[gdraynal]

It's unseasonable warm here in Syracuse, NY, so I brought the bike out for its first ride in over a month. Drove to my destination ~ 2 miles. Bike was sluggish all the way and stalled once. Was generous with throttle just to maintain normal speeds. Parked and realized that right exhaust canister seemed much hotter than usual. Could the pipe be clogged? Mouse nest? I normally park in a garden shed where there are signs of mice.

What should I do? Trailer it back home or to shop?

Gas and oil seem fine.

 

[surfs1st]

Likely some dead mice now if that is indeed what it was. As it's pretty easy to do, I'd just break the pipe down to the cat and check each part. If they made it down to the cat, I don't know what to tell yeah except maybe take it in to the dealer.

 

[SlowDucTEMP]

first of all, if it IS a mouse nest... [laugh]

we'll need some more details here:
stock cans, or aftermarket? if they're stock, i'm not sure how you'd get the nest out of there with all the baffles and whatnot. though you might be able to get it out if you're willing to core the pipes... THEN you'd actually know what was in there! assuming the clog is in the canister rather than one side of your header collector, you're probably safe just taking the offending can off, and riding it home. it'll be loud, but shouldn't hurt the bike... hell, take both of them off there just for fun! you can either replace the cans with aftermarket, or buy a used stock can from here somewhere (check the classifieds OR [sorry, shameless plug] i have a set without the hanger brackets if you want to PM me )

 

[gdraynal]

thanks for the replies thus far

cans are stock, 04 620 dark, less than 4K miles.

If not a mouse nest, what else should I check? Bike was running fine when I last rode a month ago.

 

[test-reg]

Did you try WOT? Sometimes you get a nice singed mousey projectile (beware of damage from said projectile). This happened to a friend of mine actually, projectile and all. [laugh]

 

[SlowDucTEMP]

you've probably already done this, but i didn't think to mention it earlier... did you wave your hand over both exhaust exits to see if there's equal exhaust coming out each of them?

 

[gdraynal]

Not yet, was in a rush to a meeting so I haven't had time to investigate much. I will try and resist the temptation to plunge a stick into the pipe however.

 

[Dragsterhund]

Can you imagine how loud that must have been for that mouse? Having your head all the way inside a ducati exhaust can?

 

[Mac900]

you've probably already done this, but i didn't think to mention it earlier... did you wave your hand over both exhaust exits to see if there's equal exhaust coming out each of them?

That's exactly what I was going to bring up. If the exhaust flow is the same out of both sides then there is no clogged exhaust / mouse issue. You can also hold a piece of paper equidistant away from the exhaust tip to see how much it deflects. Just a bit better than judging pressure with your hand but it would be pretty obvious either way if there was a significant restriction.

 

[SlowDucTEMP]

oh, just thought of something else! since you KNOW there are mice in your shed, you should get some of those exhaust plugs made for dirt bikes. it might keep this sort of thing from happening again! ;D

 

[mylexicon]

What about the smell? It seems if there were a mouse in your pipes you would know by the foul stench.

If it were a mouse nest-----maybe it would smell like a fireplace ???

 

[spolic]

That happened to me. Dealer could not find a problem and the bike was still under warranty. They gave me the choice of replacing the cans with stock or with Termi's. You figure out what went on the bike!


Cost of the Termi's was LESS than the stock cans.

 

[zarn02]

Cost of the Termi's was LESS than the stock cans.

<threadjack>

i'm unsuprised. is crap like this just a ploy to support the aftermarket industry? ???

</threadjack>

 

[hiero]

That's exactly what I was going to bring up. If the exhaust flow is the same out of both sides then there is no clogged exhaust / mouse issue. You can also hold a piece of paper equidistant away from the exhaust tip to see how much it deflects. Just a bit better than judging pressure with your hand but it would be pretty obvious either way if there was a significant restriction.

don't forget that the exhaust doesn't come out of both pipes exactly the same as both streams of gas go out both pipes. but yeah, if there's a significant restriction, that would be noticeable.

I imagine it could just be bad gas from sitting around in the tank for a month or the bike wasn't fully warmed up and ready to go or something.

I know if I don't start up my bike for a week of cold weather, it'll be a little fidgety with me when I first get her going (course I have carbs though, what bike do you have?), if you only went 2 miles, that's really not enough..

 

[gdraynal]

nothing smells mousy and the exhaust out of both sides seems consistent. looked into the pipes using a flashlight and no signs of vermin or anything else clogging.

ended up riding the bike ~ 2 miles home (sop and go) and the elbow below the exhaust cannister was glowing orange.

started the bike a few moments ago with a full day in between and seems to be idling better. will go for a quick spin around the block.

 

[gdraynal]

back from ride. something is definitely wrong. sluggish and no power in low gears. could barely climb a hill. very slow / rough takeoff.

as mentioned, the elbows seem very hot for such a short ride, rest of the exhaust system normal.

filled up with 93 octane as I did immediately before I put the bike away for over a month, but normally I use 87.

 

[SlowDucTEMP]

nothing smells mousy and the exhaust out of both sides seems consistent. looked into the pipes using a flashlight and no signs of vermin or anything else clogging.

ended up riding the bike ~ 2 miles home (sop and go) and the elbow below the exhaust cannister was glowing orange.

started the bike a few moments ago with a full day in between and seems to be idling better. will go for a quick spin around the block.

if your exhaust system is getting ridiculously hot, but doesn't seem to be clogged, maybe your bike is just running way too lean? just to be sure there's nothing in there, have you pulled the cans off to see if there's anying stuck in the collector (they're not difficult to remove/install so long as you have a few basic tools)?

 

[kJackd]

I put popcorn kernels in my buddies exhaust can once... it was damn funny