Melted Arrow Exhaust

[akmnstr]

Today I took my 04 S4R to Houston MV Agusta to have some dyno work done on it.  It was misfiring at 3500 to 4500rpm at 35 to 45 mph.  After about 4 hours of working on the bike the owner/tech figures that the problem is in the power commander and leaves it at that and we settle the bill.  When I get home I see that the lower carbon fiber Arrow silencer has deformed and there is black goo coming out the front seam.  I am sure the melting is do the continual running on the dyno.  I wasn't in the dyno room but from what I heard, he did a lot of running of the bike at high rpm.  He also ran it hard after pulling the power commander when it was running lean (read hot exhaust).  I am going to call the shop next week and speak to the owner.  Ideas on what I should expect or ask for, if anything?   I spent a lot of money today and will have to spend a lot more to replace that silencer and my bike is not fixed.  Fortunately, I called dynojet, and they were great.  They said they would work with me to figure out the problem with the power commander.  So  for dynojet.   

[BastrdHK]

call the shop now, the more time you let pass the easier it is for tech/owner to blame the problem on you.  Good luck!

[akmnstr]

Here is an update.  I called the MV shop this morning and got hold of the owner.  We had a friendly conversation.  When I told him about the exhaust problem he stated that he had seen the problem right away and had attempted to cool the muffler with a fan.  He said it stunk badly.  I kept my cool and said, "I would have preferred that you would have stopped at that point and let me know about the problem."  He said that he would contact Arrow and see if a replacement part was available.  Nothing was said about who will pay for the part but I'm pleased that we are making progress.  Comments on how responsible the shop is would be appreciated, because I'm not sure myself.  I know that as a customer we assume some risks when we have dyno work done.

[xsephirot]

Here is an update.  I called the MV shop this morning and got hold of the owner.  We had a friendly conversation.  When I told him about the exhaust problem he stated that he had seen the problem right away and had attempted to cool the muffler with a fan.  He said it stunk badly.  I kept my cool and said, "I would have preferred that you would have stopped at that point and let me know about the problem."  He said that he would contact Arrow and see if a replacement part was available.  Nothing was said about who will pay for the part but I'm pleased that we are making progress.  Comments on how responsible the shop is would be appreciated, because I'm not sure myself.  I know that as a customer we assume some risks when we have dyno work done.

Doesn't seem like the owner knew how to properly tune. 4 hours on a dyno?! Jebus. I would expect him/his shop to foot the bill. If push comes to shove then you always have small claims court. Make sure you document everything and take lots of pictures.

[junior varsity]

red hot exhaust isn't exactly a great method for tuning.

[Pedro-bot]

Sorry to hear it Bill. For a minute there I thought maybe it was one of the shops I recommended.

Keep us posted. BTW, I think I may have a brand new extra Arrow CF can from an ebay auction purchase. Let me know if the shop doesn't come through for you.

[akmnstr]

Sorry to hear it Bill. For a minute there I thought maybe it was one of the shops I recommended.

Keep us posted. BTW, I think I may have a brand new extra Arrow CF can from an ebay auction purchase. Let me know if the shop doesn't come through for you.

Great, thanks for the offer!  I should know soon. 

[ducpainter]

How old were the cans?

How many miles on the packing?

[akmnstr]

How old were the cans?

How many miles on the packing?

Since I purchased the bike second hand and the exhaust system came with the bike I can't answer your questions.  The bike had 18K on it when I purchased it and it now has 23K.  I can still contact the original owner and I'm sure he could give a general answer. 

[ducpainter]

Since I purchased the bike second hand and the exhaust system came with the bike I can't answer your questions.  The bike had 18K on it when I purchased it and it now has 23K.  I can still contact the original owner and I'm sure he could give a general answer. 

The only reason I ask is packing wears/burns out and if it was 8 ish years and 23K ish old it may have already been done. The factories have never been very picky about packing.

I'm not saying the dyno tuner shouldn't have stopped as soon as he noticed the problem, he absolutely should have. I don't necessarily think his work caused the packing to fail.

[Speeddog]

DB killers in those, or no?

[akmnstr]

DB killers in those, or no?

No DB killers,  I'd like to get some.  Sometimes it is too loud.  I have learned how to make ear plugs work better since I've owned this bike.

[Speeddog]

IIRC, the Carbon Arrows weren't available with DB killers, as the factory was concerned about excess heat.

A few folks here have 'em, and haven't had any problems, though.

But a dyno is a unique situation.

[akmnstr]

The only reason I ask is packing wears/burns out and if it was 8 ish years and 23K ish old it may have already been done. The factories have never been very picky about packing.

I'm not saying the dyno tuner shouldn't have stopped as soon as he noticed the problem, he absolutely should have. I don't necessarily think his work caused the packing to fail.

I just learned that Arrow uses Stainless Steel rivets which suggests the user is not expected to repack the mufflers.

[Pedro-bot]

I just learned that Arrow uses Stainless Steel rivets which suggests the user is not expected to repack the mufflers.

I guess they expect user to replace the muffler. 

j/k

Any word from the shop? Is he going to foot the replacement cost?