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[Laker]

I gave the Rineharts a good look last night and sure enough, I have a stress crack started at the mounting bracket. What a joke. I only have 3800 miles on the bike due to my surgery in the spring. I thought they made a better product than that.

[Laker]

Question. I was planning on riding up to the HOG rally in Chattanooga tomorrow. Is the bike ok to ride with the small stress crack forming? Would it be smart to remove the mounting bolt so it doesn't get any worse at that location? Any ideas would be helpful.  [smiley=xyxthumbs.gif]

[hd-dude]

Question. I was planning on riding up to the HOG rally in Chattanooga tomorrow. Is the bike ok to ride with the small stress crack forming? Would it be smart to remove the mounting bolt so it doesn't get any worse at that location? Any ideas would be helpful.

[Unbalanced]

Laker,

I would personally remove the bolt as I woudlnt want any stress on that pipe since it is being leveraged by that bracket and that is where your issue is.   I won't say it would hurt anything if you take it, but I rode mine quite a ways before I got home.


If I were you and had the ability to quickly remove the pipe and bring it to the local welding shop and throw a weld on it and then only put the bolt back on hand tight or loose with a lock nut or 2 nuts so it didnt move.

2 cents worth

[Twolanerider]

Laker if the nut is left loose it'll likely just vibrate off.

[Laker]

Thanks for the help guys. I guess I will just loosen the nut a little more (wasn't overly tight to begin with) and hope it doesn't get too much worse. If it does, then I will hit up the HD shop in Chattanooga to replace it as that is where I got this bike from.

Again, I appreciate the help!!  [smiley=xyxthumbs.gif]

[cei600]

Glad I didn't buy RhineHarts. Sure seems like they have Quality issues.

[HUBBARD]

Glad I didn't buy RhineHarts. Sure seems like they have Quality issues.

Yeah, 'er 'uh, cei600,
 I'm glad you didn't buy RINEHARTS, too.  That equates to another Harley out there I can thump!  I still don't think it's a quality issue.  I think it's an installation issue.  Later--HUBBARD  

[grc]

Glad I didn't buy RhineHarts. Sure seems like they have Quality issues.

I think you will find that any of the pipes that attach to the bracket from the starter can be subject to cracking, including the stock pipes from H-D.  That entire mounting system needs to be redesigned - too much flex, unsupported weight between bracket and rear pipe hanger, etc.  Add in the extra bends and welds in that area, and it is a recipe for failure.

[WFP]

I think you will find that any of the pipes that attach to the bracket from the starter can be subject to cracking, [bgcolor=Yellow]including the stock pipes from H-D[/bgcolor].

[cei600]

Yeah er uh, whatever! [smiley=pumpkin.gif]

[Unbalanced]

Hubbard,

My question of BuB and of Gerald is was and remains if its not a design flaw why did they recently change the pipe 2 degrees in this last go around and are now in the process of changing the way they mount the pipe.  

If its a problem of everyone installing it wrong wouldnt it be better to put out a tech document or add a flyer to the instructions of new pipes going out?

I really dont want to beat this dead horse any longer I am just looking for a rational answer if its not a design flaw.

[Striker]

OK, lets get to the reason you have a bracket off the starter.  In '96 Harley decided they needed this to stop the factory pipes from cracking at the "Y" pipe.  The weld would literally fracture because of lack of support.  They then offered it as a retrofit for older models.  This solved the problem of the stock pipes fracturing, but does not address the way Rhinehart has designe their mounting.  I saw some issues in the way the local shop mounted mine, and loosened the entire assembly.  I removed the mufflers first, and immediately noticed how much the heat sheilds were binding just to fit to the pipes.  I did not pull the head pipes, but rather took all the stress off the mounts including the mounting point of the pipes to the heads.  Once I had everything so I could move it, I tried to let everything align naturally, and kept alternating between the head pipe mounts and the starter support tightening a little more at each point.  So far at 6k I don't see problems.

As far as running with the bolt loose at the starter, I would believe you will be creating more stress on the pipe, and possible damage to the finish on your inner primary if the pipe were to bounce against it.  Now having said that, the issue I see with the Rhinehart design, is that it doesn't allow for the movement of the motor on the rubber mounts.  One of the things I have noticed is that the mount under the front of the motor is acting like a piston to relieve motor vibration, thus as the motor is flexing vertically, the mount on the pipe at the started is stressed.  I don't know if I will still have a fracturing issue, but I don't believe the design allows for another option if you allow the pipe to "float" at the starter mount.

[grc]

OK, lets get to the reason you have a bracket off the starter.

[Crawdaddy]

Nice Pics Unbalanced.

I have a twin to that.  My pipe weld broke last week in Monument Valley.  I had to limp into Durango to get help.  HD dealer could not fix.  I found a structural welder and he patched it back to get me home.

I am going down to my local dealer and see if he will replace the pipe without the bracket.  I plan to fashion a a bracket that is not welded to the pipe.  I will clamp it to the pipe on both sides of the bracket and bolt it back to the starter.

I think the issue is different heating and cooling coefficients at the weld, compounded by the vibration of the 103.  The pipe wall is too thin to be a structural support with that much vibration.  The cracks I see in your pipe indicate the welder may have been to hot originally.  Probably a stick or mig weld.  They should use a tig rig and purge the pipe with argon during the process.