[Rohnsman]

After a minor crash, my TW seems to have developed a rattle inside the muffler, as if something has broken loose inside and is now rattling around in the area where the muffler joins the header. I pulled out the couple of bolts that mount the muffler to the frame as well as loosened the clamp where the muffler joins the header pipe. It looked like maybe then I could twist the muffler a bit and pull if loose from the header pipe. I sprayed it with a little WD40 just to help loosen things a bit more. with some twisting and yanking, I could not budge the muffler from the pipe.



So... first of all, does it separate here? If so, how does one do it? Will I need to loosen the header pipe from the engine as well? Any clue what might be rattling around in there? Any other tips on this operation? Thanks...



This is where the muffler and header pipe apparently join. Can I separate the two here? How far does the header pipe extend into the muffler? (The wet stuff is WD40 I was hoping might loosen it up)

 

[lizrdbrth]

Yes, it separates there. If you take the back wheel off and undo the header at the cylinder head you can fish the whole assemby toward the rear of the bike so it will be easier to work on.



Tap it all around lightly with a rubber mallet until it loosens up. Lube, twist and sweet talk it til it comes off. When you reinstall it clean all the rust off, give it a coat of paint and NevrSieze the inside of the joint.

 

[Rohnsman]

Gotta take the back wheel off huh? Considering what else I'd have to disconnect, that might be a tad technical for me. I'll have to mull that one over.



I mentioned the rattle in the muffler to my mother-in-law who suggested a possibility that had not occurred to me. (Who'd have thought to consult her on motorcycle maintenance??

) Anyway, she suggested that perhaps as I'd dumped the bike in the gravel that a piece of gravel might have entered the tail pipe and has now fallen down inside the muffler and down to the low point (which is just about where the rattle is heard when the engine is reved). Sounds logical. Think that could be it? If so, there's probably no way to get it out short of disassembling the muffler and pipe, huh??

 

[lizrdbrth]

OK, plan B. Next best method may be to just loosen the allen bolts in the headpipe,(but not enough that the pipe comes loose from the head), then loosen the muffler mounting bolt. This will give you some "wiggle room", allowing the pipe to hinge at the joint with the muffler. Then try wiggling it up and down until it frees up.

 

[Rainman]

The pipe on my 1990 was hard to get off too. I lubed up the joint and let it sit for a few hours. I took off all the bolts holding the assembly to the bike. I used the header pipe as a handle and wiggled and turned it until it came free. It may help to loosen the whole assembly, slide it forward, turn header pipe away from bike, reinstall muffler and use header pipe as a handle. The header pipe goes into the muffler about an inch or so.

 

[Rohnsman]

Seems like I'm continuing to find things on this bike that are either - rusted, crusted, or busted

- sometimes all three! After stripping the screw in the muffler trying to remove the spark arrester (which I was later able to remove with a nifty screw remover - I'll post on that separately), I attempted to pull out the spark arrester - should be easy, huh? Nope... the end cap was rusted on. So, after some whacking with a hammer, pulling with vice grips, and a few choice words, I got the cap off.



Peering down inside the muffler with a flashlight, I could see my problem... The entire innards of the muffler were all rusted and busted loose and rattling around inside. Figuring it would to time for a new muffler, I then loosened the bolts attaching the header to the engine (Thank God they were hex screws or they would have likely stripped out too.)



Now with both ends of the muffler system free, I grabbed the spot where the header attached to the muffler with some channel locks and twisted repeatedly till the pipes slowly separated. The header has some rust on it, but seems solid enough and might be wire brushed out and repainted. The muffler is junk. I'll be looking to see what might be the best option for getting one and post that query in the other thread I saw on that topic.