Exhaust discolouring..........

[gsbiker]

That looks better but I can still see the blue staining underneath the shine near the header pipe. What buffer did you buy from B&Q and how much?

Here's a recommended polish for this sort of thing http://thewaxman.co.uk/bluebgone.aspx


PS; I heard an Acropovic Can today on a 1200 GS in the BMW workshop so the sound was enhanced by the room it was in but it sounded a lot beefier and I like it, like it a lot! Seriously thinking of getting one now!

 

[gsbiker]

You'll be a slave to the autosol now then


I cleaned my downpipes when i first got my bike.....



waste of time...

as was within 200 miles!

But at least he can keep on top of it now rather than watching his exhaust deteriorate to an even worse state.

 

[oldrascal]

I didn't keep the packaging so I don't know the precise make but I used a 4" multi-layered cloth wheel plus an additional mounting thingy and I got change out of £5. There may be better kit somewhere more focussed than Halfords. The problem with the blue nearest the head is that you can't get anything bigger than a Dremel in there and even that might be a struggle.

I think you would have to dismantle the exhaust to really work on the top part, that's why I left it and can live with the blueing. Somehow its not so objectionable as the mottled brown stuff.

And now I know how to do it, I reckon 30 minutes work every so often is well worth the result. I love the look of the GSA and also the way that the shapes and different reflections work and please the eye. Yup, its worth while keeping clean I reckon although I recognise that there are them what likes the bike dirty and muddy.

And no, I didn't buy the bike with Pink Pounds

As to the Akropovic, I have to admit that the sound is very addictive with the baffle in. Just loud and 'poppy' enough to satisfy although I haven't heard a debaffled Akro on a GS. I don't want to either 'cause I reckon it would give you a hell of a headache on a long run if the baffled variety is anything to go by.

 

[oldrascal]

Hi PH4824,

I just found this photo of my bike when under the stewardship of its previous owner, The Stig:

My guess is that this was when the bike had very low mileage as the exhausts are just turning golden brown.

So clearly the next 2,500 miles sees the top of the downpipes go from brown to blue and the rest of the system starting to go brown in an uneven manner.

Had I owned the bike at this early stage and knowing how relatively painless it is to keep the pipes free from discolouring, I would have kept on top of the problem. I guess 15 to 20 minutes of buffing with Autosol or W.H.Y. once every week or so would do, as this is only a surface problem, not as I thought - a chemical change in the chrome plate.

 

[Toddy]

On a new bike

Think I read somewhere that when you get a new bike, the thing to do is take the headers off and paint the insides with exhaust paint which will dissipate the heat and the chrome will stay....chrome

If they are off for a polish.....could be worth a go.

 

[wilbjr21]

ph4824 wrote:

I'm getting a little paranoid now,

It would appear so.

If you're bothered about your pipe's colour changing with heat get them ceramic coated.

Do not buy the Akra exhaust.

1. The can moves back and forward in the strap.

2. The strap marks the titanium as a result.

3. This will upset you. You have been warned.

4. The Akraprovic company regard this as an exhaust pipe - asolutely outrageous.

 

[gsbiker]

ph4824 wrote:



It would appear so.

If you're bothered about your pipe's colour changing with heat get them ceramic coated.

Do not buy the Akra exhaust.

1. The can moves back and forward in the strap.

2. The strap marks the titanium as a result.

3. This will upset you. You have been warned.

4. The Akraprovic company regard this as an exhaust pipe - asolutely outrageous.

O man now what should I do? Better go and get massive amounts of cotton wool sheets then and rap my baby up and walk instead!

I'm not bothered about my pipes changing colour, although you have to admit shiny chrome is nicer! I just don't like seeing what appears to be rust marks all over the exhaust after only 550 miles from new! The bike is regualry cleaned, ACF50's and kept in a garage with only selected rideouts when the roads are dry. Remember my biking is ONLY for pleasure, I can't ride to work cause I work from home and use my car.

 

[jonnie comet]

The bike is regualry cleaned, ACF50's and kept in a garage with only selected rideouts when the roads are dry. Remember my biking is ONLY for pleasure

"ONLY for pleasure".....Same here mate......ONLY way to keep a 'bike in good nick eh?........

Pictures below are of the same 'bike......Snow pic' from one year ago........Clean 'bike pic' taken within last week.....

 

[wilbjr21]

That bike does you credit.

 

[Sgt Bilco]

Yes, is that too much to ask, I mean we pay enough in road tax!!

I've ACF50 everything but I worry that I've missed something, already there appears rust on the lower part of the headers already. BMW had a look today and they think it's the ACF50 reacting to hot metal rather than rust. My bike's in for 1st service next Monday. They also said there is a metal polish called "Blue be gone" or something like that which is better than autosolve. I need to do something as this looks rubbish after 550 careful miles.

I'm getting a little paranoid now, I've used the bike on a couple of dry trips but havn't washed it down, but if I wash it down I can't easily dry it so it would stay wet and damp in a garage with no heat. I've now got in my possesion FS365 Scotoiler - will use that as well as ACF50 from now on. But it's a bit of a headache trying to avoid the brake discs

I know we are all different in the way we look after our bikes but aren`t you being a little unrealistic in the way the bike looks especially in winter? The brown on the pipes isn`t rust and will come off and the blueing is a heat reaction to the headers.

I wash mine occasionally in the winter and use either WD40 or FS365. It gets a proper clean in the spring and comes up lovely (including the headers). It also lives outside so is never dry when I put the cover on it. It`s a 56 plate and there is NO corrosion. I will admit it doesn`t look too clean in the winter but I know it won`t fall apart and half a day in April will bring it back.

I use Solvol and brillo pads on the headers but I hear Wonder Wheels is good. You should only use ACF50 once and just rinse it occasionally until you want to remove it in the spring. You are wasting your time and money using FS365 as well as it`s overkill.

They are tougher than you think

 

[gsbiker]

I know we are all different in the way we look after our bikes but aren`t you being a little unrealistic in the way the bike looks especially in winter? The brown on the pipes isn`t rust and will come off and the blueing is a heat reaction to the headers.

I wash mine occasionally in the winter and use either WD40 or FS365. It gets a proper clean in the spring and comes up lovely (including the headers). It also lives outside so is never dry when I put the cover on it. It`s a 56 plate and there is NO corrosion. I will admit it doesn`t look too clean in the winter but I know it won`t fall apart and half a day in April will bring it back.

I use Solvol and brillo pads on the headers but I hear Wonder Wheels is good. You should only use ACF50 once and just rinse it occasionally until you want to remove it in the spring. You are wasting your time and money using FS365 as well as it`s overkill.

They are tougher than you think

Thanks for you comments, good to know this info. I'm the sort of person that wants to keep his toys clean especially when new hence the over the top (maybe) in cleaning and anti-corrosion methods. As it turns out the rusty mess on my lower exhaust cleaned off easily...

 

[oldrascal]

That looks MUCH better ........yup, once on top of the job, just a little bit of TLC will keep the brightwork looking......well.....bright.

But what is that rolling stand thingy that you have used.

I presume that it makes moving the bike laterally easy but I can't get my head around how you get the bike OFF the centre stand. Doesn't the stand thingy just slide forward with the bike as you give the big push?

 

[oldrascal]

You might also want to consider a fender extender to keep your baby pristine:

It stops 95% of the crud getting thrown up and is a great addition.

 

[Jon P]

Just been reading this thread with interest - my experience with BMW since the late 1980s is the same as with Brit bikes.......single skin pipes go blue.
It starts straight away.
It was seen as a problem by a few with Brit bike owners so when the japs came along they got away with it by using twin wall pipes and thus had a lower temperature and did not go blue.
The blue (with a bit of brown) accurs at the hot areas - these are at the curve of the headers and also going into the collector. In between these two areas you sometimes get a bit of a 'straw' colour.
If you really want to get rid of some (but not all) of this colouring then a mild (acid based) wheel cleaner can help. Apply the wheel cleaner carefully with a paint brush - do not spray it on. Be aware that trying to polish the rest of the colour away with solvol autosol (or similar) is a short term measure because it is abrasive! You can remove the chrome plate!
One cure years ago was to a have a spring coil wrapped around the exhaust header to give a heatsink effect.......but now you have a spring around your exhaust!
Another 'cure' of my own a few years ago was to have a bike the same kind of blue as the pipes - A lovely R100R in what my wife called Cadbury chocolate colour!
If your exhausts change colour to a MUCH bigger extent then it is probable that it is running a bit weak but the new bikes look after their own mixture.
Certainly none of the pictures in this thread are anything to worry about.

 

[gsbiker]

That looks MUCH better ........yup, once on top of the job, just a little bit of TLC will keep the brightwork looking......well.....bright.

But what is that rolling stand thingy that you have used.

I presume that it makes moving the bike laterally easy but I can't get my head around how you get the bike OFF the centre stand. Doesn't the stand thingy just slide forward with the bike as you give the big push?

Just got these centre stand movers. They're called Big Bike Movers and cost £89 each. You roll it under your bike, line it up with your centre stand and centre stand it onto the bike mover with one castor locked in place. Then move the bike around much easier. The reverse is true when taking it off as well.

 

[gsbiker]

You might also want to consider a fender extender to keep your baby pristine:

It stops 95% of the crud getting thrown up and is a great addition.

Getting mine on Monday

 

[Davy F]

Pic update

Clean 'bike pic' taken within last week.....

I take it that your headers are stainless which have been 'WonderWheeled' ?
If they are chrome, you've done a fantastic job of de-blueing them.

Here's my GS with fresh pics taken today (28/12/2008). It now has 20702 miles and although I have got some BlueJob/Stuff left, I can't be arsed to spend the time cleaning the headers as it's just too damn cold in the garage.

 

[mamac]

Akrapovic Discoloraition

Sorry wrong place...