Al, Roger and anyone else who has a true problem in need of a resolution -- far more value exists in discussing it here in depth, then the worry of the denigration of our beloved V-Rod's image.
Nothing in this thread came anywhere close to being a complaint fest against HD, nor did it degenerate into a flame fest. Instead we saw a couple of diligent members trying to work with the HD resources -- their local dealers, to resolve their problems (one dealer helpful and one withdrawn due to ignorance). Drew, like so many of us, has seen many Internet discussion areas that have degenerated to personal mud slinging against the Mo, dealers and individual owners. We all work hard to avoid getting personal here, and I applaud both Roger and Al for their steadfastness. Lesser men would have given up and this thread could have easily gone the way of the less respected discussion groups. This place has a different attitude, it definately rubs off on its members.
It took a couple of months of persistance, you seem to have found a viable direction for fixing the problem. I await to here from Roger about how this approach minimizes his vibration problem. Thanks for the discussion, although I have no vibration issues, I will probably re-tourqe my stock exhaust system with SE Slip-on's. I have wrestled with my exhaust since I bought the billet clamps, because they are not as easy to mount and tighten as the original strap clamps.
The V-Rod is designed and assembled to modern manufacturing standards. Many opportunities are built into that process to catch and correct defects. The MoCo and their vendor partners have instituted a Six Sigma manufacturing process to minimize those defects. It undoubtedly extends to the customer service level at the Mo which is important when tracking total quality. But the most difficult element to plug into the equation is probably the independent dealers. Training and insentives are often not enough. Leadership from the top at the dealer level is required. Many dealers may see this as an additional burden and do not have the ability to understand that Six Sigma benefits them directly, as well as their customers. Unfortunately, it won't benefit them until they get on-board.
I would think that defects in the motor of the V-Rod would be extremely rare. This part of the assembly can be the most tightly controlled tested and monitoired with the Mo's quality systems. But when the Bike arrives at the dealer and is uncrated for assembly, it becomes the dealers responsibility to assure that the Mo's specifications are extended to this part of the build. I do not know, but would assume that the third volume and slip-ons are added by the dealer. I would like to see the dealer assembly instructions, to see all the steps that the bike goes thru when being prep'd for road worthiness. Is there anyone out there who can scan a copy of that document. The Mo probably doesn't require that a V-Rod qualified mechanic preps these bikes when they are sold...
I have no doubt that the average assembler would conclude that if an exhaust is bolted up and floats in its mounts, but can be preloaded to a harder-tighter extreme of its mounts where it is restricted from motion -- that that position could be percieved as better. In fact, the nominal floating position is probably prefered for minimizing vibrations. So far evidence presented by Al points to that, I look forward to hearing more details from Al and about Rogers results.
I visited the Morgan Hill dealer (see Dana's recomendation above), they are V-Rod people! I spoke with Sam, one of their sales guys who owns a V-Rod and he is a true enthusiast. They have several v-rod customers who I also met during their openhouse event. They speak highly of the help that the dealership provides them as they strive to modify and personalize their V-Rods. You should see if they have a trailering service that can pickup your bike when you schedule service. Perhaps that can mitigate the distance and the commute.
Good luck to all, and keep posting as long as you continue with useful information.
