muffler replacement time?

[sbosbach141157]

The mufflers on my '83 R80RT seem loud compared to other airheads in the club. How do I know when mufflers need replacement? What should I do first before replacement? I've tightened all connections and no change. Bike has 26 K on the odometer.
Steve
Hill Country BMW Riders

 

[67986]

Threshold questions:
Are your mufflers stock BMW mufflers?
Are the mufflers you are using for comparison BMW mufflers or aftermarket products?

A true comparison would be to a known BMW muffler that's fairly new.

Adirondack Bob

 

[shire2000]

In comparison, the stock OEM BMW mufflers are pretty quite. Aftermarket ones such as MACs are good and just a little bit louder. I went with Sito mufflers from Italy as I like the more mellow sound, compared to the MACs. Sito Mufflers appear to be closer to the OEM BMW ones for sound and quality. Plus, the Sito mufflers have a melamine coating inside that helps to stop them from rusting out prematurely. Stainless steel mufflers sound great, but I have never found any that are as quiet as OEM mufflers.

Just my .02 worth.

 

[sbosbach141157]

OEM mufflers

I'm sure these are the original mufflers on the bike. Rust in all the usual places. I suspect the mufflers I compared them to were after market, but looked just like BMW mufflers.
I'm still looking for something definitive to indicate a "yes, now they need to be replaced". Or is muffler replacement on a bike like on a car, where it's totally subjective and you just decide to do it when it sounds loud?

Steve

 

[shire2000]

Replacement can be somewhat subjective. They can still look OK, but be internally shot. That will result in a much louder than stock sound. Also, if you have the bike running and rev it up to say 5000RPM and see little bits of stuff coming out of the ends, may just be about time to replace them. Hoping that those little bits are parts of the muffler internals, and not something further upline.

On the other hand, others wait until they almost fall off or look like they are Sunday mufflers (holy).

Try pressing along the bottoms, particularly around any seams and see if they press in very much. If they are starting to rot, that is the usualy first places to find issues.

 

[sbosbach141157]

Less restriction in the R80? Thanks for comments

It occurred to me that because the R80 has the same diameter header and muffler as the R100 and R90, that there is probably less restriction for the R80, and therefor it could seem louder than the R100, despite the difference in displacement. I just haven't heard enough R80s to make a direct comparison.

I guess I'll Just have to swap out the mufflers and see what difference there is. Right now the volume is tolerable for some folks, in fact some would prefer it to the original volume, but it's too loud for me and staring to sound like a Harley when I blip the throttle. It interferes with intercom to the pillion and gets fatiguing on longer rides. Thanks for your comments.
Steve

 

[108625]

If you take the mufflers off, give them a good shake and see what comes out, you might get a better idea what condition they're in.