Rivets, Drillbits and Exhaust

[Da_Bull]

I was wondering how many people have drilled out the rivets on their exhaust cans in order to have the hardware coated. I was thinking about going down this road but I'm tentative.

If you've done this - in particular to a set of Arrows - what material are the rivets ... steel or aluminum? Also, what size are the rivets?

Is this even a good idea?

What about removing some of the muffler packing?

Anyone done this before?

[801]

Super easy-we do on the dirt bikes all the time. It actually makes quite a difference if your packing is blown out (probably is the way you ride!).
Just carefully drill out the rivets, roll the packing REALLY tight around the core and slide back in. There may be a flange or something to line up, and it sometimes helps just to take off both ends the first time. You can use SS or aluminum rivets, but I prefer SS. Remember the can is an extension of the header pipe and influences the tune of your bike, which is why you want to wrap the packing tightly. Wanna ride this weekend? Maybe I can sneak thru Santa Monica this time w/out getting a ticket.

Originally Posted by Da_Bull

I was wondering how many people have drilled out the rivets on their exhaust cans in order to have the hardware coated. I was thinking about going down this road but I'm tentative.

If you've done this - in particular to a set of Arrows - what material are the rivets ... steel or aluminum? Also, what size are the rivets?

Is this even a good idea?

What about removing some of the muffler packing?

Anyone done this before?

[guero grande]

Yup, I did it on my Husqvarna, as well. I bought an el-cheapo rivet gun ($20) from Harbor Freight tools, that came with a number of different sized rivets. Not sure what material the rivets were. Probably aluminum. Pretty easy work, on my Husky's stock can.

Originally Posted by 801

Super easy-we do on the dirt bikes all the time. It actually makes quite a difference if your packing is blown out (probably is the way you ride!).
Just carefully drill out the rivets, roll the packing REALLY tight around the core and slide back in. There may be a flange or something to line up, and it sometimes helps just to take off both ends the first time. You can use SS or aluminum rivets, but I prefer SS. Remember the can is an extension of the header pipe and influences the tune of your bike, which is why you want to wrap the packing tightly. Wanna ride this weekend? Maybe I can sneak thru Santa Monica this time w/out getting a ticket.

[Da_Bull]

Originally Posted by 801

Wanna ride this weekend? Maybe I can sneak thru Santa Monica this time w/out getting a ticket.

Do I want to? YES!!

Can I? Unfortunately, no.

My bike is, quite literally, in pieces ... I'm waiting on parts and powdercoating right now.

Thanks for the tip on the muffler, though. My plan was to remove both ends of the can, but I wasn't sure what kind of rivets to use for reassembly - I worry about the carbon cracking (even though I probably shouldn't) if I were to use steel rivets when I should be using aluminum.

When it's all apart I'll check out the packing; by removing packing I increase noise levels and exhaust flow, right?

[guero grande]

Without the packing, my husky sounded like it had one of those fart-cans that the kids put on their lowered civics...

Originally Posted by Da_Bull

Do I want to? YES!!

Can I? Unfortunately, no.

My bike is, quite literally, in pieces ... I'm waiting on parts and powdercoating right now.

Thanks for the tip on the muffler, though. My plan was to remove both ends of the can, but I wasn't sure what kind of rivets to use for reassembly - I worry about the carbon cracking (even though I probably shouldn't) if I were to use steel rivets when I should be using aluminum.

When it's all apart I'll check out the packing; by removing packing I increase noise levels and exhaust flow, right?

[Caidly]

Originally Posted by Da_Bull

I was wondering how many people have drilled out the rivets on their exhaust cans in order to have the hardware coated. I was thinking about going down this road but I'm tentative.

If you've done this - in particular to a set of Arrows - what material are the rivets ... steel or aluminum? Also, what size are the rivets?

Is this even a good idea?

What about removing some of the muffler packing?

Anyone done this before?

The more you pack the muffler (ie. the tighter), the less restrictive it is.

[Da_Bull]

Originally Posted by CTarna

The more you pack the muffler (ie. the tighter), the less restrictive it is.

Isn't that a bit counterintuitive?

[Antigrav]

Originally Posted by Da_Bull

Isn't that a bit counterintuitive?

Where the exhaust pipe enters the can (silencer) it becomes a pipe with a bunch of holes in it... those holes allow the sound waves to go into the larger can which is filled with the fiberglass so that fiberglass absorbs the sound... but if the packing is gone those sound pulses and exhaust pulses go directly into the can because the holes are open to the interior of the can and they bounce around and actually create back pressure instead of a smooth transition out of the pipe... if the fiberglass is tightly wrapped around the pipe with holes the exhaust continues on its merry way out the pipe and some of the sound is absorbed...

[Da_Bull]

Wow. That's a great explaination. Thank you.