pipe question again

[lonewolf]

ive got my new 07 nad sitting at dealer, waiting for spring. i ordered v&h baggers to put on it, after breakin. ive read some threads about some cracking issues with them. should i skip the baggers( dealer hasnt ordered them yet), or has this problem been resolved by v&h. your input is appreciated. thanks in advance.

[ds06nomad]

Had my Baggers installed by the dealer prior to riding it home the first time. That was last October. No signs of cracking or any other blemishes/problems to date. I did recheck the bolts on the entire system, which is recommended with ANY exhaust system after 500 miles. Snug as a bug and no issues...

Sidebar: the packing around the baffles inside the exhaust tips doesn't last for beans. Mine is already shreadded. they replaced one side and gave me the other side for $5 + S&H (total of $9.75). In the interim, I installed the baffles w/o any packing and have ridden it as such since. Not much louder at all, and basically just gives the note a bit more "crack" when you hit it. Audio here:
http://s259.photobucket.com/albums/hh296/DS06Nomad/

Daryl

[dragon57]

To my knowledge, it has not been resolved; in fact, V&H told me that they were not aware of any problem! Bear in mind, though, that this does not happen to everyone! I had mine welded, now it seems ok. I am wondering if it could be a fitment problem; the last time I installed mine, I left every bolt loose, wiggled every part to find a " neutral fit", then tightened it up. I wonder if I, and many others, may have tightened the pipes "in a bind" to where there was constant pressure against that area?
just my 2 cents.

[cactusjack]

I'm very interested in this topic also, as I am deciding between V&H Baggers and Cobra True Duals Slashcuts for my bike.

There are numerous potential causes for this issue. Maybe it isn't the bikes themselves or the installation. If the cracking isn't occurring to every set of baggers, it's possible the cause could be a defective lot of tubing that a production run of the pipes was manufactured from. Maybe the tubing wasn't up to specs, maybe they bought from a different vendor? Who knows?

I have to say I'm leaning toward the Cobras based on this issue alone. The V&H's have removable baffles, which is a key feature (to me). But these tales of cracked headpipes has me worried.

[tomk]

I really like the V&H baggers. Mine haven't cracked. I like to be able to change the baffles or modify them as I want to be able to fine tune the sound. If the Cobras can be changed, they're a great pipe too. It was really a hard choice for me but ended with the choice of removable or non-removable baffles.

If you are watching your pennies you can always remove the stock baffles. Little more rumble without the backfiring on de-acceleration.

[ringadingh]

Mine have cracked twice, the second repair seems to be holding well. They all crack at the first bend on the rear cylinder. Its a bit of a nuisance but I really like the pipes. hopefully there is no more cracking.

[jayc]

No cracking here yet. Going on 3 years installed now.

[rickmeister56]

i have 27000 miles on my baggers. no problems as of yet. did repack the baffles at 21000 miles

[lonewolf]

thanks for all the replies, got a reply from gadget on another forum, he thought that with all of them out there and very few problems, he is guessing it may be an install problem rather than a product problem ! ie; binding when tightening them up at install. but thanks again! probably gonna go ahead with them.

[tomk]

IMHO -- I think you're gonna like them. Besides, what else were you going to do? Like the rest of us, you're going to go from one upgrade to another and that's great! A lot of people have tried the stock baffle removal that WM mentions and they are happy campers with that mod.

[stambukj]

I went with COBRA SPEEDSTERS.. Don't have to worry about them cracking.

[nightmare]

I have had mine for several years now, no signs of cracking or discoloration

[watchman]

Test fit the pipe together before mounting them on the bike. I had to grind/file some on the inside of the receiving pipe to get a loose fit. You want the pipes to slide together easily. Then mount everything lossely and tighten up everything starting at the motor and work to the mufflers. Be sure to tighten the header bolts evenly and don't over torque.

[ringadingh]

My pipe didn't crack the first time until about 33,000 miles, then again at aboout 37,000. I put a patch over the crack the second time and it seems to be holding up well so far at 44,000 miles. I think if I had patched it the first time instead of just welding up the crack it probably would have held then as it does now.