Vulcan500.com

Still not following, although that could just be because I'm not a welder. What are they going to weld? There's no hole to the outside. Just the inner pipe rattling around inside.

okay. now i am not following you. so you are saying that part of the pipe is rattling around inside, but there is no visible damage? if the pipe looks fine, as feels tight when you grap it, then its not the pipe. there may be something in the pipe thats not suppose to be there. the head pipe is a one-piece design, there is nothing to come loose inside. maybe the pipe mount bolts are loose and causing the whole section to rattle, but there is nothing inside the pipe to come loose and rattle. i am not sure what you are hearing, but it cant be a piece of the head pipe rattling if there is no physical damage on the outside. maybe it is something real close to the head pipe that is rattling? check to see if all the bolts are tight around the radiator, radiator screen, etc.

kawboyCAFE wrote:okay. now i am not following you. so you are saying that part of the pipe is rattling around inside, but there is no visible damage? if the pipe looks fine, as feels tight when you grap it, then its not the pipe.

the exhaust pipes are double walled. Kawasaki does this to keep the exterior of the pipe cool enuff so that the chrome doesn't turn blue. It's a fairly common problem on the vulcan 500's that the inner pipes eventually break loose and rattles. In addition to the rattle the exterior pipe is now exposed to higher temps and the chrome blues.

Exactly. To quote an explanation posted elsewhere:

bikerbill wrote:The inner exhaust pipe breaks at the first bend by the cylinder head, contacting the outer pipe. When the engine runs its vibration is transferred and the rattling begins.

If you do suspect an inner pipe breakage try this, use a large screwdriver, padded of course, and pry on the outer pipe. If the sound changes then the inner pipe is compromised (i.e. broken) If it doesn't change you need to look elsewhere for the noise.

Here are some pics of one of the pipes on my bike after I removed it showing the breakage on the inner pipe.

http://bikerbillsvulcan500rebuild.shutterfly.com/202
http://bikerbillsvulcan500rebuild.shutterfly.com/201

I haven't heard of a breakage near the crossover but there are some drain holes near there that exhaust comes out of when the inner pipe is compromised. It sound more like a hiss than a rattle though.

okay. well thats a stupid design. hell, if mine ever breaks, i think i'll just build a whole new setup. i guess i was wrong . personally i like the look of blue on the pipes, but i guess kawasaki didn't.

kawboyCAFE wrote:okay. well thats a stupid design. hell, if mine ever breaks, i think i'll just build a whole new setup. i guess i was wrong . personally i like the look of blue on the pipes, but i guess kawasaki didn't.

For what it's worth, I believe most factory chrome exhaust systems are double walled to keep them from discoloring. That's why they're so much heavier than the aftermarket designs. The issue here is that there's a design defect in the EN500 system that causes it to be much more likely to separate at that bend over time. One question I've discussed with Bikerbill a little bit was the possibility of using the EX500 headers with bit of adapting instead, but it doesn't sound like we could get them around the Vulcan's frame.

when my '94 500's pipes finally rust thru I'm planning on getting some custom 304 stainless steel pipes made and using Harley mufflers. Won't be cheap or pretty, but I wont have to worry about my pipes ever again.

Holy dead threads!

Yep, I'm having this problem too. :<

Not sure what I'm gonna do. I certainly don't want to buy brand new exhaust. I think maybe when the rattling starts getting on my nerves too much, I'll just cut through the whole pipe at the break with a sawzall, tack the inner pipe to the inside of the outer pipe, weld it all back together, and shoot the ruined chrome with stove paint. :3

Did anyone ever find a cheap way to fix this? Maybe stuff some steel wool into the break to deaden the rattle? >_>

Leaf you may be able to remove the pipe and weld it from the inside (depending on how far down the pipe the break is) instead of going the sawzall route. A local muffler shop told me it would be about $150 to bend up some SS pipe and weld it to the existing part that bolts to the head. I figure if I ever go that route, depending on how ugly the SS is I'd just leave it or cover it with some high temp paint or muffler wrap.

Another option might be to grab an exhaust system off a Ninja 500 and let a shop do the work necessary to route it around any interference issues.

Great website. My vulcan 2005 500 was making that tinny sound on the right side. I found the posting on this website and pulled the right header off. Looked down into the pipe and saw the cracked inner lining of the pipe. I was able to get my mig welder tip down into the crack and put some spot welds on it. No more tinny sound. Thanks for the help.

You have to be FAST when they show up on ebay! I bought my right side two years ago for $100.00 shipped. It was brand new. Never installed. I bought my left side almost three months ago for $63.99 shipped. They said it had 2500 miles on it and after having them send me pictures of the inside I jumped on it. When it got here it looked brand new after wiping it down with window cleaner. Another score! The big problem is if you buy one with high mileage and it isn't cracked it soon will be. It seems 25,000 miles is about all they last. Kawasaki really should be stepping up on this and providing some assistance.

Joe