I need some advice.
I did a search and could not find a problem like mine.
I had the exhaust system off of my bike (see signature) today.
The header and muffler are both OEM items.
The heat shield is rubbing against the header. A noticeable amount of metal has been eroded away on both of these items where they are rubbing against each other.
Oddly enough, there does not appear to be any contact in this area when the bike is not running. It seems as if the rubbing occurs because of the engine's natural vibrations.
Here is the heat shield in its installed position:
After removing the heat shield, you can see where it's been rubbing against the header:
Here is a shot of the inboard side of the heat shield, where the rubbing is occurring:
What I think I'm looking for is some type of material (high temperature resistant padding or durable tape) that I could put between the heat shield and the header to prevent any further wear.
Or, perhaps I could add some extra washers at the rear muffler mounting point, thus raising the muffler up a bit.
I could even, instead, add some extra washers between the heat shield and the footpeg bracket, thus increasing the static separation between the heat shield and the header pipe.
Although I'm not real anal concerning the appearance of my bike, I'd like the solution to be difficult, if not impossible to see when all the parts are back in place.
Ideas?
TIA!