Cobra Tri Flo

[Old Bear]

So disappointed. I had so much good service from the Tri Ovals on my 2011 Vaquero, I knew that I couldn't go wrong with Cobra's new slip on for the 2017 Vaquero. WRONG. Less than a year old, BOTH mufflers have extensive rust ALREADY. $530! My bike stays in either my garage or in a vented CycleShell when not on the road. Can you imagine their condition in years two or three? AND COBRA WILL NOT WARRANT FOR RUST, even when this new! If you are in the market for slip on mufflers, or have a friend that is shopping, STAY AWAY FROM COBRA. Their product quality has (now) obviously fallen to crap. I had no idea, but I'm burned now.

https://1drv.ms/f/s!At7H62Y6oPElsU3vcJrOvtGjR6iR

[JD Hog]

Sorry to hear this. I have the same slip ons for my Voyager and they have been on for over a year now with no rust problems. I just went out and checked them to make sure. The bike has always been parked in a garage since it was new.

Too bad Cobra will not take care of this because the bad press will hurt them more than the cost of fixing your problem.

[Ridefree]

Sorry about the issue your having , not good at all !! I use a product called " Blue Magic " on all my chrome . A friend of mine brought his bike over . He unfortunately has to keep his bike outside for the most part during riding season and he had rust spots all over his chrome . We gave " blue magic " a shot and buffed the heck out of it and it turned out great . Not perfect but it definitely looked a whole lot better .

[dhuttonkc]

https://cobrausa.com/motorcycle_exha...time_warranty/

I think you need to call back, escalate the call above Customer Service, and read their own warranty back to them. You have a defect in workmanship, not "rust". The nickel batch was contaminated, or the cannister was not properly cleaned before it was nickel dipped.

Anybody that "knows chrome" will recognize the defect off the bat.

I believe their reference to "rust" is more related to rust in knitted seams where moisture has set, around screw holes that are damaged in installation and so forth.

And PROMISE to never mention that they replaced your mufflers. That would just "open the gates" for hundreds of calls.

[Demolition Man]

Try NEVER DULL to remove that rust. Normally, works good and protects from new rust.
I would give it a try.


Cu,
Sven

[Old Bear]

Originally Posted by Demolition Man

Try NEVER DULL to remove that rust. Normally, works good and protects from new rust.
I would give it a try.
Cu,
Sven

Thanks. I know several ways to remove rust, but the rust should not be present on any muffler this new! Having to get down on the ground to dry and polish mufflers after every rainstorm isn't what we ride for. This is obviously a defect. I am still gobsmacked that Cobra would just blow this off with such an attitude. I've sent another email, asking for them to reply to the email instead of calling me. I want an electronic confirmation that this is their official policy, and then we shall go from there.

[Old Bear]

Well, stiiilllll waiting for Cobra to reply. I simply requested that they reply to the email with what they told me on the phone. Gong on two weeks now. Either they do not want to be "on record" refusing to cover this, or they are unsure of how to proceed?
I've been sick for the past couple of weeks (damned "crud!") coughing my head off, so I haven't had much motivation to do anything. Getting a little better, so back at it. I'm still hopeful that more professional head will prevail at Cobra and they will see that this is a defect that they should make right! In the meantime, I'll keep spreading the word to forums and MCs that they may want to think long and hard before spending this kind of money on the latest Cobra products, as it looks like they have some issues to resolve.

[Old Bear]

Hey, GOOD NEWS! Cobra reached out today, and made it clear that they are going to insure this issue is resolved! It seems that the latest information that I sent has tweaked their curiosity as well. Now we are on the road to determine exactly what is going on, and that is all I ever wanted. So, after all said and done, Cobra is standing behind their product! YAY!

[BudMan]

That is good news. Nice to hear they intend to make it right.

[Rookie13]

Glad to hear Cobra is at least making an effort. Not the first rust issue I've seen with Cobra. My brother from another mother had "neighbor haters" installed by the dealer on his 2017 CVO Ultra HD. While on our first big trip last summer, upon an early am clean up- found rust and discoloration at the slip on end. After getting back home, he raised holy heck with the dealer and Cobra. They replaced the frst set, only to have them rust the same not even 1K later. Long story short, they paid for a replacement of any brand or style slip ons! He currently has V&H slash cuts.

[Old Bear]

Well crap. Just got off the phone with Cobra. So after spending $125 to insure and ship the Tri Flos back, Cobra is sending the same ones back. They used WD-40 to clean them up (I told them I knew they would clean up, that isn't the point), repacked them and replaced the tips when they found flaking chrome! They suggest that I keep water spots off the mufflers. Excuse me? Yes, if you don't remove water spots within a day or two, they will cause the muffler to rust at that spot.
So my takeaway?
They know that there is no use in replacing them, as new ones would rust up just the same.
Cobra's plating is WAY inferior to what they used to produce.
With less than 6k and 1 year, the mufflers needed to be repacked and new tips due to flaking chrome, so overall quality is nothing like it used to be either.

At least I am getting something for my $125. Unless you are building a fair-weather low-mileage "show" bike, I highly suggest looking elsewhere. I certainly will, and it now appears that will be much sooner than I planned. I typically put on about 10k a year, so I doubt these will last long. Always a shame to see what was a top-quality manufacturer slowly circle down the crapper.

[smokier]

Thanks for sharing your tale with us Old Bear. It's good to know which manufactors care about consumers and which only care about bottom line...

Ride safe,
Smokier

[buckey1313]

I probably have older set of Cobra pipes they have not rusted at all no flaking or anything I am lucky. I have since bought Freedom True Duals and me and a buddy really noticed that the Freedoms Chrome is a much brighter polish and plating than the Tri Ovals so Old Bear I am with you on this one they are walking away from what they should do something about with lame excuses. I presume maybe they have a batch of these that have a problem maybe more and they will not and do not want to open a large can of worms for one person so far.

I believe you do have a problem and lame excuse for a product that is meant or should be meant to take some abuse since this is an all weather outdoor product and they know that. If you had them for a few years 7 or so you would start to expect breakdown but not on just a couple year old product.

Shame on them spread the word please buy from others not them any longer.

[Old Bear]

Originally Posted by buckey1313

I probably have older set of Cobra pipes they have not rusted at all no flaking or anything I am lucky. I have since bought Freedom True Duals and me and a buddy really noticed that the Freedoms Chrome is a much brighter polish and plating than the Tri Ovals.

I was looking at the Freedom True Duals just a couple of days ago! I know these Cobras are not going to last, as I'm not going to lay down beside my bike to clean water spots on the mufflers every time they get wet. Besides being too damn old, that would simply be asinine! As you also have some older Cobras (I do as well, they still look good!), how would you compare the sound between the two?

[buckey1313]

Old Bear I have not started the bike yet with the new freedoms on. I was in an accident with bike last July and have been rebuilding bike better than new since then.

I should have the bike all back together and started in next couple weeks. I will do a video capture of the sound of bike. I am told by most that it is a bit louder and deeper rumble and a sweeter sound than the cobra's. I am told it is the best sound of all the pipes available for our bikes.

Will let you know once I fire her up.