reply to post 'the warped trip' nklr but really - klr -this

[Stuart Mumford]

Hi Ryan, check this out. I bolted up my shiny new BG and put in their new "Vortex quiet core" insert, and the screen type spark arrestor. Now, I don't think they have ever shipped any KLR exhausts with the new Vortex Quiet Core insert. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong here. My commute to work and back is a whopping 15 miles each way, max. By the time I arrived at work on my first ride, I noticed a blemish in the head pipe. THe shiny silver coating had become dull gray in a spot about the size of a silver dollar. I thought "crap!", and not much else. That night, on the way home, my KLR was really quiet, and seemed to me to be losing power in the upper rpm range. So much so, that riding up a long hill on the way home, I leaned over to look at my exhaust pipe. The whole thing I could see from the head to under my leg was GLOWING ORANGE! It was so damn hot! I put on the choke (thought it was running way lean) and basically idled the last mile and a half home. I was leaving for a camping trip on the biek in the morning, adn I told the missus I was going to have hang out in the shop and rejet the carb that night. I went out to the shop, and I thought I should take a look at the exhaust to see if I had done any damage. Lo and behold, there wasn't a damn thing wrong with my jetting, the stupid spark arrestor screen was full of silencer packing material and clogged solid! Now my shiny pipe was all gray from one end to the other and the stupid Vortex (quiet) insert had melted into a blob! I yanked the spark arrestor screen and the bike fired up and ran fine. No glowing headpipe, just a clean sounding, well running machine. Not too loud. I was semi-pissed and diappointed, but I bolted it all back together sans spark arrestor and figured it's be OK. Strapped on all my camping gear and took off the next morning. Krok mentioned to me at a stop about 100 miles into the trip that my exhaust wasn't as quiet as it was when we firs started riding that morning. I put it down to the packing getting blown out a bit. 15 or 20 miles later, the screws that hold the endcap on to the exhaust (and the Vortex and sparky screen in place) stripped out, and my BG shit the endcap and the vortex core out onto the street! At this point the core was completely melted and looked like a piece of modern art. I hope someone had pics of it, I may, but I'll have to check it out. I'll put them in the Photos section when I can. Luckily, MarkB was on the ball and he stopped and retrieved the parts. Thank God I pack earplugs. I was forced to ride that baby around Death Valley, and then home the a couple of days later, with NO ENDCAP AT ALL ON IT. Basically, a straight pipe. It's loud. Big Gun is repairing my pipe, I asked them for a new one, but was told "No". They have agreed to put the previous generation Quiet Core in ther, which I understand some people have been using for a while with no problems. I'm not real impressed with the treatment I got down there. When I dropped the pipe off to them, I was told by Ryan, the customer service man, that he "didn't think the Vortex would work with big displacement bikes." Why the hell did I get one, then? I believe that some listers have used the quiet core design with the metal plates and had good results with it? And then, I got told that "riding wide open across the desert" would burn it up. What the hell? I was putting around on the street, and even if I was riding WFO, that is supposedly a "performance exhaust"? And THEN, he told me that he had shipped other KLR systems with this new core and had no problems. I've never heard of it or seen it, has anyone? I'm not saying the guy's fibbing, but I find it hard to believe that anyone has tested this item without having the same results as I got. Hell, I thought the fact that I brought a design flaw to their attention promptly and without being angry aould net me a "Thanks!" or at least a "Sorry!" and a new pipe. Instead, I'm waiting for them to glue together my pipe, and I got treated like it was my fault the damn thing fell apart. If someone alerted me to the fact I was selling a faulty product BEFORE I had the chance to ship out a bunch of them and ruin potential customers*, I think I would have been pretty grateful and given the guy a free hat, as well as a new pipe. *could there have been any negative effects to my bike's engine performance or longevity due to riding it with an exhaust that was clogged shut? The pipe was red hot... I'll let the list know how I get treated when I go down ther tomorrow and get my pipe back. Thanks CA Stu PS Bogdan, you may be right after all...

> -----Original Message----- > > CA Stu, I've been planning on throwing a Big Gun exhaust on my A-18 > since I got it last year. I was waiting until this season to do so > and here's my dilemma. I want the added power and noise associated > with the race series for tearing ass around manhattan, but I > definitely want to keep it under 96 decibles when taking it off road > so as not to enrage the hippies that are shutting down all the > trails. If I get the quiet series, can you remove the quiet core > and effectively have the race series? > > Ryan > KNEVLKLR > A-18 Manhattan > > > --- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "CA Stu" wrote: > > > > It's shiny and pretty. > > > > Also, it's not as loud as the old style, like I guessed. > > I noticed that now it comes with a warning sticker that says to > > replck teh exhaust every 15-20 hours of use. Using the silent sport > > pre-wrapped packing, should cost about $25 and take about 1/2 hour > > every mcouple of months. > > > > The new design of the BG is neat, a lot of billet, it's really light, > > and the Quiet Core insert is just a tiny little piece held in by 3 > > button head bolts. $519.90 is a lot of cash, however. > > Good thing I got mine at the special price > > > > Cheers > > CA Stu > > > > PS it looks like it should cost at least $520...

[Sandy]

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "Stuart Mumford" wrote:

> Hi Ryan, check this out. > > I bolted up my shiny new BG and put in their new "Vortex quiet

core" insert,

> and the screen type spark arrestor. Now, I don't think they have

ever

> shipped any KLR exhausts with the new Vortex Quiet Core insert.

Someone

> please correct me if I'm wrong here. > > My commute to work and back is a whopping 15 miles each way, max.

By the

> time I arrived at work on my first ride, I noticed a blemish in the

head

> pipe. THe shiny silver coating had become dull gray in a spot about

the size

> of a silver dollar. I thought "crap!", and not much else. > > That night, on the way home, my KLR was really quiet, and seemed to

me to be

> losing power in the upper rpm range. So much so, that riding up a

long hill

> on the way home, I leaned over to look at my exhaust pipe. > > The whole thing I could see from the head to under my leg was

GLOWING

> ORANGE! It was so damn hot! I put on the choke (thought it was

running way

> lean) and basically idled the last mile and a half home. > > I was leaving for a camping trip on the biek in the morning, adn I

told the

> missus I was going to have hang out in the shop and rejet the carb

that

> night. > I went out to the shop, and I thought I should take a look at the

exhaust to

> see if I had done any damage. > > Lo and behold, there wasn't a damn thing wrong with my jetting, the

stupid

> spark arrestor screen was full of silencer packing material and

clogged

> solid! > > Now my shiny pipe was all gray from one end to the other and the

stupid

> Vortex (quiet) insert had melted into a blob! > > I yanked the spark arrestor screen and the bike fired up and ran

fine. No

> glowing headpipe, just a clean sounding, well running machine. Not

too loud.

> I was semi-pissed and diappointed, but I bolted it all back

together sans

> spark arrestor and figured it's be OK. Strapped on all my camping

gear and

> took off the next morning. > > Krok mentioned to me at a stop about 100 miles into the trip that

my exhaust

> wasn't as quiet as it was when we firs started riding that morning.

I put it

> down to the packing getting blown out a bit. > > 15 or 20 miles later, the screws that hold the endcap on to the

exhaust (and

> the Vortex and sparky screen in place) stripped out, and my BG shit

the

> endcap and the vortex core out onto the street! At this point the

core was

> completely melted and looked like a piece of modern art. I hope

someone had

> pics of it, I may, but I'll have to check it out. I'll put them in

the

> Photos section when I can. > > Luckily, MarkB was on the ball and he stopped and retrieved the

parts.

> > Thank God I pack earplugs. I was forced to ride that baby around

Death

> Valley, and then home the a couple of days later, with NO ENDCAP AT

ALL ON

> IT. Basically, a straight pipe. It's loud. > > Big Gun is repairing my pipe, I asked them for a new one, but was

told "No".

> They have agreed to put the previous generation Quiet Core in ther,

which I

> understand some people have been using for a while with no problems. > > I'm not real impressed with the treatment I got down there. > When I dropped the pipe off to them, I was told by Ryan, the

customer

> service man, that he "didn't think the Vortex would work with big > displacement bikes." Why the hell did I get one, then? > > I believe that some listers have used the quiet core design with

the metal

> plates and had good results with it? > > And then, I got told that "riding wide open across the desert"

would burn it

> up. What the hell? I was putting around on the street, and even if

I was

> riding WFO, that is supposedly a "performance exhaust"? > > And THEN, he told me that he had shipped other KLR systems with

this new

> core and had no problems. I've never heard of it or seen it, has

anyone? I'm

> not saying the guy's fibbing, but I find it hard to believe that

anyone has

> tested this item without having the same results as I got. > > Hell, I thought the fact that I brought a design flaw to their

attention

> promptly and without being angry aould net me a "Thanks!" or at

least a

> "Sorry!" and a new pipe. Instead, I'm waiting for them to glue

together my

> pipe, and I got treated like it was my fault the damn thing fell

apart.

> > If someone alerted me to the fact I was selling a faulty product

BEFORE I

> had the chance to ship out a bunch of them and ruin potential

customers*, I

> think I would have been pretty grateful and given the guy a free

hat, as

> well as a new pipe. > > *could there have been any negative effects to my bike's engine

performance

> or longevity due to riding it with an exhaust that was clogged

shut? The

> pipe was red hot... > > > I'll let the list know how I get treated when I go down ther

tomorrow and

> get my pipe back. > > > Thanks > CA Stu > > > PS Bogdan, you may be right after all... > > > > -----Original Message----- > > > > CA Stu, I've been planning on throwing a Big Gun exhaust on my A-

18

> > since I got it last year. I was waiting until this season to do

so

> > and here's my dilemma. I want the added power and noise

associated

> > with the race series for tearing ass around manhattan, but I > > definitely want to keep it under 96 decibles when taking it off

road

> > so as not to enrage the hippies that are shutting down all the > > trails. If I get the quiet series, can you remove the quiet

core

> > and effectively have the race series? > > > > Ryan > > KNEVLKLR > > A-18 Manhattan > > > > > > --- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "CA Stu"

wrote:

> > > > > > It's shiny and pretty. > > > > > > Also, it's not as loud as the old style, like I guessed. > > > I noticed that now it comes with a warning sticker that says to > > > replck teh exhaust every 15-20 hours of use. Using the silent

sport

> > > pre-wrapped packing, should cost about $25 and take about 1/2

hour

> > > every mcouple of months. > > > > > > The new design of the BG is neat, a lot of billet, it's really

light,

> > > and the Quiet Core insert is just a tiny little piece held in

by 3

> > > button head bolts. $519.90 is a lot of cash, however. > > > Good thing I got mine at the special price > > > > > > Cheers > > > CA Stu > > > > > > PS it looks like it should cost at least $520...

awww man...sorry CA Stu, that sucks. Tell 'em just how big this list is and that we're all ears for your story of customer (dis) satisfaction. Sandy in TX

[ron criswell]

I have not had any problems with my Big gun Race core ........ except the header cracked probably due to the strain put on it by shimming it out with washers to clear the rear tire when the suspension compresses. I ride with it around town here in Dallas Ft. Worth with the old header on it but I usually switch back to stock if I go out in the boonies. From problems others have had, I don't know if I'd trust it on a 3,000 to 4,000 mile trip. I need to repack it now. Criswell Stuart Mumford wrote:

> Hi Ryan, check this out. > > I bolted up my shiny new BG and put in their new "Vortex quiet core" insert, > and the screen type spark arrestor. Now, I don't think they have ever > shipped any KLR exhausts with the new Vortex Quiet Core insert. Someone > please correct me if I'm wrong here. > > My commute to work and back is a whopping 15 miles each way, max. By the > time I arrived at work on my first ride, I noticed a blemish in the head > pipe. THe shiny silver coating had become dull gray in a spot about the size > of a silver dollar. I thought "crap!", and not much else. > > That night, on the way home, my KLR was really quiet, and seemed to me to be > losing power in the upper rpm range. So much so, that riding up a long hill > on the way home, I leaned over to look at my exhaust pipe. > > The whole thing I could see from the head to under my leg was GLOWING > ORANGE! It was so damn hot! I put on the choke (thought it was running way > lean) and basically idled the last mile and a half home. > > I was leaving for a camping trip on the biek in the morning, adn I told the > missus I was going to have hang out in the shop and rejet the carb that > night. > I went out to the shop, and I thought I should take a look at the exhaust to > see if I had done any damage. > > Lo and behold, there wasn't a damn thing wrong with my jetting, the stupid > spark arrestor screen was full of silencer packing material and clogged > solid! > > Now my shiny pipe was all gray from one end to the other and the stupid > Vortex (quiet) insert had melted into a blob! > > I yanked the spark arrestor screen and the bike fired up and ran fine. No > glowing headpipe, just a clean sounding, well running machine. Not too loud. > I was semi-pissed and diappointed, but I bolted it all back together sans > spark arrestor and figured it's be OK. Strapped on all my camping gear and > took off the next morning. > > Krok mentioned to me at a stop about 100 miles into the trip that my exhaust > wasn't as quiet as it was when we firs started riding that morning. I put it > down to the packing getting blown out a bit. > > 15 or 20 miles later, the screws that hold the endcap on to the exhaust (and > the Vortex and sparky screen in place) stripped out, and my BG shit the > endcap and the vortex core out onto the street! At this point the core was > completely melted and looked like a piece of modern art. I hope someone had > pics of it, I may, but I'll have to check it out. I'll put them in the > Photos section when I can. > > Luckily, MarkB was on the ball and he stopped and retrieved the parts. > > Thank God I pack earplugs. I was forced to ride that baby around Death > Valley, and then home the a couple of days later, with NO ENDCAP AT ALL ON > IT. Basically, a straight pipe. It's loud. > > Big Gun is repairing my pipe, I asked them for a new one, but was told "No". > They have agreed to put the previous generation Quiet Core in ther, which I > understand some people have been using for a while with no problems. > > I'm not real impressed with the treatment I got down there. > When I dropped the pipe off to them, I was told by Ryan, the customer > service man, that he "didn't think the Vortex would work with big > displacement bikes." Why the hell did I get one, then? > > I believe that some listers have used the quiet core design with the metal > plates and had good results with it? > > And then, I got told that "riding wide open across the desert" would burn it > up. What the hell? I was putting around on the street, and even if I was > riding WFO, that is supposedly a "performance exhaust"? > > And THEN, he told me that he had shipped other KLR systems with this new > core and had no problems. I've never heard of it or seen it, has anyone? I'm > not saying the guy's fibbing, but I find it hard to believe that anyone has > tested this item without having the same results as I got. > > Hell, I thought the fact that I brought a design flaw to their attention > promptly and without being angry aould net me a "Thanks!" or at least a > "Sorry!" and a new pipe. Instead, I'm waiting for them to glue together my > pipe, and I got treated like it was my fault the damn thing fell apart. > > If someone alerted me to the fact I was selling a faulty product BEFORE I > had the chance to ship out a bunch of them and ruin potential customers*, I > think I would have been pretty grateful and given the guy a free hat, as > well as a new pipe. > > *could there have been any negative effects to my bike's engine performance > or longevity due to riding it with an exhaust that was clogged shut? The > pipe was red hot... > > I'll let the list know how I get treated when I go down ther tomorrow and > get my pipe back. > > Thanks > CA Stu > > PS Bogdan, you may be right after all... > > > -----Original Message----- > > > > CA Stu, I've been planning on throwing a Big Gun exhaust on my A-18 > > since I got it last year. I was waiting until this season to do so > > and here's my dilemma. I want the added power and noise associated > > with the race series for tearing ass around manhattan, but I > > definitely want to keep it under 96 decibles when taking it off road > > so as not to enrage the hippies that are shutting down all the > > trails. If I get the quiet series, can you remove the quiet core > > and effectively have the race series? > > > > Ryan > > KNEVLKLR > > A-18 Manhattan > > > > > > --- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "CA Stu" wrote: > > > > > > It's shiny and pretty. > > > > > > Also, it's not as loud as the old style, like I guessed. > > > I noticed that now it comes with a warning sticker that says to > > > replck teh exhaust every 15-20 hours of use. Using the silent sport > > > pre-wrapped packing, should cost about $25 and take about 1/2 hour > > > every mcouple of months. > > > > > > The new design of the BG is neat, a lot of billet, it's really light, > > > and the Quiet Core insert is just a tiny little piece held in by 3 > > > button head bolts. $519.90 is a lot of cash, however. > > > Good thing I got mine at the special price > > > > > > Cheers > > > CA Stu > > > > > > PS it looks like it should cost at least $520... > > Archive Quicksearch at: http://www.angelfire.com/ut/moab/klr650_data_search.html > List sponsored by Dual Sport News at: www.dualsportnews.com > List FAQ courtesy of Chris Krok at: www.bigcee.com/klr650faq.html > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > >

[CA Stu]

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "Sandy" wrote:

> > awww man...sorry CA Stu, that sucks. Tell 'em just how big this

list

> is and that we're all ears for your story of customer (dis) > satisfaction. > > Sandy in TX

Nah, not going to come across like that. Sounds like a threat, I reckon. That's not my style, man. I'll let them resolve it with me, they have offered to recoat the entire system for no charge, and they are rebuilding the can, so I guess I can live with that. That seems pretty fair, I guess. In the end, I just got to listen to a straight pipe for a few days and so did all the campers at Furnace Creek. Man, it was embarassing riding through there sounding like a Harley with a hole in the pipe... I'm more disappointed than dissatisfied, Sandy. I stuck up for the company to Bogdan, and I feel like by doing that, I made a fool of myself (that has NEVER happened before :-/ ). I would have preferred a "Sorry" from teh customer service rep. or at least an admission that they had never field tested the new Vortex Quiet Core on large displacement bikes, rather than the implication that the failure of the exhaust was my fault. At least a free hat, fer chrissakes. I loaned another of my bikes to FMF for R&D in 2003, and they were nice enough to give me a complete TITANIUM exhaust system FREE as their way of saying "Thanks!". Thanks CA Stu

[Conall]

> > awww man...sorry CA Stu, that sucks. Tell 'em just how big this list > is and that we're all ears for your story of customer (dis) > satisfaction. > > Sandy in TX

The list needs to make DSN_KLR650 group Tshirts or patches available so you can let the whole world know you belong to a group, talk doesn't mean much if you're out of uniform. Got to be in uniform before you start telling people you belong to said group, IMO. Conall

[Sandy]

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "CA Stu" wrote:

> > --- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "Sandy" wrote: > > > > awww man...sorry CA Stu, that sucks. Tell 'em just how big this > list > > is and that we're all ears for your story of customer (dis) > > satisfaction. > > > > Sandy in TX > > Nah, not going to come across like that. Sounds like a threat, I > reckon. That's not my style, man.

I didn't mean it as a threat, just FYI for them, since you told the story here. I guess I'm a little sensitive when it comes to customer dissatisfaction or disappointment. Unfortunately, I've had a few bad experiences with a Yamaha shop and Ford Motor Company. Both resolved the problems, but not without a lot of legwork on my part and more than a solid year of messing with Ford.

> > I'll let them resolve it with me, they have offered to recoat the > entire system for no charge, and they are rebuilding the can, so I > guess I can live with that. That seems pretty fair, I guess.

Sounds fair to me....

> > In the end, I just got to listen to a straight pipe for a few days > and so did all the campers at Furnace Creek. Man, it was

embarassing

> riding through there sounding like a Harley with a hole in the

pipe...

> > I'm more disappointed than dissatisfied, Sandy. I stuck up for the > company to Bogdan, and I feel like by doing that, I made a fool of > myself (that has NEVER happened before :-/ ). > > I would have preferred a "Sorry" from teh customer service rep. or

at

> least an admission that they had never field tested the new Vortex > Quiet Core on large displacement bikes, rather than the implication > that the failure of the exhaust was my fault. At least a free hat, > fer chrissakes.

Still sorry for your bad experience though.

> > I loaned another of my bikes to FMF for R&D in 2003, and they were > nice enough to give me a complete TITANIUM exhaust system FREE as > their way of saying "Thanks!". > > Thanks > CA Stu

[Sandy]

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "Conall" wrote:

> > > > > > awww man...sorry CA Stu, that sucks. Tell 'em just how big this

list

> > is and that we're all ears for your story of customer (dis) > > satisfaction. > > > > Sandy in TX > > The list needs to make DSN_KLR650 group Tshirts or patches available > so you can let the whole world know you belong to a group, talk > doesn't mean much if you're out of uniform. Got to be in uniform > before you start telling people you belong to said group, IMO. > > > Conall

Hmmm.... mebbe so. Sandy in TX

[CA Stu]

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "Sandy" wrote:

> > --- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "Conall"

wrote:

> > > > > > > > > > awww man...sorry CA Stu, that sucks. Tell 'em just how big

this

> list > > > is and that we're all ears for your story of customer (dis) > > > satisfaction. > > > > > > Sandy in TX > > > > The list needs to make DSN_KLR650 group Tshirts or patches

available

> > so you can let the whole world know you belong to a group, talk > > doesn't mean much if you're out of uniform. Got to be in uniform > > before you start telling people you belong to said group, IMO. > > > > > > Conall >

I thought riding in thigh high pleather boots, a leopard print marble bag g-string and a camo tube top _was_ the DSN_KLR list uniform? Thanks CA Stu

[CA Stu]

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "Michael T" wrote:

> -----Original Message----- > From: ADVrider Mailer [mailto:rad@c...] > Sent: Wednesday, February 02, 2005 7:36 PM > To: lasvegasrider@c... > Subject: Reply to post 'The WARPED Trip' > > Hello lasvegasrider, > > Gerg has just replied to a thread you have subscribed to entitled -

The

> WARPED Trip - in the Upcoming events forum of ADVrider. > > This thread is located at: > http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=65783&goto=newpost >

Yo Milky, I'm in. See you there! CA Stu