Busting Exhaust Springs

[Rudy]

Why would I be breaking between 3 and 4 exhaust springs each race weekend?  They are the springs up by the head of the engine.  I have a full Hindle system.

'01 GSXR 600.

Thanks,  Rudy

[Jeff]

my guess would be:

Old Springs
Improperly installed system

I have never heard of this happening before, so I really have no other idea

[Super Dave]

Vibration, corrosion...

Call Hindle and talk to them too.

I usually safety wire springs also.

[Team_Serpent]

Heat and Vibration are the main factors.  You either need to have a rubber sleeve around the spring (some exhaust manufactures supply these with their springs, I don't think Hindle does) or put a line of silicone down each spring after installed. 

[butchf]

We're having the same problem on a full Hindle exhaust. From the day it was put on, the springs were breaking. This is on a '05 R6. 2 springs broke before it was even riden.

[Rudy]

I've scratched my head and have come to similar conclusions.  Has to be vibration, or the spring material (stainless) not up to snuff.  I plan to contact Hindle and see what they say.  I've tried to get the header pipes to move and everything appears to be very rigid.  Tough to try other springs because the Hindles are shorter than other brands.  I had to go directly to Hindle last time.  They were courteous and sent me a bag of springs at no charge but when I got them I thought "geez, now I have more springs than I'll ever need."  Wrong,  two left.   They always end up in my belly pan so they are not rolling down the track at least.  I'll try the silicone trick and safety wire them. 

Thanks!

[K3 Chris Onwiler]

I've had this problem as well.  The Arrow and Akropovic pipes I owned never broke or lost springs, but ALL the others have.  Now I safety wire the pipes together, and then add the springs.  I also make a safety wire leash  into the coils for each spring to keep it with the bike if it falls off.

[Team_Serpent]

All the pipes I've owned come with springs with rubber sleeves and I think I've lost 1 spring in eight years.  I saw someone at the track (with a Hindle by the way) putting a bead of silicone down each of his springs during install after removing the pipe for repair. I had to ask - What are you doing? He replyed that since he started putting a bead of silicone down each spring (as a damper of sorts) he hadn't lost a spring. Hope it helps

[GSXR RACER MIKE]

I've had Yoshimura systems on all 3 of my race bikes and have never lost a spring ever, with my 1st bike having something like 6000 race miles on it. None of those systems had any type of sleeve around the springs, they used just the spring itself.

Are the springs installed in a way that they are only touching the bike at the end hooks, and is the spring straight between the 2 mounting points (not twisted or bound in anyway)? I would lean toward material used in the spring if everything is correct in the assembly of the system (especially if the springs are not touching the bike anywhere except for the end hooks). As for vibration causing the failures that would still be due to incorrect material in the spring or poor design of the spring itself. The silicon bead or tube around the spring would act as a vibration damper and help to reduce the resonating stresses to the springs - but this still is only a bandaid on the problem, the real problem would still be the material used in the spring most likely.

[Team_Serpent]

I've had Yoshimura systems on all 3 of my race bikes and have never lost a spring ever, with my 1st bike having something like 6000 race miles on it. None of those systems had any type of sleeve around the springs, they used just the spring itself.

Are you sure your systems didn't come with the rubber sleeves?  All my Yosh systems did, they are grey and have the little Yosh japanise logo molded into them.

Maybe your right and it's the material the springs are made with - it seems to mainly be a problem with the Hindle springs, as most complianing have refered to owning Hindles...

Hopefully the bandaid will help.

[GSXR RACER MIKE]

Are you sure your systems didn't come with the rubber sleeves?  All my Yosh systems did, they are grey and have the little Yosh japanise logo molded into them.

I'm sure they didn't have any sleeves, maybe it depends on the model bike? I suppose some bikes may have more intense vibration that could cause a problem. I was also wondering, where are the springs breaking? Is it at the ends where the hooks are at, or is it somewhere else, and is it always at the same place on the spring (or did you loose every one of them before you could look at them)?

[Beaner]

Hey All,
  Hindle springs have recently been re-designed (change of material and curve of hook). They also come with the rubber sleeve to help reduce the vibration. You can contact Hindle at info@hindle.com and ask for replacements-they can be shipped to you at no charge with-in a few days usually.