I have a Rinehart 2 into 1 4.5" exhaust on my 2006 Wideglide. The muffler hits the bottom of my leather saddlebag. There is no way to adjust the bag or the exhaust.

My question is this. If I used pipe wrap and wrapped the section of the Rinehart muffler that hits the bag (from the tip back 8") would that protect the bag from burning? The bags I have are Boss Bags. Greg from Boss bags said I need 1/2" clearance but he didn't know about using pipe wrap.

 

I guess I stumped the forum on this one!

 

It's worth a try. I've seen drag cars with pipe wrap wedged between header tubes & spark plug boots, which kept the plug boots from melting. What have you got to lose by trying it?

 

I am thinking its going to work. There is no way that the Rinehart muffler that I have gets hotter than car headers. The muffler goes from 2.5" to a massive 4.5" so the gap between the actual shell of the muffler and the baffle itself is probably an 1-1/2"

That's almost like having a heat shield by itself. The bag hits sections of the muffler at the last 6".

 

I'll answer my own question. I installed the header wrap under the bag where it is hitting the pipe. I went out on a 90 minute ride in 90 degree weather. The bike was hot. When I got home I shut the bike off and I was able to grab the section of the muffler that was pipe wrapped with my hand and it wasn't burning hot. Not even close. Sure the inside of the bag was hot but not anything to worry about. I guess the header wrap did the trick. The leather on the bottom of the bag wasn't affected at all.