Why are these little holes in my factory mufflers?

[8Track]

Hi all,

I was poking round under the bike today looking at the exhaust system as I could hear some ticking sounds whilst standing next to the idling bike. They seemed to be coming from under the rear of the motor.

I noticed that on the underside of both exhaust canisters there is a little hole which appears to have been drilled into them. The hole faces the road (ie its at the very bottom of the canisters, and it is located at the front end, adjacent to where the clamp sits to hold on the long chrome exhaust cover. Exhaust gases were coming out of these holes, and when I covered them with my finger (in a glove) the ticking sounds went away.

Is this part of the design of the exhaust or is it a modification? If its not part of the design I'd like to plug the holes up.

Thanks,

Mark

[Dusty]

They are factory holes to aid in draining condensation from exhaust gasses. That's my guess 

Dusty

[Jess from VA]

Man-made holes beat rust holes.

[mark81]

Most if not all exhaust systems have holes for condensation drainage to prevent rust. Usually they are not large enough to hear anything unless you're on the ground next to it.