A "crackin" exhaust!!

Discovered on a ride this evening the titanium Yoshi tri-oval exhaust is no match for the hammers of Thor when they are going full clap! :whoop

To be fair, the Yoshimura brand plate was missing when I bought the bike last Dec, and since then the lower river started to shake loose and buzz on tickover. So I replaced it with an aluminium one which simply blew out after a few hundred miles. (I've since discovered original exhaust rivets are normally s/s). Then after running the bike, minus rivet, for approx 60 miles, a 1/2 inch crack appeared either side of the river hole. So, I riveted a washer in situ, to stop the exhaust gas escaping, hoping it would hold the crack until I can get a replacement titanium sleeve (£136 from a UK Yoshi dealer, including repacking kit and fittings), or other replacement. 3/4's into an 80 mile ride this evening, after giving it some beans, I pulled away from a junction and thought someone was shooting at me close range with an anti-tank gun! :lol

Pulled bike over, checked exhaust, and sure enough said rivet had been ejected again, crack had opened up to 3 inches wide, and there was a nice flap of titanium casing rising up an inch off from where it should have been. Hopped back on, heading home, and gave it a few more beans, when there was an audible ping sound, followed by the loudest claps of thunderer imaginable!

Stopped bike, only to discover the blast from the hammers of Thor had now blown a 3" x 2" hole in the titanium case!!!

Picture below for your entertainment!

I've no idea how old the Yoshi is, but maybe the titanium had become brittle, and being less than a mm thick evidently isn't designed to hold up under leakage from a small hole!

I was also surprised to see the Yoshi center pipe was only wrapped with wire wool, without any glass insulation, and only a void between the wire wool and the outside casing, with a 1" gap between! No wonder I needed a baffle to get the sound to an acceptable level!

Interesting. I note Mivv is Italian, and on Aldo's (etc) recommendation 'quality' engineering! Obviously no wiring there then! :lol

Mivv do a "Storm" branded s/s pipe on eBay for Gen1 @ £154 Inc.

Also, powertechperformance in Blackpool do a v-similar can & link pipe for a £20 or so less.

Anyone have any experience of these?

PS: Fraid I'm on a budget so as to keep my Tuoldo pleasure below the 'wife' radar!

PPS: I suspect the glassfiber filing in my Yoshi blew out once the hole opened up. Must have been an interesting sight to see... bit like a snow blower...!

Gray said:

Have a look a

fuelexhausts.com

Gray

Click to expand...

Will do. They seem a good product with lean prices. But why brand an exhaust 'Fuel'? 'Burnt Fuel' would make more sense! :lol

Which is why 'Storm' (by Mivv) compliments 'Tuono'. Cos then you get a 'Thunder Storm'.

Seriously... has anyone here had 'vibration white finger' when riding their Tuono or other big twin?

After my last 1 3/4 hr ride, my fingers tingled like mad. Haven't had it before, and pretty certain it was due to extra resonance due to the exhaust blowing.

I note folks have reported this on other forums re. new bikes, but problem went away after a few hundred miles once exhaust insulation had bedded in, etc.

Some info here too:http://tuonozone.com/new-users/9407-vibrations-right-hand.html

I've just refitted the original 'howitzer' std exhaust, so will update in due course if that solves the problem...
- Should be easier to pull wheelies now too, with all that weight over the back wheel! :lol

Refitted the original 'howitzer' Aprilia Racing exhaust last weekend and had a good 3hr run today. No numb fingers at all! I'm pretty sure it was the resonance from the blowing exhaust that caused it. Such vibration is recognised to cause 'vibration white finger'. I recommend anyone who gets numb fingers on mild to warm days after 30+ mins of riding, check out alternative exhausts, and ensure they have suitably heavy bar ends, etc.
If prolonged exposure occurs you can lose feeling in the tips of fingers permanently, hence all the litigation going on to claim compensation for industrial workers who weren't given suitable protection.

I quite liked the way the 'quieter' original exhaust didn't assail my ears. Although it roars like a pussycat, which is a bit wimpy for such a bike. That said, it still 'floats like a butterfly, stings like a bee'... although I found I hard rev it much less, probably due to the lack of incentive without that glorious roar of an aftermarket can. Must fix that soon...