Hello all, just started this again so I'm new to it.... wondered if anyone could help me? I've got a XVS 650 Dragstar, she's a 2001 model and the heat guards are falling off the the exhaust, I've riveted them back on but one of them came off last week while I was on the motorway, lost it completely... does any one know where I can get a new one without having to buy the whole exhaust????

I would try e-bay, Craigs list, or judging by your accent, the european equivalent to either of those web sites. You may not be able to buy just the heat shield, but you can probably get a good deal on a complete used exhaust system that someone took off to add an aftermarket one. When you had your first problem with the heat shield, the best way to fix it would have been to have the brackets TIG welded back on. The pop rivet was a good try, but those little guys just aren't that strong and with the engine vibration and chance of the rivet being a different base metal than the exhaust and heat shield, it just wasn't going to be that durable a repair.

I would try e-bay, Craigs list, or judging by your accent, the european equivalent to either of those web sites. You may not be able to buy just the heat shield, but you can probably get a good deal on a complete used exhaust system that someone took off to add an aftermarket one. When you had your first problem with the heat shield, the best way to fix it would have been to have the brackets TIG welded back on. The pop rivet was a good try, but those little guys just aren't that strong and with the engine vibration and chance of the rivet being a different base metal than the exhaust and heat shield, it just wasn't going to be that durable a repair.

Thanks Bud, the heat guards were riveted originally, I just kept replacing them as they started to wear. Unfortunately once I started to do long distance journeys the problem got worse. thanks for the tip, I'll try ebay...