exhausts on these XB bikes are pretty solid. Once installed correctly, they don't rattle loose too often. Once ONE part gets loose, you need to fix it immediately or the rest will soon follow. Front mounting straps are supposed to be use once and throw away too. Easiest way to check the exhaust = give it a kick. If it rattles, investigate further. Dull thump = good to go. |
