Have your Akrapovic silencer clamps deformed?

[J.R.]

So I have an Akrapovich titanium exhaust on my 2006 510...with some issues. The carbon fiber clamps that hold the silencer on have deformed from the heat and caused the silencer to rotate sideways. I would think this is caused by a poor choice in resin. This seems to be a manufacturers defect in my eyes. And to make this worse the rotated silencer caused unwanted stress on the headpipe and it cracked.
I was in the middle of reporting the cracked headpipe when they said it would not be warrantied due to improper installation. Damn it! I forgot to tell them about the root cause of all this and the "improper installation": the deformed carbon clamps. So I need to get pictures of of any other bikes with deformed clamps to show that I'm not the only one with this problem. I have seen others like this before, but now that I need to find the pictures again, Google won't bring up the ones I need!
Anyone have this happen? Post up pics

 

[moto66]

But whether the tail pipe has rotated or not, how can they write it off as improper installation? That's a classic escape all clause. For the money they charge on their product you would expect an equally top drawer customer service response. I hope you get something sorted.

 

[J.R.]

Once I sent the email telling about the clamps being made poorly with the resin deforming, they seem to be willing to help. I sure wish I had remembered to mention that from the start

I kinda feel stupid now, but I was really more concerned with the cracked titanium so the clamps slipped my mind.

I need to take some more detailed pictures of the clamps and send to them for a better look. Hopefully they'll help with replacement of the cracked pipe and clamps!...Wishful thinking...

 

[moto66]

They should do, bad rep not good for any business esp these days. Might be the usual send it back and be off the road for 6 weeks job though.. you did well to spot that crack in the header. Like you said, get a bunch of high res pics and offer up a polite/constructive letter and you should be sorted.

 

[J.R.]

pics are being sent as we speak, I sure hope I wont be off the bike for long! I need to race it! It would be awesome if they sent replacements! though I imagine they'd rather repair the pipe than replace it, but im sure the carbon clamps arent repairable

 

[moto66]

pics are being sent as we speak, I sure hope I wont be off the bike for long! I need to race it! It would be awesome if they sent replacements! though I imagine they'd rather repair the pipe than replace it, but im sure the carbon clamps arent repairable

Fingers crossed for new for old! It's funny but in lots of instances if you word the 'complaint' like your trying to help them to improve their product it often brings good results. Statutory rights vary from country to country but I always quote 'The Sales of Goods Act 1979' in the UK and it makes people sit up. That's only when the nice approach fails

 

[J.R.]

Hmmm good to know. Wonder what kind of rights there are in Slovenia or wherever it is Akrapovic is located..

 

[moto66]

Hmmm good to know. Wonder what kind of rights there are in Slovenia or wherever it is Akrapovic is located..

You've seen the film Hostel?....

 

[J.R.]

Ahhh.. I saw a little bit but never the whole thing, Been a while

 

[moto66]

Ahhh.. I saw a little bit but never the whole thing, Been a while

Sorry, might have seemed a bit random, but wasn't it based in the land of the Akrapovic

They've got a good rep, should be ok. My guess too is that they manufacture the pipes/cans, and probably the carbon straps are out sourced. Could be why they showed you some interest when you mentioned that

 

[ioneater]

I've had a lot of good luck with similar issues using the "nice guy" approach vs. the "angry customer" approach. How would I like to be contacted if I were the business owner?

 

[moto66]

I've had a lot of good luck with similar issues using the "nice guy" approach vs. the "angry customer" approach. How would I like to be contacted if I were the business owner?

For sure.

 

[J.R.]

Thank you Akrapovic!

They warrantied all the problematic parts! It took a minute due to some miscommunication and getting a midpipe instead of header,but I received the rest of my parts yesterday! All in all, I spent about two weeks waiting for parts, and that included the first round where they had to make a part. The rest of the time was just emailing back and forth about various questions I had. They sent the wrong section of tube the first time but luckily for me they said to keep it due to the expense involved in shipping it back. But they were sure quick to rectify sending the wrong part! And the header pipe came in the set rather than by itself so I now I have an extra small left side head tube
After talking with them, the most likely scenario is that the silencer wasn't repacked frequently enough. That caused excess heat which then deformed the clamps and in turn caused enough stress to crack the head tube. So they even sent me a muffler packing kit!
Thank you Akrapovic! I hope to buy from you more in the future! I highly recommend them to anyone looking for a great exhaust system with great customer service to back it!

 

[moto66]

How good is that? I always think the same. Try try try to get a reasonable resolve, and if you do then let everyone know. You got the parts you needed and some to boot. Say you got a good result here

 

[J.R.]

Hell ya, There is never enough of the good reports to go around. Another

for Akrapovic!!!