Exaust header cleaning tips

C Ingram said:
Any best practices for cleaning the exaust headers?

Thanks
Chuck
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Clean and polish them often. Good chrome cleaner/polish will leave a protective film on the pipes to help protect it from the elements. I polish mine about every other week rain or not.

My polish of choice is Simichrome.
3669d1280674168-exaust-header-cleaning-tips-simichrome.jpg


Info about this product.
http://www.competitionchemicals.com/simichrome/
 
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Just a question here, my headers are kind of gold, and i already use a product that had little effect. I was woundering if this gold in 07 models are coated, and had to use a product for this kind of metal?
 
Maverick01 said:
Just a question here, my headers are kind of gold, and i already use a product that had little effect. I was woundering if this gold in 07 models are coated, and had to use a product for this kind of metal?
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The pipes turning a slight golden color happens over time. It can be cleaned off. I use a product called Wicked Lightning shine. But there are other metal polishes that will work. check this link: http://www.998cc.org/forum/main-lobby-new-member-section/6525-washing-your-bike.html#post21100
 
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To get rid of that gold patina, a little elbow grease and barkeeper's friend works great (better than the blue stuff you get at the auto parts store). You can get the stuff at the grocery store in the cleaner isle for about $3 or maybe cheaper at Dollar General.
 
Maverick01 said:
There´s a lot of choice at wicked, do you recommend anyone in special?
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Wicked "Metal Polish" The small bottle will go a long, long way.They used to call it "lightning Shine". It works awesome on aluminum or stainless. Be sure to shake it well to mix the solids with the liquids and use sparingly. polish with the grain of the metal and you will be impressed. I used it on many trucks and always got a mirror shine even when the metal was very dull.
 
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Well, finally got time to do some detail cleaning on the bike and spent some time on the Exaust headers. Used Bartender's Friend to clean them and then some Blue Magic metal polish and this is the result. Pretty pleased with the outcome.

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Didn't get a before picture but they look much better now and I'm sure with more frequent cleaning they should be easily kept this way.

Chuck
 
On my FZ6, the pipes were impossible to keep clean and they just turned blue so I left them. On the FZ1, the headers are still quite shiny and polished looking, no matter how hard she is run. I like the FZ1 headers a LOT!
 
C Ingram said:
Well, finally got time to do some detail cleaning on the bike and spent some time on the Exaust headers. Used Bartender's Friend to clean them and then some Blue Magic metal polish and this is the result. Pretty pleased with the outcome.

Didn't get a before picture but they look much better now and I'm sure with more frequent cleaning they should be easily kept this way.

Chuck
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Have you taken care of A/F mixture ratio after you installed slip-on? The headers are overheating and getting blue - means too much air and not enough fuel "lean A/F".
 
motoaddict72 said:
Have you taken care of A/F mixture ratio after you installed slip-on? The headers are overheating and getting blue - means too much air and not enough fuel "lean A/F".
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Not yet. I am going to soon though as well as a spark plug change.

Any advice on the best practice for the A/F mixture? I know it's lean because I'm getting a good bit of popping on deceleration.
 
With every change that affects A/F mixture, I have disconnected the battery over night to reset the ECU. After this reset, the ECU will re-map itself on the next run so long as you still have the O2 sensor installed and operational. The fun part is, because the system's closed-loop doesn't kick in until higher RPMs, you get to take her up to redline to get this job done. It's always run very smoothly after this type of reset.

BTW, stock '09? When does open loop end and closed loop really kick in? I honestly never looked for that information. Thanks!
 
FZ1inNH said:
With every change that affects A/F mixture, I have disconnected the battery over night to reset the ECU. After this reset, the ECU will re-map itself on the next run so long as you still have the O2 sensor installed and operational. The fun part is, because the system's closed-loop doesn't kick in until higher RPMs, you get to take her up to redline to get this job done. It's always run very smoothly after this type of reset.

BTW, stock '09? When does open loop end and closed loop really kick in? I honestly never looked for that information. Thanks!
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Eric you might have your terminology backwards here. Closed loop is the computer relying on the O2 sensor to make A/F changes and occurs at lower RPMs and smaller throttle openings. On the FZ1 anytime you go over 40% throttle then you're going into open loop and the ECU no longer relies on the O2 sensor to make A/F changes at that point.
 
C Ingram said:
Not yet. I am going to soon though as well as a spark plug change.

Any advice on the best practice for the A/F mixture? I know it's lean because I'm getting a good bit of popping on deceleration.
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Somebody please step in and set this straight. I was taught that popping on deceleration is caused by a RICH, not lean mixture.
 
meinschaft said:
Somebody please step in and set this straight. I was taught that popping on deceleration is caused by a RICH, not lean mixture.
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I was basing my comment off or racing 4 stroke dirt bikes. Whenever you got popping on decel, it was a sure indication that you were lean and needed to get a richer mix. I assumed the same applied to the street bike.
 
NJFZ1 said:
Eric you might have your terminology backwards here. Closed loop is the computer relying on the O2 sensor to make A/F changes and occurs at lower RPMs and smaller throttle openings. On the FZ1 anytime you go over 40% throttle then you're going into open loop and the ECU no longer relies on the O2 sensor to make A/F changes at that point.
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Dyslexic Eric strikes again.... ;) Thanks for correcting that Tony and yes, I did speak to that totally backwards!
 
I just use brasso on mine whenever I clean my bike which is very often. Don't see the point of buying anything more expensive than cheap ole brasso. The results on that particular item will be the same. Hey It's a header that's exposed and gets really hot so stuff will stick and harden to it.
 
The quickest and easiest way to get baked on crud off headers I found to be Fine Bronze Wool. It will not scratch chrome or other like finishes and it works where typical cleaners/polishes don't do a thing. After you get them clean with the Bronze wool then apply a good polish like autosol or whatever kind you choose.
 
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