I recently bought my first savage(2003, 5,700 miles) about 2 weeks ago.  I did a dyna slip on exhaust this week, following the install I found in the forums, using the tin can method.  I know there is a small exhaust leak at the head, and the bike is burping a little bit when shifting, up and down, and when I cut off the throttle quickly.

Tonight my buddy and I took our bikes on the highway, going speeds of about 60-65.  It felt fine, was just feeling the bikes vibration quite a bit in the handlebars.  When we pulled off the side of the road, the pipe was flaming out the end pretty bad so I cut the engine.  When we looked inside the Dyna it was RED HOT!   Freaked me out a bit.  We let it cool down till it wasn't glowing anymore, then took it slow on the way home, about 15 or 20 minutes of going 45.  When we got home, there were no flames, but when I cut the engine and looked in again it was still red hot, though not as bad as before.

I have not rejetted the bike, was going to wait until the exhaust leak was fixed, and I'm not sure if the white spacer mod has been done or not.  The brass plug over the air/fuel mixture cap was off when I bought it, so I have been trying to tune the carb a little bit with that.

Is this normal? Is this bad? You guys are the experts of this bike! Help! :'(

Ohh no, not a cataclysmic perverter.

TJW,

94 should indicate the year of manufacture which should be 1994 and was long before the catalytic converter.

Maybe one of the more experienced guys will chime in with the correct answer to the heat. If not, call the Harley shop near you and the parts department should be able to tell you if it has the converter.

It would be good to fix the leak where the header goes into the head.

Kenny G

What do you mean Justin?

Kenny, the "94" is not the year of manufacture. It's the year of the last update.

For example, that version could have been used from 1994 until 2002. In 2003 (hypothetically) there would be a model number change to, presumably, 03. As far as I know the only way to tell what year the muffler is, is to take the word of the seller. I don't think HD stamps them with a model year. Mine isn't.

Kris,

When I bought the Dyna muffler for my S40, from a guy here on the forum, I called the Harley Shop and read off the whole string of numbers to Carolina and the numbers ended with 96. She called me back and told me the muffler had been manufactured in 1996.

Maybe Harley doesn't know as much about it as you do.

Kenny G

the pipe was flaming out the end pretty bad so I cut

I'm concerned.

Harley part numbers are very easy to figure out... the last 2 numbers, the ones after the dash, are the model year that the particular item debuted. Period. Minor updates throughout the production run, and some items have not been changed, at all, since the 1960s, are ignored.

I've owned a lot of Harleys, have worked on thousands of them, and have worked in bike shops off and on for pushing 30 years.

The inside of a Dyna muffler is usually some shade of red at night, even on a Dyna. Just the nature of the design. Consider it a second rear running light, even with a proper rejetting, there will be a glow.