Carbon Fiber Slip-Ons Longevity

[nextfriday]

I want to go the carbon fiber route when i replace the stock muffler. Carbon fiber because of the look and nothing more. I've come across a few threads on other forums about carbon fiber cans discoloring on bikes that sit in the sun alot and others that melted from excessive engine heat due to poor fiberglass packing at the factory. Any personal experiences or thoughts on this?

 

[Shamus McFeeley]

The only CF exhaust I've had has been on dirtbikes. I've heard stories of them cracking around the rivets from vibration, but I never had a problem with that. The only time I had a crack was from a particularly bad crash, and even then, I had run that bike pretty hard already, so I don't see it as a fault of the CF being weaker vs. aluminum/steel. I suppose that a cheap exhaust will net you poor results in the long run no matter what. The exhaust systems I had were made by Yoshimura. If you're worried about the sun, get a cover. I would cover my bike regardless of the kind of exhaust because the sun does all kinds of damage to plastic anyway.

 

[Motogiro]

I have aluminum cans and like them. If you plan dynoing the bike, a lot of makers won't warranty the cans because of the extra heat that can cause a burnout. Something to consider.....

 

[Airhead]

Most likely the problems you've heard about are due to poor maintenance of the carbon fiber and muffler in general. Like others have said if you leave CF out in the sun for extended periods of time that's bad, combine that with a worn out packing and you are asking for trouble.

There are a few things that will help keep CF looking good.

Keep it clean.
Find a high quality wax and use it regularly.
Park in the shade or use a bike cover.
Repack the muffler when it's time to don't say "oh it will last another couple hundred miles."

You should also email or call the manufacturer you are looking at and find out what they suggest to help protect their muffler.

 

[04efi]

I hope this helps my friend has CF can and its not under the tail like ours so it sits out all day everyday no matter what the weather (except winter he finds it a home) and he has had it for about 4 years now. No problems at all. I hope sun light wont damage CF due to the fact the new airplanes are about 85% CF or more...... Scary thought

 

[Boneman]

I'm still enjoying my CF Two Brothers cans. Yes after 2+ years they have faded a little from when they came out of the box.

I clean them regularly and protect them with 303 Potectant. It kinda looks/act like Armorall but better for CF.

+1 on repacking...adding that to this spring's "to do" list. I'm going to over-pack them to see if I can knock down the dB's a little more.

 

[the_newt]

+1 on repacking...adding that to this spring's "to do" list. I'm going to over-pack them to see if I can knock down the dB's a little more.

Just a bit of a threadjack, but wouldn't stuffing the cans so full of packing that it compresses make them denser and more reflective of sound energy than absorbent of it? Just a thought.