Dale Walker Header - Touch down while cornering.

[King]

I know Muzzy was having an issue with their earlier designs, but I haven't heard of this yet with Holeshots.

I just got back from a 4 day trip after fitting my new headers on last week. During the trip, the headers touched down while cornering on both sides.

For the record, I weigh 200 pounds, was riding 1 up and had (at best) 40-50 pounds worth of accessories/luggage on board. Factory suspension is always set to "hard", and I have never touched down the peg feelers to date.

I sent a note to Dale, but am waiting for his response. Anyone seen this?

By the way if anyone was wondering, awesome exhaust sound ... but the sound of dragging metal was quite nasty...

 

[MotorSWATCop]

There was mention of Dale's headers touching down a while back. From what I understand, it is well after the Muzzy's touch. Did you say you made contact before the peg feelers touched? I guess that there is just not enough room for aftermarket headers on the FJR for really aggressive riders. I have seen some posts lately about the Muzzy system not touching when paired with aftermarket suspension. Something to think about...

 

[Geezer]

It would be interesting to see some pictures so we can tell exactly what part touched down and how bad the damage is. Is it the main header pipe or an extension pipe that connects the header with the muffler?

 

[Mike-H]

Just remember anything can be fixed with cubic dollars....

 

[exskibum]

Not meaning to hijack, but curious now that I've installed my Muzzy 4-2-1 system. Those who touched the mid pipe down, did you or someone else install the pipe? If you did the install, did you grab the mid pipe while the whole system was loosely bolted up and rotate it inward to get it as tight to the frame and motor as possible before tightening it in place?

Just wondering, because when I installed mine, I figured that there was maybe 3/4" difference in clearance before touchdown between the way the mid pipe could sit and the way it sat after I rotated it inward. Jury still out on my Muzzy, since I haven't yet scraped the right side peg since the install 10 days ago*. I also have a Wilbers with the ride height set up a little.

<hijack off>

* Left peg has touched down a few times since then, though, so maybe I'm subconsciously avoiding the right side???

 

[HIGHLANDER]

Holeshot touchdown !!

 

[Kevin Daly]

Damn! Thats a bummer.

 

[05fjrBluedevil]

Holeshot touchdown !!

Well stop leaning going over those speed bumps and you should be fine :lol:

 

[dgfella]

Been running the holeshot system for a year now, and never had this happen. You might want to check your suspension setup. I've got the Wilburs kit, and it rocks.

 

[King]

Mine touched down on both sides exactly as the pictures above that Highlander posted. And YES, my peg feelers have never been on the ground!

If I was a terribly aggressive rider, I could understand, but having the pipes hit before the peg feelers just doesn't seem right. No major damage, just some scrapes as in highlanders touchdown.

 

[HIGHLANDER]

Mine touched down on both sides exactly as the pictures above that Highlander posted. And YES, my peg feelers have never been on the ground!
If I was a terribly aggressive rider, I could understand, but having the pipes hit before the peg feelers just doesn't seem right. No major damage, just some scrapes as in highlanders touchdown.

That's a pic of the hooligan Fairlainer's pipe not mine !

 

[Feejer/Weejer man]

I have had the full system since it came out and have ridden the FJR with the best of them and have never touched the pipes ever. No chicken strips on my rear Avon. But if it touched it touched. No answer here.

I don't understand how the oem never touched but an exact replica does. things that make you go hmmmm.

Anyone ever touch an oem pipe?

 

[radman]

I echo other owners responses-never have hit the pipes. I run a fairly hard suspension however, also Wilbers as others have mentioned. A soft suspension will cause the bike to set down, especially on well cambered turns-causing stuff to hit that one wouldn't ordinarily see hitting. IIRC the guys that have lowered their bikes so as to improve their ability to support the bike at rest have also found interesting dynamics in play when they start hauling.

 

[exskibum]

I echo other owners responses-never have hit the pipes. I run a fairly hard suspension however, also Wilbers as others have mentioned. A soft suspension will cause the bike to set down, especially on well cambered turns-causing stuff to hit that one wouldn't ordinarily see hitting. IIRC the guys that have lowered their bikes so as to improve their ability to support the bike at rest have also found interesting dynamics in play when they start hauling.

[SIZE=14pt]Gunny+1[/SIZE]

The kind of peg scraping I REALLY don't like, actually fear, is the one that happens for the reason in the first bolded sentence. I've made a mistake with entry speed and done it in the wrong place -- time to say OH SHIT!!

You hope you didn't hit it so hard as to compress it all the way to hard parts that will lever you off. I would imagine that happens a lot more quickly on a lowered bike.

 

[King]

Well guys, I just don't know. I do run a stock suspension (though on the "hard" setting). I don't have an answer, just wondering if I was the only one.

By they way, off topic, but I also wrapped the headers with header heat wrap (available through Summit Racing and Jegs) to aid in keeping the heat down. Seems to work well. This doesn't have anything to do with the TD, but thought I'd mention it. With all the head fixes, I haven't seen that one yet. Just a thought for the rest of you out there.

Ride safe.

 

[05fjrBluedevil]

Well guys, I just don't know. I do run a stock suspension (though on the "hard" setting). I don't have an answer, just wondering if I was the only one.
By they way, off topic, but I also wrapped the headers with header heat wrap (available through Summit Racing and Jegs) to aid in keeping the heat down. Seems to work well. This doesn't have anything to do with the TD, but thought I'd mention it. With all the head fixes, I haven't seen that one yet. Just a thought for the rest of you out there.

Ride safe.

Just curious, so you purchased the coated header and still wrapped it?

I really do not like to scape the pegs as some here do, I have scraped highway pegs, then correct line and lean so as not to touch anything else down.

The only time i scraped hard parts the rear end jumped out on me when i hit unseen gravel, I hope not to do that again!

I paid too much money for the bike and the exhaust system etc, to test the lean or lack of lean, yes I do have 3/4 inch strips, and see no reason to go for less, a couple years ago, i got down to 1/4 or less but, do not plan on getting there again...

completely off topic, there is a lady that works with me and her husband just had a bizarre thing happen to him, traveling behind a truck with trailer carrying motor, truck goes around corner breaks , motor comes off, husband trys to avoid, but motor catches him, knocks him off bike lucky in grass and rolling, bike a few scrapes, rider loses spleen, vessels to bowels, crushed shattered ackle broken leg two places. just out of intensive care.....

so I guess we just do not know what will be bouncing our way going around corners at speed to scrape and the lack of ability to manuerve from such objects...

btw I do mean to make some think twice about out running thier bikes ability, funny thing is this guy was not doing any of these things just cruising along......

I am glad I have this bike as I tihnk we would be able to get around/away from something like that in most cases....

 

[King]

Yes, I did wrap them to keep the heat down. Works quite well. Painted the wrap high temp black when I was done so I didn't have the tan wrap showing. Looks pretty stealth as it is. It can't hurt perforance either since high temperature air (exhaust) is less dense and will flow better to some extend. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying you get 2 more horsepower just b wrapping the exhaust, perhaps .2 maybe, but my main reason was just another way to tame the heat of the Gen I bike after all other heat fixes were already done.

 

[Mike-H]

Yes, I did wrap them to keep the heat down. Works quite well. Painted the wrap high temp black when I was done so I didn't have the tan wrap showing. Looks pretty stealth as it is. It can't hurt perforance either since high temperature air (exhaust) is less dense and will flow better to some extend. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying you get 2 more horsepower just b wrapping the exhaust, perhaps .2 maybe, but my main reason was just another way to tame the heat of the Gen I bike after all other heat fixes were already done.

I would concur, because I did mine 2 seasons ago, & it made a difference.....I should've done the full Muzzy I bought....but I guess that will be a project for this winter....

 

[dgfella]

Isn't Dale's full system ceramic coated on the inside? Why wrap this setup if it is?