red hot!

[birdseye]

Funny one this. I have had bikes for decades and my current GS is my third one. But yesterday I saw something I have never seen before - a red hot exhaust pipe as it exits the cylinder barrel.

It could be that I simply have never noticed. Yesterday I took the bike out ( not a clever move - 0deg C, ice and some salt on the roads, but I hadnt ridden for a week and you know what its like) and came back at about 5pm as it was getting dark. A quick hose down for the salt and then put the bike into the garage running the engine up to temperature to at least dry off some part of it. So it was in the gloom of the garage that I first saw red hot pipes.

Is this something normal that I have just missed seeing before - I rarely ride at nights. Or is it an indicator of something wrong like very weak mixture?

 

[Packer]

Probably fine as long as you didn't run it for more than a minute or two. If you did you can look forward to a valve seat dropping out of the head, breaking an exhaust valve and causing a severe disruption of your bank account.

 

[Nice 'n' Fat]

Mine does that ..... if you blip the throttle you can get the headers to pulse cherry red

 

[Beemerman59]

Its normal when running up the engine stationary with no airflow.

 

[GFJ]

I had similar (albeit on a Husky) when I came back in the dark earlier this winter. Worried me for a bit but everything else still seems normal so not worried now.

 

[Deleted account 190920001]

Yep completely normal when sitting still. You should see them in a dyno!

 

[ricalnic]

Yup, my old zx9 used to glow very quickly as it sat warming on choke