SuzukiSavage.com - Header wraps worth it?

kk lewi

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Suki Love Rocks!

Posts: 134
Eastern NC

Header wraps worth it?
10/15/09 at 18:36:33

Hi folks!

I'm considering wrapping my header. I'm reading the ins and outs of it.
Pros: (I've found)
1. Lowers engine temp
2. increases HP, fuel efficiency
3. Looks bad ass

Cons: (I've found)
1. Header will be near molten temp and slag soon
2. Turns white after a year.
3. Looks like ass

I intend to wrap my header pipe to the after market muffler in a nice tan wrap and then paint my muffler black. It's lookin good in my head baby! Cheesy

I painted my muffler last weekend with some high heat stuff. Everywhere had the paint! It recommended primer....I went to five different places looking for that darn primer. Never found it. I finally got pissed off and scratched my muffler to hell hoping it would hold.... Roll Eyes

Can anyone guess the result?
Correct!
Chipping the next day. :'(

I'm sand blasting that shite off tomorrow and priming with some zinc chromate (Still!! can't find any primer for VHT paint for the re-coat).
Oh dear I've rambled.... Embarrassed

I just love talking about my bike! Kiss

Where was I?

What do you folks have to say about header wrapping? Is silicone spray needed?

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kevinphan Full Member Offline Posts: 220 Dracut, Massachusetts Gender:	Re: Header wraps worth it? Reply #1 - 10/15/09 at 18:46:31 When you wrap it make sure you wear gloves and have a buddy to help, the wrap will be much tighter that way. P.S Wrap from the muffler up towards the exhaust port, much cleaner looking.
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groupus

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Re: Header wraps worth it?
Reply #2 - 10/15/09 at 18:59:33

i used a rattle can of high temp paint on my muffler, it chips off easy too.

i don't see how exhaust wrap could accomplish any of those pros. as far i know, all it does is make the pipe cooler to the touch. the biggest con to wrapping is that it hold moisture and will cause it to rust (eventually). I'm waiting til my pipe looks bad then i'll clean it up, heat paint it to prevent more rust, and wrap it.

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Faster, faster, faster, until the thrill of speed overcomes the fear of death. ~Hunter Thompson

'03 Savage bobber. Rebuilt too many times.

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kk lewi Full Member Offline Suki Love Rocks! Posts: 134 Eastern NC	Re: Header wraps worth it? Reply #3 - 10/15/09 at 19:20:47 kevinphan wrote on 10/15/09 at 18:46:31: When you wrap it make sure you wear gloves and have a buddy to help, the wrap will be much tighter that way. P.S Wrap from the muffler up towards the exhaust port, much cleaner looking. I read that somewhere and couldn't compute why...Now it does. Thx!
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kk lewi

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Suki Love Rocks!

Posts: 134
Eastern NC

Re: Header wraps worth it?
Reply #4 - 10/15/09 at 19:38:37

groupus wrote on 10/15/09 at 18:59:33:

i don't see how exhaust wrap could accomplish any of those pros. as far i know, all it does is make the pipe cooler to the touch. the biggest con to wrapping is that it hold moisture and will cause it to rust (eventually). I'm waiting til my pipe looks bad then i'll clean it up, heat paint it to prevent more rust, and wrap it.

I don't really understand myself. Embarrassed

I think it has to do with keeping the heat in the pipe. The more heat the faster fuel/air mixture is able to escape. While all the lovely fuel/air is escaping more air is able to mix with newly acquired gas. The new air doesn't need as much gas.

"It get's out faster, makes it better". /shrug

I'm not too worried about moisture because my bike is my primary. Suki Love gets ridden almost every day. Wink

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FishHunt YaBB Newbies Offline SuzukiSavage.com Rocks! Posts: 28	Re: Header wraps worth it? Reply #5 - 10/15/09 at 23:36:07 You could always have the header and muffler powder coated in the color of your choice. It stays on much better than paint and is very durable. <><Fish
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Serowbot YaBB Moderator ModSquad Offline OK.... so what's the speed of dark? Posts: 28725 Tucson Az Gender:	Re: Header wraps worth it? Reply #6 - 10/15/09 at 23:53:59 Quote: Header wraps worth it?... In a word,....... No... You just gotta' want 'em bad enough to justify 'em...
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kk lewi Full Member Offline Suki Love Rocks! Posts: 134 Eastern NC	Re: Header wraps worth it? Reply #7 - 10/16/09 at 04:51:14 Serowbot wrote on 10/15/09 at 23:53:59: Quote: Header wraps worth it?... In a word,....... No... You just gotta' want 'em bad enough to justify 'em... I fear I may be in the want 'em and justify 'em basket.
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kk lewi Full Member Offline Suki Love Rocks! Posts: 134 Eastern NC	Re: Header wraps worth it? Reply #8 - 10/16/09 at 05:37:06 FishHunt wrote on 10/15/09 at 23:36:07: You could always have the header and muffler powder coated in the color of your choice. It stays on much better than paint and is very durable. <><Fish just checked this out and upon reading this would prob be my first choice. Unfortunately I can't fit it in the budget right now...
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justin_o_guy2 Serious Thumper Offline What happened? Posts: 55279 East Texas, 1/2 dallas/la.	Re: Header wraps worth it? Reply #9 - 10/16/09 at 06:20:00 1. Lowers engine temp 2. increases HP, fuel efficiency I was under the impression that engine efficiency increased with temperature. I thought that was the whole reason for the experiments with ceramics.. I also thot that wraps kept the exhaust hotter, & that wouldnt translate to a cooler engine, would it?
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Rocco

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Re: Header wraps worth it?
Reply #10 - 10/16/09 at 08:43:55

well if u love the smell of burnt pop tarts then get the header wrap!!

i didn't use silicone spray just soak the thing in water and pull tight. mine was in the process of working on my tank so it dried for about 3 days before i put the header back on...don't ask me how to let it cure lol

it definately looks better, and i know on a drag car a head wrap makes a difference, not sure on a motorcycle.

and there's nothing wrong with it tearing away and lookin like crap Grin

OH! when i changed my oil the other day i spilt oil on the header wrap, and she smokes like a chimney for a little while after that! kinda cool if u ask me!! i acutally thought i had a leak at first til i remembered how much i spilled on there!

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'95 bobber rat...i guess it's a "bat bike" haha flat black mostly, bare metal tank, header wrap, always a work in progress !

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srinath Serious Thumper Offline I love YaBB 1G - SP1! Posts: 5349	Re: Header wraps worth it? Reply #11 - 10/16/09 at 10:46:53 Good chrome will not take paint. Do not sandblast it away, as it gets rust and turns crappy, it will take paint more and more. My sportster muffler didn't take paint at all. It will crack all over and literally flake off. Big deal, the header had rust and it got nice coat. That's all counts. Cool. Srinath.
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whistler2000 YaBB Newbies Offline SuzukiSavage.com Rocks! Posts: 18	Re: Header wraps worth it? Reply #12 - 10/16/09 at 16:46:56 Hey, has anybody else used black header wrap only to have it fade out to greyand in some places, white?
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Rocco Serious Thumper Offline addicted 2 riding TcB Posts: 1049 south florida Gender:	Re: Header wraps worth it? Reply #13 - 10/16/09 at 21:00:07 yes, my black is now grey, and soon to be white i assume lol
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kk lewi

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Suki Love Rocks!

Posts: 134
Eastern NC

Re: Header wraps worth it?
Reply #14 - 10/17/09 at 11:29:17

thank you for the tip on sandblasting! So I'm not going to do that. I'm just going to get as much off as I can using elbow grease. I have some primer now, zinc chromate, and hopefully it will hold the paint better.

Here you can see where the paint is already chipping.
http://www.esnips.com/doc/614b71ac-2aae-4b09-9793-6ce179113ace/003

This joint here. It is the joint between the header pipe and slip on muffler. Do I need some kind of muffler gunk to go between them? It had a bunch of black rubbery stuff in that joint. It didn't seem to do anything tho as the muffler came right off the header pipe when I loosened the clamp holding it. I'm certain this joint is why my bike backfires so much.
http://www.esnips.com/doc/e2493a46-f642-4692-ad9d-e082ace1be10/005

Clamp where you can see the black rubbery stuff it had on it.
http://www.esnips.com/doc/084b8f4f-8cf5-4331-9839-019a9c24ccc1/006

Here I give my opinion on the matter. Angry

http://www.esnips.com/doc/f16607a1-d23a-42e8-813c-fd861788ef21/008

Here I wave to the American mainland from my wee island. Cheesy

http://www.esnips.com/doc/84f40c09-ae89-431a-8332-bc7741949943/010

Sorry for the links. I don't know how to post pics. Embarrassed

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