Muffler failure catastrophic

    Quote from Orangeman


    ....

    @Orangeman i also spilled my coffee, I love how people like to throw out the word class action left and right every time something happens.....


    Is there a written MTBF stated?, I am not talking about "implied" warranty but an actual statement where it states the length of time that we can expect the parts to work?

    Is not that I am mean, I just don't sugarcoat what I say.

    Quote from deaf1

    Alpha and Henry are more than aware of the problem. I have spoken to the one mystery employee and they have relayed all of this to Henry.


    Now I am hearing rumbling of a class action lawsuit


    Try to squash that one before it gets off the ground. Not many plaintiffs will be happy when they realize their share of any award will probably be less than 10% of original value. The lawyers take their 30% (or more), plus expenses (private jets ain't cheap) off the top and whatever is left gets split among the plaintiffs. Also, if the Class actually won, the financial hit to Alpha could permanently close their doors. Everybody loses... except the lawyers.


    Sent from my Nexus 6P


    "Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so."
    ― Douglas Adams

    Quote from Gadgeteer

    Try to squash that one before it gets off the ground. Not many plaintiffs will be happy when they realize their share of any award will probably be less than 10% of original value. The lawyers take their 30% (or more), plus expenses (private jets ain't cheap) off the top and whatever is left gets split among the plaintiffs. Also, if the Class actually won, the financial hit to Alpha could permanently close their doors. Everybody loses... except the lawyers.


    Sent from my Nexus 6P

    @Gadgeteer then the rest of us need to start a class action on the people who filed the first class action.....

    Is not that I am mean, I just don't sugarcoat what I say.

    Back to my repair. Big dog recommends Heliarc welding. What is the material the can is made of, titanium, stainless, ?? I have removed it and got it cleaned up. Need to know the material and best method if all agree with bigdog that’s what I will do. See pics of cracks. Oh 45 min to remove exhaust, easier than I thought.

    I agree, so stainless? Anyone? I did have one welder look at it and he suggested titanium....but I can’t see it either. A magnet did not stick to it....so...just want to get the right weld for the material. Anybody know?

    Quote from Moto864

    I agree, so stainless? Anyone? I did have one welder look at it and he suggested titanium....but I can’t see it either. A magnet did not stick to it....so...just want to get the right weld for the material. Anybody know?

    Don't know for sure because I don't have it any longer but I was told it was stainless.

    Quote from deaf1

    I gots no control over that, not my idea, was just telling you guys about it....


    Not everyone can swallow a $600 muffler


    True. Some can, but not with smile. But a Class Action (CA) suit won't help anyone that bought that $600 muffler, at least not much. Assuming the CA won, I doubt the Class would walk away with more than $100/each and that is being generous. Either way, all the Class members will be taking a loss and an award won't make much difference. The purpose of a CA suit is to punish the defendant for wrong-doing, not to make the plaintiffs whole. Therefore, there is never going to be an award that comes remotely close to covering the loss of the entire Class.


    I assumed the mention of a CA was not your idea since you stated you heard "grumblings" of it. No, I only meant that being one of the people affected, and having heard those grumblings, you might want to step in and extinguish the flame before it becomes a fire.


    Right now, Alpha has a chance of trying to make things right for the individuals that have been affected, even if it takes some time, effort, and negotiation with the affected customers. They are a small business and probably don't have a lot of cash in the bank, so that may be overly optimistic, but it is at least a possibility.


    However, if a CA is filed, that window closes and will likely never reopen. The cost of defense alone would cripple Alpha and any hope of working things out individually goes out that window when it closes. If you have any hope that Alpha will try to mitigate your loss, a CA will take it out of your hands without your consent and the result will be little better than your initial loss.


    Alpha has stopped offering the muffler (goodbye revenue) and their reputation is damaged (adios customer loyalty), so they are already feeling the pain on their bottom line. If they can weather this, they may recover and be able to make amends. In the meantime, they have other products that are of good quality that can keep them afloat long enough to fix the muffler problem and possibly replace the bad ones. If Henry is as credible as some are claiming then I think that could be a real possibility. If you agree, then I recommend you try to convince the grumblers to forget about starting a CA and keep trying to work things out. Maybe join together as a group and petition Alpha to open a discussion about reparations, even if its only to repair/reinforce the existing units, like Polaris did with the swingarm recall.


    Just my two cents, for what it's worth. ☺️


    Sent from my Nexus 6P


    "Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so."
    ― Douglas Adams

    Quote from Moto864

    I agree, so stainless? Anyone? I did have one welder look at it and he suggested titanium....but I can’t see it either. A magnet did not stick to it....so...just want to get the right weld for the material. Anybody know?


    Definitely Austenitic stainless steel (300 series) because the Martensitic and Ferritic grades (400 series) are magnetic. Most likely, they used type 304, which is the most common. Type 321 (having a touch of titanium in the mix) can withstand frequent heat spikes above 800°F so that's not likely considering how it's cracking.


    Sent from my Nexus 6P


    "Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so."
    ― Douglas Adams

    Quote from Gadgeteer

    Definitely Austenitic stainless steel (300 series) because the Martensitic and Ferritic grades (400 series) are magnetic. Most likely, they used type 304, which is the most common. Type 321 (having a touch of titanium in the mix) can withstand frequent heat spikes above 800°F so that's not likely considering how it's cracking.


    Sent from my Nexus 6P


    Clarification: Type 409 was developed for automotive applications, particularly exhaust systems. However, as noted above, 400 series types are supposed to be magnetic. If the Alpha muffler is not magnetic, then it is more likely a 300 series type as suggested above.


    Sent from my Nexus 6P


    "Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so."
    ― Douglas Adams