Exhaust Muffler broke off...

[RedBaronX]

On my ride home yesterday, my muffler broke off where the exhaust pipe meets the muffler-- apparently, gunk can get trapped at that point, heating up the muffler enough to cause structural failure...

Anyway... LUCKILY I was on my way HOME from work, AND I was not horribly far (about three miles), so I pedaled home. I had shut the bike off seconds after it got louder to see what the problem was...

I remember someone mentioning in some thread "never run a HT without the muffler!" I had no problem heeding this because I had the luxury to do so... but in a pinch would just the pipe be enough to exhaust the engine? A "pinch" situation would be something like-- it's dark and I've found myself in a not-so-safe neighborhood (a situation I avoid as much as possible anyway, but I ride through some neighborhoods that are fine in the day but sketchy after dark...and the days are getting shorter).

At the moment, I am home safe, the bike is home safe, and it's not moving until I get a replacement... but if I was in a situation where I HAD to motor a couple miles, would the pipe before the muffler be enough of an "exhaust system" for a ride of a few miles?

 

[hurricane]

You can use these engines without a muffler at all,Only thing is they are extremly loud without the muffler.It will not damage anything,but the way you peddaled home was nice and quite way to get it home till you get a new muffler. And Im sure your neighbors appreciated it .

 

[motorpsycho]

"gunk" built up in the muffler or pipe would not get hot enough to cause the muffler and pipe to come apart. it would have to get hot enough to melt the weld that's holding the pipe and muffler together. even tho the welds on these mufflers are not the best, i highly doubt that heat caused the muffler to fall off.
more than likely what happend was that your muffler was not supported enough for the pipe to hold the weight. over time, with vibrations, bumps in the road and stuff like that, the weld probably failed from stress.
but yes, you can run one of these engines without a muffler..it will just be really loud, and it will give you a little more power.

 

[RedBaronX]

the bike only has a hundred something miles on it, so there hasn't been much time for it to "fail over time"

But I know these aren't built to the highest standards; I could have just gotten a crappy one.

When it was getting loud before it fell off, I stopped to look at it and the pipe had gotten soft... At that point, I rode slower, though that might not have prolonged the life at all.

I count myself lucky that, if this had to happen, it happened when it did and not on my way to work. But at least I know that I would have been safe riding with it as is.

 

[srdavo]

you can take your pipe off & Find a local welder--- shop or hobby. Have it welded back on & go again!!

my 2¢

 

[RedBaronX]

you can take your pipe off & Find a local welder--- shop or hobby. Have it welded back on & go again!!

my 2¢

I actually left the muffler behind... I know, shame on me for littering, but it would have been too hot to pick up and put somewhere to carry home

A friend of mine is giving me a replacement for $10, which is probably cost or close to cost since there is a good chance the muffler was defective to begin with