Another member brought this to my attention for me to check mine and we have since been discussing the problem. So this is a heads up to save others the trouble..the HMF swamp series exhaust on my 850 has caused the header pipe to melt the plastic. The problem is the way the exhaust mounts it doesn't perfectly line up with the header pipe and you have to put side pressure on the pipe to get it to line up,which isn't good but IMO didn't feel like enough pressure to cause a problem with the header pipe. When I installed mine I got everything set in place with adequate clearance..well it has since moved due to the header putting side pressure on the exhaust and the header pipe is basically resting on the plastic on the inner fender just below the right rear corner of the seat.
The other member,who I am sure will post here shortly,says his is positioned so poorly that the header pipe is in a hard bind,pushed way too far to the right,so far it will likely end up causing a failure of the header bolts.
We both are in contact with HMF to find a solution.
So you might want to hold off on buying one until this is resolved...
In the mean time mine will be coming off....
I'll try to get some pics of the damage up as soon as I get a chance..

 

HO,

Sorry to hear about your issue. They certainly owe you a new exhaust that FITS! Tell them they should ceramic coat it for all your troubles.

Do you think the lineup is so bad that it's also leaking hot gases in that area?

 

It isn't leaking..the seal is good..the problem is the flex on the header pipe evenutally moved the exhaust since it isn't hard mounted(as it needs to be able to move around a little to asorb the moving and torqueing of the engine..so it just moved so close to the plastic it is basically touching. The reason that the header is so close/touching is the HMF exhaust,in addition to being off laterally also apparently holds the pipe too high..so when the pipe is in it's natural left/right position it is still too high causing the metler plastic..
The other gentlmen's was hard against the plastic until he rigged it to fit a little better. I'm sure he'll post here soon,but I'll leave him to identify himself since I didn't ask him if it was ok to mention him..this is really his find..he contacted me which made me go check mine..and he is 100% on the money with his theory about what is wrong the fitment..
His sounds like it is worse than mine..mine still is not right..mine is actually sublte but now that I look at it closer it just ins't right and needs to be fixed..melted plastic and possible premature header leaks,or worse yet broken header bolts are not a good thing!
I talked to Mike at HMF not long ago and they are out of town all weekend,going to the Indy show,but have plans to do some comparisons between their prototype and the production stuff coming off the line early next week.

 

I know when i mounted mine i had to extend the slots in the heat sheild where the hangers for the muffler go through or i could not push the muffler to the left far enough.After that everthing lined up alot easier.Something to check.

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: sdbowcrazy

I know when i mounted mine i had to extend the slots in the heat sheild where the hangers for the muffler go through or i could not push the muffler to the left far enough.After that everthing lined up alot easier.Something to check.</end quote></div>

Yes he also did that...but the problem then is it still hold the header pipe too high,check the clearance between the pipe and the plastic!
Also you likely still had to move the header pipe to the side some. That is because of the placement of the bottom mount....yours like mine may have been subtle but over time it will likely cause an issue...mine is not touching the heat shield where the hangers come down...but it is melting the plastic.


Besides the point is you had to rig or modify the machine and in a way that the instructions did not explain...and likely you could still end up with the plastic melted..

I think some of us(me included)have sadly gotten so used to making aftermarket stuff work we are just so used to having to tweak fitment issues...and this is what happens some times..I had clearance and knew it took a little moving stuff around to get it and now I have melted plastic and a header pipe that is basically formed into a bad position..is it the end of the world or anything that can't be lived with or fixed? No,I already know how to fix it and it isn't real hard..but it is sad that it has to be "fixed" rigged whatever you want to call it..and I prefer not to rig it any further without some form of compensation from HMF and them fixing it for the rest of the guys who may want to buy one and not want to have to deal with rigging it.
But I am not bad mouthing HMF..we have just contacted them and I think they deserve a chance to fix it..the only reason I posted this was to give a heads up so anyone thinking of buying one can wait until this is resolved..

 

I will keep a eye on mine,i also think they could have done a better job of fitting these when you talk to them include me in also having issues maybe they will fix it for us.

 

If you had to rig yours to fit please e-mail mike@hmfengineering.com and just give him a brief synopsis..he is already aware there is an issue..so just a couple of lines will be fine..

 

Have you tried contacting a muffler shop and asking if they could bend the header for you?. A hydraulic pipe bender would bend it in a flash.

Another option is heat resistant tape.

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: HeftyLefty

Have you tried contacting a muffler shop and asking if they could bend the header for you?. A hydraulic pipe bender would bend it in a flash.



Another option is heat resistant tape.</end quote></div>


There are many solutions that we as consumers could put in place..but they are bandaids...the purpose of this thread was to warn others. And the purpose for contacting HMF is getting the issue fixed...
I know of many ways I could fix the clearance issue and have actually already fixed mine. But we should not have to do those things and other people might not want to have to rig the exhaust.

 

I was the one that contacted HO. I received my pipe 3 days ago and started mounting it when I realized it was 1.5 inches to the left, so I redrilled my lower bracket and went on with the installation. I noticed the header is touching the plastic under the seat, so I spaced the lower bracket back with one half inch of washers but it only bought me one eighth inch. It will still melt the plastic. I called HMF and talked to a tech rep named Mike a nice fellow seemed to want to help. He e-mailed me and said to push the header to the right and put the bracket in the original place, this is how theirs was and the owner said this was the fix. This puts the header in a bad bind and will cause it to crack with the vibration of the engine and the heat. I paid 563.00 for this pipe and optimizer and have worked 2 days trying to get it on so as it will be reliable. I also filed the heat shield and moved the lower bracket but all did not stop the melting of the plastic because the inlet nipple is about one half inch to long. I e-mailed Mike back and told him the fix would not fly and that is not the quality I paid for. The owner e-mailed me back telling me how great HMF was and how great their pipes were and I was the only one with problems. BS You that have this pipe better check your installation for binds and melting the plastic under the seat, you will have more money in repairs than you would like.