Porter
Junior Member
I was planning on changing my front shock oil yesterday using the tips from this board using the niffty vacuum pump and 8mm drilled out bolt...but...
riding home yesterday I hear some pops and the exhaust sounds flat.
Upon inspection I see that the Y-pipe from the rear cylinder is completely cracked. (The whole way around at the crotch of the Y).
Remove the pieces, cleaned and welded them back together. I still have to get some gaskets and clamps from the dealer to complete the installation. I checked on this board and there were a few notes to not even weld it and just get a new one, because it will crack again. But if the OEM part keeps cracking or is prone to crack what is the point?
I can think that the heat stress will make weld a weak spot after the pipe has been through so many heating cycles.
I guess my question (and I know it is subjective) is: Are the statements that "it will just crack again" meant to say that the weld repair will fail in a few days of use or after several months? How fast would you expect it to fail?
The bike was used when I bought it and it did have those "wraps" around the pipes and I suspect after seeing some posts that those probably shortened the life. It is just that the pipes still have a thick wall and there is very little corrosion at all. Only the crack that is very jagged, with would indicated brittleness, I guess.
riding home yesterday I hear some pops and the exhaust sounds flat.
Upon inspection I see that the Y-pipe from the rear cylinder is completely cracked. (The whole way around at the crotch of the Y).
Remove the pieces, cleaned and welded them back together. I still have to get some gaskets and clamps from the dealer to complete the installation. I checked on this board and there were a few notes to not even weld it and just get a new one, because it will crack again. But if the OEM part keeps cracking or is prone to crack what is the point?
I can think that the heat stress will make weld a weak spot after the pipe has been through so many heating cycles.
I guess my question (and I know it is subjective) is: Are the statements that "it will just crack again" meant to say that the weld repair will fail in a few days of use or after several months? How fast would you expect it to fail?
The bike was used when I bought it and it did have those "wraps" around the pipes and I suspect after seeing some posts that those probably shortened the life. It is just that the pipes still have a thick wall and there is very little corrosion at all. Only the crack that is very jagged, with would indicated brittleness, I guess.