Exhaust rattle

Engine, exhaust & cooling mods or problems. If it has to do with cooling, anything within the crank case, or exhaust, it goes here.
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bikerbill
Posts: 105
Joined: Tue Mar 02, 2010 2:07 pm
I ride: 1997 Vulcan 500LTD named Hidalgo

Re: Exhaust rattle

Postby bikerbill » Sat Nov 12, 2016 5:56 pm

Guess what? It took only 3,000 miles to crack the right side pipe that was installed in August. Granted it had been on its previous bike for 11,000 miles but still...

I am going to try a 'Hail Mary' hack to stop the rattle for a while. I drilled and tapped three equidistant holes about three inches down from the header flange (below the cracked section) then installed screws with jam nuts to position the inner pipe and to stop it from contacting the outer pipe.

I also did this on the non-cracked side to see if it will extend the life of it before it cracks. That pipe had 17,000 miles on it before installation.

https://bikerbillsvulcan500rebuild.shutterfly.com/817

Comments?
--
'Biker' Bill
'97 EN500LTD 'Hidalgo'
269,000+ miles so far
VROC #3833
IBA #635

SlipStreamer Enterprise II, Vista Cruise,
Cobra Spots, Drifter solo seat,
Pro-Tac backrest, ScottOiler,
F&S luggage rack, LED lights,
4-gal AUX fuel tank

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Turbojoe
Posts: 162
Joined: Fri Jun 03, 2011 10:35 pm
I ride: 2004 Vulcan 500
Location: Mesa, AZ

Re: Exhaust rattle

Postby Turbojoe » Sat Nov 19, 2016 7:00 pm

I've only got about 15K on the oldest head pipe I replaced with new (BOTH have been replaced with NEW) and I'm starting to hear the telltale buzz already. I love the bike but this head pipe situation is really pissing me off. Enough that I may look for a different bike if the pipes are indeed starting to fail already. I'm not going to pull them off for a look. I don't want to know. I got both replacement head pipes for good deals at $100 for one and $125.00 for the other but that's a ridiculous cost every 15K miles or so. It would sure be nice to see Kawasaki get involved in this.

Joe
The nonsensical ravings of a lunatic mind.....

2004 Vulcan 500

User avatar
bikerbill
Posts: 105
Joined: Tue Mar 02, 2010 2:07 pm
I ride: 1997 Vulcan 500LTD named Hidalgo

Re: Exhaust rattle

Postby bikerbill » Mon Nov 21, 2016 7:54 am

Turbojoe wrote:
would sure be nice to see Kawasaki get involved in this.



Some time ago I spoke with a dealer that contacted Kawasaki about this issue to see if they could do something about it. He reported that Kawasaki *is* aware of the issue but has no plans to do anything about it. My guess is this is a low priority issue with a low volume model.

Sorry.
--
'Biker' Bill
'97 EN500LTD 'Hidalgo'
269,000+ miles so far
VROC #3833
IBA #635

SlipStreamer Enterprise II, Vista Cruise,
Cobra Spots, Drifter solo seat,
Pro-Tac backrest, ScottOiler,
F&S luggage rack, LED lights,
4-gal AUX fuel tank

User avatar
Turbojoe
Posts: 162
Joined: Fri Jun 03, 2011 10:35 pm
I ride: 2004 Vulcan 500
Location: Mesa, AZ

Re: Exhaust rattle

Postby Turbojoe » Mon Nov 21, 2016 6:03 pm

Yeah, the last production year is 2009 so they've pretty much written off any responsibility at this point. The thing is, I'll probably look at anything other than Kawasaki if it comes down to replacing her.

Joe
The nonsensical ravings of a lunatic mind.....

2004 Vulcan 500

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Triangles
Site Admin
Posts: 819
Joined: Sun Dec 27, 2009 10:35 pm
I ride: '94 Black Cherry Vulcan 500, '06 Candyfire Red Vulcan 500 LTD
Location: Toledo Ohio
Contact:

Re: Exhaust rattle

Postby Triangles » Tue Nov 29, 2016 11:56 am

The new Honda Rebels look interesting.... About 6K miles ago I welded up the vent holes by the crossover when mine started rattling. That seemed to fix it more or less. I still hear a barely perceptible rattle every now and then. When and if they do ever completely fail I'm gonna try my hand at fabbing my own pipes from stainless.
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