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Message started by vinpub on 09/02/07 at 01:25:45

Title: Exhaust pipe getting Blue
Post by vinpub on 09/02/07 at 01:25:45

Just got a LS650 with ~950 miles (My first bike). It was just serviced and everything seems ok. The only thing that concerns me is, the exhaust pipe, right where it is connected to the engine and turns down has turned blue. The guy I bought it from said, that it is common with the LS650s since the exhaust runs a lttle hot. Is it true or do I need any adjustments? I should probably get the blueing cleaned up before any adustments so that I can detect if it still continues. But I have also heard that the chemical cleaners available to clear up the blue color also take away the crome. So here are the questions.
(1) is it true that all LS650s exhaust pipes turn blue at the front turn point (next to the engine). (2) Do I need any adjustments and what is it? Can I do it at home or do I need to take the bike in? (3)should I clean up the exhaust or would you advise to leave it as is?
The nike is still under warranty which i believe is trasferrable.
Thank you for help.

Title: Re: Exhaust pipe getting Blue
Post by nervekiler on 09/02/07 at 08:50:57

its like your glass bong.. the more you use it the more beautiful and colorful it gets :)

mine is a nice blue and gold color now.

Title: Re: Exhaust pipe getting Blue
Post by Ed_L. on 09/02/07 at 12:07:32

Short answers,
#1- yes all of the savages run lean which causes all the
Savages to have blue pipes at the engine.
#2- you can richen up the carb which makes the bike
run a lot cooler and better. You might see as much
as a 10% increase in power. It is possible to do the
mods if you are a decent wrencher. See the Tech
section to begin with then decide.
#3- I like the blue to gold color of the pipe on my '02
makes it looks like it has been ridden not polished.
I would leave it alone for now.

Title: Re: Exhaust pipe getting Blue
Post by pgman on 09/02/07 at 12:16:01

If you read a lot of posts here, you will find that this IS a rather common thing on the LS650. If your bike is a newer model (with only 950 miles and still under warranty, I would guess it is a late model year), the carburetor will be set to run rather lean, which I think tends to make this blue-ing worse. What we all know is that this discoloration does not necessarily mean there is anything wrong.

For now, I would suggest leaving things as they are - any modifications you may do will probably void your warranty. I can tell you that, after changing the muffler and doing the white spacer modification in the carb, my wife's 2003 seems to run better (it certainly hasn't created any problems). What suprised me was that a lot of the blue has faded into a light gold / tan discoloration. I realize that this is because the engine is running richer now, but I didn't think the blue coloration would go away that much. When we were shopping for a good used LS650, we found that almost every one had the same blue discoloration on the head pipe. I think it is one of those "endearing" qualities of the bike. Once your warranty is up (or when you' ve decided you don't care about the warranty), you could do what many of us have done and reset the carb to run a little richer. There are many posts about that on this board so just do some searching. I don't know of a way to completely keep the head pipe from turning colors. I think that would require custom heat shields like the ones that usually come with custom pipes. Or, you could just park the bike and never ride it. On the other hand, that's a lousy idea. ;D

Title: Re: Exhaust pipe getting Blue
Post by verslagen1 on 09/02/07 at 18:22:17

One other trick I've heard is to wrap copper wire around the header. How much I don't know.

Title: Re: Exhaust pipe getting Blue
Post by drums1 on 09/02/07 at 20:22:41

My '87 has 8,000 miles on it, and the pipe was a little blue at first. I got it running after a 4 year storage, and now the pipe is blue right at the engine, and then it fades into several shades of honey/gold, all the way down to the heat shield by footpeg. I need to rebuild carb again, and maybe do some re-jetting, as bike does not run real well at the moment. ( wants to die on decel/idle )

Title: Re: Exhaust pipe getting Blue
Post by vinpub on 09/02/07 at 21:20:23

Thank you very much for all your replies and promt help. I am very impressed with the interest and knowledge source here. I am glad I stumbled on this group in my search.
Thanks for your confirmation that this is normal and nothing wrong about it. As you all suggested, I am going to leave it as is until I get used to the bike and a few more miles under my belt - that's the drive belt I am talking about :-). Then I will explore carb setting option.
Thank you all.

Title: Re: Exhaust pipe getting Blue
Post by justin_o_guy2 on 09/03/07 at 23:32:38

Mine didnt turn blue while I was riding. I had quite a few miles on, somewhere approaching 500 I think, when I was running it in the driveway, trying to listen to the valves & blued it gassing it & letting it idle down. Till then, it looked new.

Title: Re: Exhaust pipe getting Blue
Post by firsts40 on 09/03/07 at 23:43:11

Mine is an 06 S40, and I have maybe an half an inch or less of blueing at the header pipe clamp. After that has a very pretty extremely light Gold color for about another 6-7 inches. I run a lot at 65-70 for 70-80 miles at a time year round here in South Mississippi. I have found that the slight Gold tint is very pretty when all polished up.
Ride Safe