Why is my motorcycle blowing my pipes away?

Question

I have a 1997 kawasaki vulcan 1500 classic, and for some reason ican't keep a set of pipes. The first incident was with a pair of vance and hines that came with the bike and for no reason the pipe near the front tire cracked in two. I thought maybe they are old so i bought a new set of pipes with fish tail tips 2 weeks ago, and this past weekend on a ride the bike blew the same pipe(near the front tire) in two just like before. My buddy told me that he noticed b4 the pipe blew, that there was blue flames shooting out of the pipes. B4 i waist my money on a third set of pipes what should i do?

Answer 1

sounds like you need a valve job

Answer 2

I experienced the same problem on a v-twin I had, and the root of the problem was the ignition, if there is a mechanical ignition advance, then start looking there, if you don't find a problem there then look at the timing itself. mine was advancing to soon causing lots of hammer in combustion camber..causing major vibe..disintegrating exhaust pipes.

good luck.  

Answer 3

V&H pipes are known to crack like that on Vulcan 1500/1600. I think part of the problem is when they were installed, the entire exhaust system wasn't kept loose at the joints until everything was lined up and then tightened down. This stresses the pipe as it comes out of the head and the heat and vibration make it crack.

Answer 4

You're burning those pipes. Have the timing & mixture checked.

With 1500 cc.s you could be way out of tune and not notice.

Answer 5

Do you have a stock front fender?  Maybe some thermal vulnerability with V&H header that they will warranty.