So in dealing with my mortons I've had chronic exhaust leaks due to the small flanges. Its been driving me nuts but I finally figured it out. I bought two of the Harley Davidson exhaust gasket part # 17048-98 that ppl have posted about. With the thin flanges the one wasn't cutting it and it was a complete pain in lining it up and keeping in place as it was bolted down. I tried silicone to hold it on place but it always shifted during tightening. So on to the fix.
You'll need 2 sets of the gaskets to do this so it'll now cost 15 bucks instead of 7.50 for a single set or 18 for the original kawasaki ones. I used wire cutters to cut one of the gaskets and trim about 3/8" from one. This allowed one to fit inside of the other and seal perfectly. The two gaskets now fit into the flange area tightly and are no obstruction to the exhaust port, they match up exactly. This means when I bolt the exhaust on I can shift it around all I need with no worries of alignment. I used a dab of high temp silicone to keep it in place and wound up with the following.
I hope this helps some ppl avoid the frustration I've been dealing with for 2 months.
Don't reuse stock crush gaskets, you need new ones or these harley ones are reusable.
Put washers between the nut and flange because some have thinner flanges and the acorn nuts will bottom out before becoming tight.
Popping is an exhuast leak, reed valves that haven't been plugged, or poor tuning. Stock exhausts pop but you can't hear it because of the converter. Reed valve systems push cold air into the pipes to ignite unburnt fuel. http://www.gadgetjq.com/rv_removal.htm
I think that's all the info anyone would need to troubleshoot an exhaust leak/popping. Enjoy.
i know i am reviving the dead thread but im going to reference this tomorrow and i dont like the new search feature...
i took my pipes off just to clean them and put the harley gaskets on... now its HORRIBLE how much it pops... so i am going to try the dual gasket method tomorrow
i know i am reviving the dead thread but im going to reference this tomorrow and i dont like the new search feature...
i took my pipes off just to clean them and put her harley gaskets on... now its HORRIBLE how much it pops... so i am going to try the dual gasket method tomorrow
Hey when I put my cobra pipes on, I just ordered up a couple of Kaw stock compression gaskets, put the pipes on, torqued the nuts to about 20 lbs. each, and everything went by the book no probs, no leaks, nothing but sweet tight music.
Kerrdj....I hear ya about that one bolt on the rear....I had to get a long socket 3/8 drive with a universal nuckle to it, 8extension on the torque wrench end. It works well with that set up.
I have to give this easy to do and VERY helpful mod 5 stars and 2 thumbs up! I did all the other mods to cut out my popping and cracking but until I read this posting and did this mod nothing else cured my problem completely. So if after you do the marble or coaster and check everything else if you still have a problem, here could just be your ticket.
Once again a big thanks to streak07 for this posting:dance:
Just so I'm sure. I will be cutting about 3/8" off of the outside diameter of one of the gaskets so that it will neatly fit inside of the other gasket? How perfect does this have to be?
Chris
.....Nevermind.....I have now realized and Streak confirmed that the above listed method is NOT the correct way. Once I saw the gaskets it was rather obvious I'm an idiot.
Ok so I just got done with this fix. When I started the bike though the rear pipe was still leaking right by the flange just like before! However this time as the bike heated up the leak seemed to go away. I am hoping beyond hope that it will stay away and not return. Before I did this the leak was always present even after the bike was hot. This time I never let the bike get up to operating temp. It got hot enough that the soapy water I sprayed would immediately evaporate but that was about it. Also, I put new flanged nuts (not acorn) on with lock washers this time and torqued everything to 30lbs instead of 20. Will that be ok or should I not leave it like that?
Yours truly,
Acorn nuts with aftermaket exhaust can bottom out, they feel tight but are loose. The best nut would be a prevailing torque locking type of nut with flat washers and anti-seize, then only torque to factory specs. If all is currently good just keep an eye on everything for the next couple of rides rechecking to make sure nothing has come loose.
Thanks for the response. I did put some new flanged open type nuts on with lock washers. I have some flat ones but if everything is working ok and my current setup won't hurt anything I'll leave it alone. I do regret not having any anti-seize though.
I am guessing since there are quite a few Vulcan sites, that is why we don't have a forum here for them?
I just figured since I'm stuck at home right now I would see if I could help a buddy out with a problem he's having with his Vulcan.
He just bought a 1998 Vulcan VN1500 and the clutch was...
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