Wrench Tip Wednesday: Repacking Silencers

Wrench Tip Wednesday: Repacking Silencers

Ever have someone ride by and their bike is super loud, like so loud you cover your ears? Chances are their silencer needs to be repacked. The exhaust packing from the bike’s engine exits the pipe in waves and travels through the silencer. Packing around the core lets the silencer control the waves as they leave the bike and also keeps sound levels down. It is obviously when a person’s silencer packing is no longer good. Unburned mixed gas leaving the cylinder or excessive heat wears on the packing.

There are many benefits to repacking your silencer.

  1. You don’t loose your hearing (Reducing sound levels)
  2. Can improve the throttle response
  3. Can restore peak power (who doesn’t like power?)

First off, remove the silencer from the bike. If it has a spark arrestor remove it before proceeding. Remove the allen screws or rivets from the front of the silencer – do not remove the rear end cap. Hold the front end cap and begin working it out of the cannister. A rubber mallet might be needed to lightly tap the mount to get the front end cap to break loose. Slowly pull the core all the way out, exposing all the remains. Unwrap the old packing from the core and discard. Clean the core with a wire brush to ensure no clogs and remove all old material.

Align new packing with the longest dimension to be the length the core. Wrap the core. Secure the packing with ½” masking tape near each end. The packing should be snug but not too tight. Apply a thin bead of high temp silicone to the front end cap where contact is made with the canister. Reassemble the silencer and wipe off any excess silicone.

Now your bike might have more horsepower and your ears live to hear another day!

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