Very disapointed - Cobra Slip-ons

[coffey67]

Received my Cobra Tri-ovals today. Tried to install them and the left muffler does not lign up with the bracket when the muffler is slid into the header pipe. The holes are about an inch off. Called Cobra and they had me send pics. Will have to wait and hear back from them. I thought I could just put them on and go for a ride. Very disappointed. Anyone else have this problem?

2013 Vaquero - Cobra Tri-Ovals

[cactusjack]

Are you sure you don't have the mufflers switched L <> R? Just had to ask the question.

[Old Bear]

Nah Scott, we can't swap them backward. Mine was off as well, but the pipe over that distance does flex. I used the rubber handles of a pair of channel locks as a pry bar (my daughter has the pry bar I needed) and was able to flex the pipe enough to get the bolts in. No problems since, and I LOVE the sound!

[KURT44]

I had to bend mine also. I think I put a pin or something in my tractor hitch and then slid the pipe over and bent it.

[coffey67]

Were they this far off and you were able to bend the pipe to make them fit?

http://flic.kr/p/ffx5ge

http://flic.kr/p/ffx6sZ

[Top Cat]

Quality control from manufactures today is ridiculous. :wtf:

[Old Bear]

Mine were not that far off, and that is much more than an inch! I suspect that Kurt44's method would work however. Straightening the two pipe bends just a couple of degrees will shift the mount points quite a bit. That said, you shouldn't have to. Cobra should send you a new set, and a call tag for that set. A little flexing isn't a big deal. But they can't expect you to have heavy tools required to bend pipe that size, or to be able to do so without screwing up the finish.

[coffey67]

I contacted Cobra. They wanted me to send it to them at my expense so they could bend it into place and return the same muffler to me. Not only poor quality control but crappy customer service as well. I called Discount-moto-direct.com where I ordered them from and they were willing to send me a shipping lable and pay the cost of sending me new ones. They were also going to ship new ones prior to receiving the old ones. GREAT customer service!!! However I tried my hand at bending the one I had (since they were going to be replaced anyway) and it bent right wher the pipe goes into the muffler. It did not seem to do any damage or weaken it so I tried to install it again and to my surprise it fit on perfectly from my tweak. So to make a long story short I will be keeping the Tri-Ovals and I will continue to give all my business to Discount-moto-direct.com. Other than the original fitment issue and crappy Cobra customer service I am happy with the Tri-ovals. They sound great and have really made a big difference in the responsiveness of the bike. I also installed the FI2000 power pro and a K&N. The combination of the three make the Vaquero a different bike indeed!

[Old Bear]

Glad it worked out, coffey. While it annoys me, the customer picking up the tab for return shipping is the industry standard procedure. Cobra isn't out-of-bounds on the policy, but it is annoying. A company that does provide a call tag gets my "Good Customer Service" mark. If they don't, then they start at "Typical" and can quickly drop from there, based on other factors. But they do sound good, don't they! :tup:

[coffey67]

Glad it worked out, coffey. While it annoys me, the customer picking up the tab for return shipping is the industry standard procedure. Cobra isn't out-of-bounds on the policy, but it is annoying. A company that does provide a call tag gets my "Good Customer Service" mark. If they don't, then they start at "Typical" and can quickly drop from there, based on other factors. But they do sound good, don't they! :tup:


They sound AWESOME. Not too loud as to interfere with hearing the radio at highway speeds but they have a nice low rumble at idle and bark quite a bit upon excel. The biggest advantage is the increased power! The combo of the Cobra's, FI2000, and K&N made the bike a different beast for sure.

[smokey]

Well I have the same problem, emailed Cobra and I intend to forward this topic to them, they are quite adamant that the 'S" pipe was bent in shipping, they want me to send them the old one and they will "fix" the problem, only thing is it will cost me $50 to send it back to them and they will not reimburse the shipping except to return it to me, as I explained, I got the pipes for a good deal, now it looks like if I have to pay to ship it to them, it is not so much of a deal. I got it from discount moto as well, problem is I am in Canada

[smokey]

I contacted Cobra. They wanted me to send it to them at my expense so they could bend it into place and return the same muffler to me. Not only poor quality control but crappy customer service as well. I called Discount-moto-direct.com where I ordered them from and they were willing to send me a shipping lable and pay the cost of sending me new ones. They were also going to ship new ones prior to receiving the old ones. GREAT customer service!!! However I tried my hand at bending the one I had (since they were going to be replaced anyway) and it bent right wher the pipe goes into the muffler. It did not seem to do any damage or weaken it so I tried to install it again and to my surprise it fit on perfectly from my tweak. So to make a long story short I will be keeping the Tri-Ovals and I will continue to give all my business to Discount-moto-direct.com. Other than the original fitment issue and crappy Cobra customer service I am happy with the Tri-ovals. They sound great and have really made a big difference in the responsiveness of the bike. I also installed the FI2000 power pro and a K&N. The combination of the three make the Vaquero a different bike indeed!
How did you bend the pipe and which way.

[smokey]

I had to bend mine also. I think I put a pin or something in my tractor hitch and then slid the pipe over and bent it. which way did you bend it, I may have to do that with mine due to the cost of shipping it back to Cobra, it will probably be the last thing I buy made by Cobra if that is the industry standard of making the customer pay for returning a faulty item.

[Old Bear]

Hey Smokey,

I have two retail stores that I have to babysit, and in nearly all cases, manufacturers require the customer to pay shipping to them, so it isn't just Cobra. As I mentioned, they are doing the same thing nearly all manufacturers do. Due to the weight of the product however, shipping on these is painful!

As far as the remedy, anything stout enough that you can slide the pipe into and push against will work. Assuming that your mount points are too far forward as well (seems to be the recurring pattern), you want to slightly straighten out the pipe. And if you wrap the pipe at the pinch points where you are pressing, it shouldn't damage the finish at all. If you are uncomfortable doing this and are friendly with any muffler/welding/machine shop or handyman, they can easily do this in not much more than a minute. Remember though it doesn't take much!

[smokey]

I think the issue though is that if there is a problem with a product that is due to manufacturing, why should the customer, who may have already paid shipping to his home, have to pay for shipping a defected product back? the markup on most products is very profitable in most cases to begin with, I know it is up here, so it just a case of the manufacturer writing it off to customer service and godd customer relations.

[smokey]

I am hoping, now that I actually have that left side on, that the heat from the exhaust will cause it to conform to the shape it is supposed to be.

[captj3]

Simple question. Did you install the left side pipe before tightening any of the clamps? Mount it loose it should be easier even if it is off a bit.

[smokey]

Simple question. Did you install the left side pipe before tightening any of the clamps? Mount it loose it should be easier even if it is off a bit.
Yes I did, this is the second set by the way with the same problem, no reply from Cobra as yet.

[coffey67]

How did you bend the pipe and which way.


Sit in a chair and put the muffler between your knees and squeeze with your knees. The open end of the pipe that fits into the head pipe should be facing you so you can look down it. Give it a bit of a push and it will bend right where it enters the muffler. Bend it just a little and check fit. Bend again if necessary. This pushed the mounting points on my muffler back over an inch. Hope this helps!

[coffey67]

Well I have the same problem, emailed Cobra and I intend to forward this topic to them, they are quite adamant that the 'S" pipe was bent in shipping, they want me to send them the old one and they will "fix" the problem, only thing is it will cost me $50 to send it back to them and they will not reimburse the shipping except to return it to me, as I explained, I got the pipes for a good deal, now it looks like if I have to pay to ship it to them, it is not so much of a deal. I got it from discount moto as well, problem is I am in Canada

They told me it was bent in shipping too. They said they were aware of the problem and needed to figure out a better way to pack them. I do not think it was a shipping problem. My box was not damaged in any way. I think it is a quality control issue. There are other forums that document this same problem with other customers. Bottom line is, if you want the Cobra's be prepared to bend them to fit. Seems like most have to do this. If I had to do it over again I would buy V&H.