No SWing exhaust/muffler rusting/self-destructing?

(FYI, I don't own an SWing, yet.)

I do have a Burgman 400 and a Helix.
Both are known to have exhausts that
die early deaths. The Helix's doesn't bother
me so much because it is still relatively quiet.
It rattles on bumps, but the exhaust noise is okay.

The Burgman--after another ride today, I am
very, very close to selling it. I hate loud pipes.
A new one costs $500 (for an '03. Newer model
Burgman's take newer exhausts that cost only (?)
$375. But they too last only about 18K miles.
Aftermarket--cheaper but too loud for my tastes.

I was starting to think this, the troublesome
exhaust thing, was a scooter thing. Mufflers that
are necessarily shorter, more massive, not heating
up sufficiently on shorter trips?

So I came on here and searched muffler and
exhaust and I am not finding any problems
with the SWing exhaust. Is this true?
Do they last practically forever or do you all like loud,
rotted exhausts? I am particularly interested in
hearing from people with upwards of 40K miles on older
SWings, whether there are issues.
Thank you all.

jimrockford wrote:

So I came on here and searched muffler and exhaust and I am not finding any problems with the SWing exhaust. Is this true? Do they last practically forever or do you all like loud, rotted exhausts? I am particularly interested in hearing from people with upwards of 40K miles on older SWings, whether there are issues.

I have a 2007 with 41K miles.
I have not had any problem with my exhaust rusting or loudness.

Jim,

I have an '07 with a little over 28,000 miles and have no problems whatsoever. I have had the Reflex and the Majesty and I have heard that engines that are mounted to the swingarm have more problems, since the engine does move up and down. I didn't have any problems but my Majesty only had 12,500 miles when I sold it. But I don't think you will run into that problem with a frame mounted engine. Just my opinion though.

I know I don't have 40,000 miles but I don't see any problem with my exhaust at all. It still looks and sounds brand new, except for a very small scuff when the bike was knocked over.

i have 63000 on my '04 swing and have had no problems--yet. no signs of rust.
i have 47000 on my '03 reflex and have had no problems--""
i don't take short trips. all mine are at least 140 miles.

Tom,

U da Man !!! That is a lot of miles. I should start a post to see who has the most miles on their SWing. I think you may be one of the highest ones on the site. Although, it seems like Bill is closing in very fast.

JeffR wrote:

That is a lot of miles. I should start a post to see who has the most miles on their SWing. I think you may be one of the highest ones on the site. Although, it seems like Bill is closing in very fast.

There is a post which is a poll for miles https://www.silverwing600.com/polls-section-f17/silver-wing-mileage-in-miles-t775.htm ... will that do??

The poll can be modified to accurately reflect current mileage.

I will have to update my poll in another 4,000 miles.

JeffR wrote:

<snip>
I have heard that engines that are mounted to the swingarm have more problems, since the engine does move up and down.
<snip>

I really like the sound of that theory.
Can you clue me into the design of those two--Majesty
and Reflex--whether they have the engine moving with the
wheel? I am guessing that the SWing doesn't do that.

You've all been very helpful. Thanks again.

Jim,

The only scooter with frame mounted engines are the SWing , Burgman 650, and the T-max...that I know of. I didn't have any problems with the Majesty but I only had 12,500 miles on it though.

Could the swing possibly have a stainless steel muffler/tail pipe? People say a magnet won't stick to stainless ... but I don't have a magnet and my bike is snowed in for the winter so I can't experiment. My Toyota car has a stainless system as they told me at Midas when a snow chunk ripped the pipe loose from the muffler...but I still don't have a magnet so can't prove that it is true.

My '68 125 Scrambler's pipe rusted out as did my mini trail 70's. The Rebel's muffler hasn't that I know of but it is locked in a garage and my daughter-in-law who has it is now in Iraq. As mentioned above, my scoots have not rusted... yet.

The SW has a steel, not SS, muffler and pipe. The muffler is pretty heavy gauge steel for a small bike. As for how long it will last I can't say, my '04 only has around 7000 miles on it so far, building up faster now that I bought it.