Did you get the cracking issues solved without using the "bandaid" (extra band) around the pipe?
Also had some pipes get pitted and rusted like the coating was not done well.
Heard they were having trouble getting you all to warranty the rusting pipes.
Hoping the new ones are better this year, as you all have had a pretty good reputation up to this point.
Yes, we feel we have the cracking issues on the Axys 800 pipe that you refer to solved. On current production pipes, we still use one band clamp to dampen the harmonic vibration like we have used for many years. We also made some other changes that help make the pipe stronger in this area. We tested with these pipes extensively last season without failure, so we are confident that we have the problem solved.
Last year at the first of the riding season, some of our customers had some pipes fail at the probe boss. We immediately went to work to identify the problem and find a suitable solution. We found on those pipes that by placing a second band clamp on the other side of the probe boss that the harmonic resonance that was causing them to crack was eliminated. We sent update clamps out to our customers at no charge in an effort to eliminate failures. What we found was once we did this, the failures all but ceased. We have replaced the pipes that cracked up to this time.
As far as "rusting" pipes go, we inspect them closely to see what caused the issue and verify if it is a coating problem or something else. If it is a coating problem, we re-coat the item or replace it.
A couple of things to keep in mind regarding keeping your sleds in pristine shape are:
1) Keep them out of road chemical spray. This means covering your sleds when trailering on an open trailer or carrying them on a sled deck especially when the weather is bad or you will come in contact with roads treated with Mag-Chloride (the wet chemical most states are now using prior to and during storms). Should you find yourself without a cover and exposed to this, wash the sled immediately upon returning home (I would wash mine even if it were covered as this stuff is extremely corrosive). Remember that you need to also wash it inside the engine compartment to get it off of any under-hood components. One other thing a cover does for you is it keeps debris out of the intake. A sled's intake is not sealed very well as we ride in a fairly clean environment. But the environment we trailer through is anything but clean and we don't really want any of that garbage to be ingested into the engine.
2) If you use an enclosed trailer, you need to dry your sled and trailer out prior to storing your sled back in it until the next ride out. This is important because the inside of your trailer will hold a lot of moisture causing the humidity level to be extremely high. Even when the inside is dry, leave your vents open. I use a RV vent cap that goes over the stock reel up vent and allows the reel up vent to be open all the time. This really helps the trailer breathe and keep humidity levels low. This is actually more important for the inside of the engine than even the cosmetic components as internal engine components rely on oil film to keep them from rusting. If the sled sits for a while, the oil film can dissipate and if humidity levels are high, rust pits will form on items such as rod and main journals and bearings resulting in an engine failure down the road.
We pride ourselves in producing high quality products that perform as advertised. Should you have an issue with one of our products, please contact us so that we can address it properly.
Thanks for the questions,
Jerry Mathews
Starting Line Products, Inc.
