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Message started by digitaltrucker on 08/24/15 at 09:05:20

Title: Heat shield rattling
Post by digitaltrucker on 08/24/15 at 09:05:20

I've got a Raask 60mm pipe. I've finally isolated the source of a vibrating buzzing rattle, it's the outer heat shield casing rattling against the inner pipe. Any ideas on what I can do to make it go away?

Title: Re: Heat shield rattling
Post by verslagen1 on 08/24/15 at 11:40:07

I don't have any idea of how this pipe is constructed.

How about some pic's?

Title: Re: Heat shield rattling
Post by digitaltrucker on 08/24/15 at 12:08:18

I haven't got a way to take a decent pic just now. It's constructed as follows; up by the header area you've got the main inner pipe (that actually bolts to the head), welded around that is an outer casing that acts as a heat shield, and further down that becomes the actual exhaust pipe. Now, up by the header that casing doesn't completely encircle the inner pipe, it only goes about 3/4 way around. The problem is that it appears to be touching the inner pipe at the first bend causing a rattle mostly noticeable when rolling of the throttle. I can see along the edges it's touching, but there's also a blued spot visibleon the outside curve where it's obviously touching. I tried wedging it away from the inner pipe with a wide-bladed screwdriver but didn't get any results. One of the gents at the local dealership suggested squeezing some silicone gasket stuff in there to prevent movement, but the Permatex Copper - which is the highest temp rated stuff I can find - only goes to 700 degrees intermittent. Somehow that doesn't seem good enough, although Permatex themselves suggest it's use for "Exhaust header flanges, slip fit exhaust pipes, and muffler end caps".

Title: Re: Heat shield rattling
Post by verslagen1 on 08/24/15 at 13:04:12

On the back of the stock heat shield are some fabric squares, can't tell you what they are made of, but they are for that purpose, preventing the heat shield from contacting the header.

Not sure if you can get them separately.

Title: Re: Heat shield rattling
Post by oldNslow on 08/24/15 at 13:26:55

What about some pieces of the stuff guys wrap their pipes with? Fold it up so it's a real tight fit and jam it in between the two pipes. That stuff ought to take the heat, and if it is stuffed in tight enough to stay put it might dampen the vibrations.

Title: Re: Heat shield rattling
Post by digitaltrucker on 09/12/15 at 05:34:09

Well, turned out there were a few issues with the Raask pipe. I'm not blaming Raask, mind you...it's been on the bike for 8 years or more.

How I diagnosed it was like so; first, I went with the assumption that I was probably going to wind up replacing it with something anyway, so out with the cutting wheel for some exploratory surgery. I removed the header end of the outer casing (that outer casing on the header end turns intro the actual pipe about halfway down the length). That got rid of a small part of the rattle, but wowzers did I notice the heat difference with the exposed inner pipe! Next I removed the inner baffling and found the true cause, things just generally getting old and falling apart inside.

Luckily, the inner pipe was completely solid, so I had the bright idea of cutting it to length to use as a header for a Harley mufler. A trip to the local H-D dealer netted me a pair of Dyna mufflers still in the box - apparently used very little if at all - for $20. I lined one up with the mount extension the Raask pipe uses and marked the Raask to indicate the MAXIMUM length the header needed to be and cut the Raask at that point. This left me with a chopped down Raask pipe with the inner pipe exposed down to where it joined the outer muffler bit, which was about 8 inches long or so and much larger than the inlet of the Dyna muffler.

Off I went to the local Monro Muffler shop with pipe and muffler in hand. We decided the best thing to do would be to cut off the rest of the external pipe on what was left of the Raask, make an extension, weld that to the Raask and clamp the Dyna muffler to it. $80 later I had a nice solid header. I wrapped the header with tape and bolted it on, then bolted the muffler to the Raask support extension, then clamped the header down on the Dyna.

Works a treat, the end of the Dyna is where the end of the Raask originally was - well past the rear hub - and it's an almost straight line. Again, sorry for no pics just yet. I plan to tweak it bit more yet, the pipe support needs to be lengthened/tweaked just a bit to suit my idea of where it needs to be and the automotive pipe clamp is kinda fugly...but it works! It quieter than the Raask by large amount but as near as I can tell there isn't a significant performance hit. I did get some funny looks until the header wrap stopped smoking, though ;)

The upside is I can hear the sewing machine singing much more clearly now (and the durn speedo has has begun to buzz).

Title: Re: Heat shield rattling
Post by engineer on 09/12/15 at 05:55:25

Great job, looking forward to those pictures!

Title: Re: Heat shield rattling
Post by justin_o_guy2 on 09/12/15 at 08:05:27

No telling how long the Speedo has been buzzing, all you could hear was the exhaust...
Do you like the Dyna tone better than the Rask?
I know, the Rask was in its death throes, so, comparison might be hard.

Title: Re: Heat shield rattling
Post by digitaltrucker on 09/12/15 at 09:03:23

Actually, the speedo has been buzzing for a while, it's just more obvious now. The Dyna is lots quieter and that's nice, but it'll take some getting used to. One other thing I did long ago was remove the plastic airbox cover. That doesn't interfere in any way with the air filter itself of course, but it does make sure it get's all the air it wants. The sound of that isn't noticeable unless I really twist on it. Now, from the driver's seat, the intake is louder than the exhaust!