Recently I've noted that while riding my bike the underside of my right thigh was a little warmer than usual. Today, when cleaning my '02 RK Classic I noted a crack in the Exhaust pipe. The crack is at the "Y" (or exhaust 'fork') an inch or two from the rear cylinder (the crossover pipe).

I found the part in www.bikebandit.com (OEM#1931641-001) for $165.

Question: Any indication why this happened? Any suggestions on the difficulty of tackling this replacement myself or should I take it to our local HD shop?

 

I had that problem with my Tourglide. It happened twice. The second time it happened I took the new part to a welding shop and had a gusset welded at the "Y". It never happened again.