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Repack your baffle to last! - Repost! - Mythbuster edition!

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    Repack your baffle to last! - Repost! - Mythbuster edition!

    I had posted this tip last year when I discovered this and shared it because I thought it was such a wonderful idea. Many had emailed me and PM'd me and asked questions because they thought it sounded great that you could repack you baffle for 99 cents and have it outlast the glass packs that you pay much more for.

    In short, this whole first post is a rant because I was actually quite angry last night so here is the scoop. The next post will be the procedure posted again so if your new or just want that then skip this first post.

    Mythbusters go to work!

    Well when I posted this tip last year there were so many comments to the negative that lacked understanding of what was being said that I finally asked Frank to delete the thread. Never again! I found out last night that the idea is not only valid but actually worked even better than I had first posted!

    We had nay sayers marching in here like zombies making claims that according to my research cannot be substantiated. I can only assume that they were either not telling the truth (I have no idea why you would do that?) or they just failed some other way.

    Any how. I noticed that over the last two weeks here my pipe had started making a rattling sound and getting louder. I figured that the baffle was working loose and all the steel wool packing I had put in was long gone. Well I was wrong on both accounts!

    The center stem had broken off and was rattling around inside, the baffle cone was still secure. Upon removal I discovered that my now 1 year old steel wool pack job was still mostly intact! That is right, 8k+ miles, 1 year later it was mostly all still there! A lot of what was gone was most likely from just the last two weeks as the baffle tube was rattling around beating the stuff out. It wasn't until just two weeks ago or so that this pipe started getting louder.

    I had stated in the old thread to the nay sayers that my pack job was still intact even months later but there were claims that another person tried it and it was all burnt out and gone in just 4 days or so!

    Well, Hoom says BS! Whoever had that result much have done one of the following:

    A. Not followed instructions at all and packed it wrong somehow.
    B. Not used steel wool but something else?
    C. Lied about the whole thing which is what I am inclined to believe.

    Basically, if this didn't work for you, you did it wrong! Unless you just lied?

    Here are the pics people and also a video so dial up beware! I have news for you all. "Real" steel wool does not burn! I tested it, it does not. If your steel wool burns then you either have something on it that is burning or you don't have real steel wool there. Or you just incinerated it at temps well above what it needs to be able to withstand for this job.

    Here are the pics and video...

    When I opened the baffle and removed the broken cone and tube this plug of steel wool was still firmly wrapped and wired around it!



    What you are looking at is about 2/3 of what I originally put in there still in tact and quite usable after 8k+ miles and a year of use! Blew out in 4 days my a$$!!! I got as tip for ya, next time try using steel wool!

    Next...

    I tried to burn the stuff, here we go, enjoy! Yes I am a smart a$$, I was quite pi$$ed about this!



    It doesn't burn folks! In fact, after I torched it in that video I went on to burn it more and more to see if I could ash it up. I didn't think anyone would want to d/l 15 minutes of me flaming a piece of steel wool so you just get this short one. If you want more, I'll gladly do it up!

    Here is a picture of the aftermath of the burning for those who couldn't view the video. The steel wool is discolored a bit but still perfectly usable! flammable my a$$!



    Well that concludes my rant and the Mythbusters edition of this tip. The bottom line is that if you do it "exactly" as I show you in this tip it WILL work for you, save you money, and last longer than glass packing! Now who is into saving money and wrenching while riding more?

    There are many members on this board who deserve this info so I took it upon myself to take the time to repost it all.

    No worries, despite cold hard evidence the naysayers will be back. For those of you would like to try it, just know that I would never lie to you. You can simply disregard any retarded posts you may see to the contrary. They are simply fumes! This is a time proven procedure at this point.

    Hoom rant over...


    Now the tip:
    see next post.
    Last edited by Guest; 05-04-2006, 11:20 AM.

    #2
    Want to repack your header baffle for low cost? I have a tip for you that it tried and proven and works wonderfully! For the cost of about 99 cents worth of steel wool and a little time you can repack your header can and it will outlast a factory replacement glass pack job! Here is how to do it.

    First, get yourself some steel wool from your hardware store. I used this stuff:



    Make sure you get "REAL" steel wool! I used Rhodes American Steel Wool As you can see from the picture I used the really course #4 grade. I know this stuff works and will not speak for any other product because I have not tried them! There are some poly/metal fiber pads out there that are sold for dish washing and other uses. This stuff wont work. It must be 100% real steel wool. Very low cost, very easy to find.




    Next unroll the bails. You will find the end if you look carefully. It's sort of like looking for the end of the roll of tape after someone has let it stick back onto the roll but it is there.






    Once you have unrolled a few (I used 2 to 3 rolls, maybe 4? I don't remember because it was a year ago, sorry. Just use however much you need) you will have flat beds of steel wool that look like this:






    Simply wrap this stuff around the baffle tube until you have enough on. You want to use as much as you can without using so much that you actually make the baffle fit tightly back into the can. In other words, let enough room for exhaust fumes to get all around it once inside the can. Some trial test fits will be needed. (you may want to clean out the inside of your can before you test fit) You will know when you have the right amount. Try to make the shape of it follow that of your can. See pic:






    Now use some good "steel" (man I really feel the need to stress that, but why?) wire and tie it all shut. Go to town on it and bundle it up good. Don't worry, it it going to allow plenty of flow. See pic on next post please, this board only allows 4 images per post:

    See next post for pic of finished baffle packing...




    Reassemble your baffle/can and enjoy! I used this tip for a year now and can tell you from experience that it works wonderfully, outlasts factory replacement glass packs and costs pennies! It qualifies for the penny tech forum.

    Sorry (to any interested readers) for any sour taste you may have gotten by my attitude. It's just that I went out of my way to post this last year and had it deleted all because of a few idiotic posts from wienies that I should not have listened to. I promise to never do that again. If I find something that works well and saves money I am going to share. You simply need to be able to follow directions to be able to benefit from it!

    Rock on
    Last edited by Guest; 05-04-2006, 09:21 PM.

    Comment


      #3
      Finished, wrapped baffle before installation back into can:

      Comment


        #4
        If you want to perform this procedure to last even longer use Stainless Steel Wool. It will cost a lot more and is harder to come by but will most likely last the life of the pipe. There are other materials that can be used to like screening, etc. You can experiment with whatever you want. This tip was only about doing exactly what it outlines. It was thought of to save money and wrenching.

        I hope it helps someone, it worked great for me!
        Last edited by Guest; 05-04-2006, 11:31 AM.

        Comment


          #5
          Thanks for posting this again Mark. My DR650 goes through the fiberglass packing (cobra aftermarket exhaust)in about 800 miles and It gets really loud and runs really lean. Next time i'm gonna try this.

          Comment


            #6
            Originally posted by vwbeatle1214
            Thanks for posting this again Mark. My DR650 goes through the fiberglass packing (cobra aftermarket exhaust)in about 800 miles and It gets really loud and runs really lean. Next time i'm gonna try this.
            It really works buddy. Glad I could help
            Make sure you use 100% real steel wool!

            If possible, use the stuff I showed. It is available every where.

            Comment


              #7
              Most interesting, Mark (I missed last year's post)!

              THE most irritating thing about my '80 550L, from the day I bought it, has been how noisy it is (I was told the original owner "drilled out" the baffles, although I can't tell how -- all looks stock)!

              The problem is that on the stock pipes there appears to be absolutely no way to open them without a sawzall. If anyone knows a secret to doing this I'm all ears!

              Regards,

              Comment


                #8
                Originally posted by Planecrazy
                Most interesting, Mark (I missed last year's post)!

                THE most irritating thing about my '80 550L, from the day I bought it, has been how noisy it is (I was told the original owner "drilled out" the baffles, although I can't tell how -- all looks stock)!

                The problem is that on the stock pipes there appears to be absolutely no way to open them without a sawzall. If anyone knows a secret to doing this I'm all ears!

                Regards,
                Yeah unfortunately Steve this tip is about repacking your header baffle can
                On these bikes that means after market which open as easy as a wallmart entrance door.

                I don't know much about stock exhausts. The only bike I ever owned that had one was my Seca and that was also a factory header with silencer can so I never messed with it.

                Sorry you missed last years thread. I was really miffed and asked Frank to pull it simply because I didn't have time in my life to go out and disprove all the unbelievable piles of BS that was posted in it. I happened onto this by necessity or it wouldn't have happened now either. I wont worry about it anymore though. People are going to post BS in your tip threads no matter what you do and there is no way to avoid it. I vow to never again let it influence my posts though. If someone is full of crap, I will simply ignore them.

                If you can find a way to remove the rivets that hold your baffles in I'd bet that this would work as well for you though too.

                Comment


                  #9
                  What are you packing again Hoomie?

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Originally posted by hungryman
                    What are you packing again Hoomie?
                    Someone's a$$ with my size 12 the way I feel right now Steve

                    Actually it's all good now but I was pretty wound up last night.

                    Where is my hammer? :twisted:

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Originally posted by hungryman
                      What are you packing again Hoomie?


                      am I in trouble? hoomie i find your posts most informative...but I just had to go there...

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Are you on drugs Hoomgar?

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Originally posted by lord1234


                          am I in trouble? hoomie i find your posts most informative...but I just had to go there...
                          That's what I was looking for! :-D :-D :-D

                          And leave those size 12's on the floor buddy. lol

                          Comment


                            #14
                            I seem to remember you catching schit for your awesome horn upgrade post too. Why they gotta try and keep a brotha down?

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Originally posted by Guy
                              Are you on drugs Hoomgar?
                              Yeah thats it, drugs. Maybe I should be?

                              No smilie huh? I got ya.


                              Originally posted by UncleMike
                              I seem to remember you catching schit for your awesome horn upgrade post too. Why they gotta try and keep a brotha down?

                              We gotta learn to stick it back to the man brotha! :twisted:


                              Oh, and BTW, I just finished re welding the tube back into the cone and have repacked the baffle again with new steel wool. Should get another year out of it. Oh, one more thing, I was wrong about the cost. I paid 99 cents for that pack of steel wool but I am going to get three packings out of it so it's about 33 cents a packing. Even better

                              The bike sounds great again. Back to normal.

                              Rock on 8)
                              Last edited by Guest; 05-04-2006, 10:31 PM.

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