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Message started by pmacb on 06/26/11 at 19:38:16

Title: Atomic cricket in the exhaust?!?
Post by pmacb on 06/26/11 at 19:38:16

So, the Mrs and I decide that now that we have our M licenses we need a bike. I've read nothing but good things about the Savage as a starter and having a soft spot for thumpers (had one after college) we start haunting CL and find a likely candidate locally. It's been down at least once and the current owner admits to the obvious exhaust leak from the header/muffler junction. The cases are in tough shape, too. It looks like it spent last winter tarped in the backyard and not in the garage. We get to a price we all think is fair and we're now the new owners of a slightly beat up silver (which everybody knows is the fastest color) '04.

Now, however what I thought was simple cosmetic challenges seem to be evidence of potential neglect. Every fastener is either stuck or rusted in place. Just trying to put a fresh plug in I inadvertently did the "door mod" to the head cover when I snapped the rear bolt. :o Mrs pmacb didn't find it funny but was mollified when I showed her the thread on the door mod and how it won't rattle when left that way. 8-)

The big issue right now is a really loud and kinda embarrassing squeak or chirp from the exhaust. It sounds like the worlds loudest cricket. I took the exhaust apart as best as I could and did the "copper silicone gasket" fix, but it didn't seem to help. It seems to be rpm and not road speed related. I can live with the occassional backfire, but this noise has got to go. Any suggestions to cause or places to start? :-/

Thanks,

pmacb

Title: Re: Atomic cricket in the exhaust?!?
Post by justin_o_guy2 on 06/26/11 at 19:43:06

Always blow the dirt out of the cavity the plug sits in before pulling it.

If the muffler is shot, slap a Dyna on it, its cheap & they look good & sound better.
Otta be able to get one for 20 bux, HD takeoffs.. dont get one with a crossover on it.
Get some good penetrating oil ( Kroil or Wintergreen oil, like wintergreen oil from the grocery store) & start putting a drop here & a drop there.. brass brushes dont scratch chrome.

Title: Re: Atomic cricket in the exhaust?!?
Post by thumperclone on 06/26/11 at 21:40:04

alphalt roads sound different(better) than concrete ones..
my 3" hard krome muff even gets a chirpy sound on concrete..

Title: Re: Atomic cricket in the exhaust?!?
Post by Serowbot on 06/26/11 at 23:57:12

... have you tried bug spray?... :-?...

;D...

Title: Re: Atomic cricket in the exhaust?!?
Post by arteacher on 06/27/11 at 06:43:17

Have you torqued the manifold bolts?

Title: Re: Atomic cricket in the exhaust?!?
Post by justin_o_guy2 on 06/27/11 at 08:49:33

Be GEntle with those things,, go slow & FEEL of it. & Do it when its cold.

Title: Re: Atomic cricket in the exhaust?!?
Post by thumperclone on 06/27/11 at 10:57:48

66797F7865625363536B79753E0C0 wrote:

Be GEntle with those things,, go slow & FEEL of it. & Do it when its cold.

DITTO^^^
i snapped one in thumperclones head pita to get it out...

Title: Re: Atomic cricket in the exhaust?!?
Post by pmacb on 08/07/11 at 13:52:00

The cricket is vanquished! :D

Turns out we needed a new muffler. The baffles in the old one must have been rusted out or otherwise shot. It actually sounds like a motorcycle now.

pmacb

Title: Re: Atomic cricket in the exhaust?!?
Post by MrBrownTX on 08/07/11 at 18:44:55

Excellent, glad you got that sorted. Enjoy your "new" Savage!

Title: Re: Atomic cricket in the exhaust?!?
Post by MrBrownTX on 11/01/11 at 15:48:36

Oh man, I put my stock exhaust back on last week and it has developed the atomic cricket for sure! That sounds super annoying. I drove around the block with out a helmet on before changing my oil ths weekend and I got a taste of just how loud the cricket is.

Title: Re: Atomic cricket in the exhaust?!?
Post by kingart3 on 11/04/11 at 18:06:51

I had a 250cc Chinese scooter with the same issue once. As the baffles wore out, they fluttered around inside making a terrible racket. Worse sometimes they would restrict the flow of exhaust gasses and kill the scooter out right. A new muffler fixed that, but a Chinese scooter is a Chinese scooter and after 10k miles it died. Now it sits in the garage waiting to see if I can fix it. The S40 is so much fun its waited nearly 3 years ....LOL.

Title: Re: Atomic cricket in the exhaust?!?
Post by John_D FSO on 11/10/11 at 05:28:10

2A37383F283D3F285A0 wrote:

The cricket is vanquished! :D

Turns out we needed a new muffler. The baffles in the old one must have been rusted out or otherwise shot. It actually sounds like a motorcycle now.

pmacb

I was gonna suggest that. My stock muffler started developing that "VW whistle". Which is ok... if you're driving a Bug... :-?
I ended up swapping if for a salvage yard generic Screamin' Eagle, much cooler. ;D

Title: Re: Atomic cricket in the exhaust?!?
Post by scottnj on 11/10/11 at 06:28:39

I'm rocking the atomic cricket now too -- stock muffler is getting old. Started making that noise a couple of months ago, but doesn't seem to affect performance. Sometime this winter when I have time I will swap out the old stock exhaust for an HD take-off I picked up recently. Glad to hear that fixed the problem for most of you.

Title: Re: Atomic cricket in the exhaust?!?
Post by Blvd1960 on 11/15/11 at 12:52:56

6878746F6F75711B0 wrote:

Scott, How many miles on your stock muffler?

Title: Re: Atomic cricket in the exhaust?!?
Post by scottnj on 11/16/11 at 10:37:53

Approaching 8,000 miles on the stock muffler.

When I took it off to see if it was indeed the cause of the noise, I could rear some rust and/or dirt rattle around in it. I thought about taking it apart to see the condition of the internals and then repacking it, but after looking into that I think it would be a lot more work than an HD muffler swap.

Title: Re: Atomic cricket in the exhaust?!?
Post by Blvd1960 on 11/16/11 at 12:45:32

Quote: Approaching 8,000 miles on the stock muffler.

OK, thanks Scott.

I thought that MC mufflers lasted about as long as cars'; 8K seems like too early to have to replace.

T.

Title: Re: Atomic cricket in the exhaust?!?
Post by scottnj on 11/16/11 at 19:52:24

Yeah, probably "old" wasn't the best choice of words. I have friends who are using original exhausts that are 20+ years old and in good shape, so I don't really think that 8,000 miles is an average life for an MC exhaust. It likely depends on packing material quality and how/where it's used/stored. Not sure if the previous owner stored the bike outside or what, but for some reason the muffler baffles/packing seem to have deteriorated on mine. Still looks like new on the outside, but sounds like crap. Gives me an excuse to play around with a different exhaust and see if I like it.