Hi everyone.

ye this is my first post because up til now I havent had a single issue with me bike but this latest little problem is really giving me the sh*ts!

Got a 48 with a set of the v&h double barrel staggered pipes.

This morning on me way to work, I started to hear this nasty rattle coming from the exhaust. When I got to work, I left the bike idling and noticed that the baffle in the lower pipe was jumping about and spinning but not actually coming out of the pipe at all.

What I would like to know is whether or not I am able to take a rubber mallet and a metal rod and knock the baffle in far enough to kinda wedge it in so that the rattling stops and what problems could arise from having a baffle in too far up the exhaust pipe.

Trying to screw it in is out of the question since the baffle is already past the point of the screw hole on the pipe, and pulling the baffle out would im guessing cause some damage to the baffle and maybe the pipe, so I'm looking at other means to stop it rattling and knocking it in further seems the easiest solution.

 

Cheers.

I'm sorry to say, but the Baffle has to come out.

The vibratory forces in a pipe, without any way of affixing a baffle is just going to cause other headaches.

Identify how it happened (Has screw sheared / fallen out)
then work on safely removing it.

Bugger. Figured thatd be the only fix.

Whats gonna be the easiest way to get that stuck baffle out and is it possible to do so without removing the entire exhaust?
Am I gonna needa go to Bunnings to get some kind of special tool/device/implement?

Cheers for your help Underground

Appreciate the instructions but thats assuming the baffle is already screwed in and installed correctly but it isn't. Its kinda stuck a good few inches further into the pipe and thats the problem.

I had a similar problem and taking the baffle out is easy on V@H pipes. I got an old screwdriver, sharpened the end, heated the end and then bent it at 90 degrees, stuck it in, it grips the perferations of the baffle and you just pull the sucker out.

One of my V&H quiet baffles fell apart a while ago. Shitty welds on the perf tube failed. Pulled them out and made my own baffles, no worries now

Aright guess that brings me to my next two questions.

Which is gonna be the better option pulling the baffles and gettin the bike retuned or gettin a completely new system given the probable damage that the rattling baffle has caused to the inside of the pipe?

I can't imagine what damage could have been caused by a loose baffle. Just rip it out and have a look,

Not sure if this will help you as it sounds like your baffle screw may have sheared off or the baffle may be broken but this is what i found with V&H pipes.

I got a set of V&H 3" Slash Cut mufflers for the fat Bob and they started to rattle pretty quickly.

After doing some research I found that its a common issue with V&H pipes.

To fix them I removed each muffler and took off the heatshields.

Removed the baffle retaining screws (these pipes just have one at the end of the muffler body & hidden under heatshield)

Clamped the muffler in the vice by the mountiing bracket area (not the body) and tapped the baffle out towards the end of the pipe.

Used a wooden hammer handle as a drift as its the right size - Came out easy enough.

Then chucked the baffle in the vice (at the end that doesn't attach with a retaining screw) and squashed it slightly out of round.

Just enough so there's good contact on 2 sides of the muffler body now.

It's going to be a tighter fit to tap back in so make sure the baffle screw hole is lined up with the hole in the muffler body and go slowly as you don't want to go past the hole.

Give them a good shake to make sure they don't rattle....and my sanity is restored again