About 4 months ago, was hit in the rear (slightly) while stopped at a light by a van. At first, I could not see or feel any damage. After a few days, I noticed my left exhaust was a little lower than my right. It made a slight chirping noise when at idle. I could see a tiny little nick and figured that's where her bumper had hit me.

Now, I can put 4 fingers between the exhaust and saddle bag on that left side and only 3 fingers between the two on the right side. Evidently the exhaust hanger on the left side is bent slightly.

Bike runs OK but I know the problem is there. I'm too old to get down there and give it a good look (70+) or see if I can fix it.

Is this a safety issue and my exhaust going to suddenly drop off while riding or am I just having a slight cosmetic problem?

Your expert thoughts, please.

 

I had the same thing happen to a bike I had a few years ago. Honestly, I think it would be worth your time to drop by your dealer and let them take a quick look. I personally would want to know of ANY damage cosmetic or (hopefully not) safety related. Good luck!

 

I myself would take it to my dealer/indie someone I trusted to have a look at her
In accidents there are "hidden" damages that can't be found till parts are taken off.

Try to get your insurance people on the job unless the damages don't meet your deductible, meaning not have a claim on the bike if you fix yourself so Ins Co doesn't hold your questions as a claim and ding you at time of renewal

 

I also had a small bump in the rear and what happened was the guy hit the muffler on the right side with his front tyre. This impact didn't mark anything but transferred across to the left bag mounts via the exhaust fittings which are one continuous link via the rear guard. It sheared the spring clips from the twist pin mounts and I almost lost a bag on the highway. The whole bag and muffler mounts are all interconnected to each other, so an impact on one side may break something on the other side, not the side that was hit. Cheap fix to replace all the mount fittings.

 

Your bags should come off by twisting the two quick disconnect pins inside the bag. Once the bags are removed, you will be able to see the support and top of the muffler pretty easily. That will give you an idea of how much damage you actually have. You may be able to get someone to just bend the pieces back in shape. When you put the bags back on, make sure that you have the washers installed between the pins and the bag.

 

I thought the insurance company would pay for estimates and the cost of transporting the bike to get the estimates.

 

Hats off to the OP for still riding at 70+ !!! yeah, buzz down to the dealer and have them look it over, most likely cosmetic but you never know for sure!

 

I had the same thing happen two summers ago on my 09 FLHX, rear ended, racked the exhaust by almost a half inch by a non-insured driver when my bike was new.

After closely looking it over I realized it was just cosmetic and unnoticeable to everyone but me and rode it that way until trade in.

 

Prob just a bent hanger but get it checked by someone you trust just to make sure

 

Good luck, hope you get it figured out! Never hurts to have someone look it over.