Discolour on Arrow Exhaust

[Jendker]

Discoloration on Arrow Exhaust

Hello everyone, this is the fist topic which I am posting on this forum

I have a problem with my Arrow Exhaust which as I mentioned in topic get discoloured. They get black dots and small amount of yellowish colour (on one pipe only) at the end. Here it is how it looks:

I wouldn't be that worried if it would happen since I owned this lovely FZ6 but it started to show up just recently.
I have a photo of clean exhaust but I don't think it is necessary to upload it
What is quite strange the exhaust feels pretty cool after the ride so I am suprisied that something like this happen.
I personally didn't make any modifications to the bike whatsoever.

What may be the cause of it? Is it possible that I have run my motobike after washing it and not allowing it to dry enough and this is the cause?
I have no idea and I must admit I loved the way of look of the pipes. It's not a huge difference but I would like to keep it clean as much as possible.

How is it possible to avoid it from getting more discoloured in the future? And are there any smart specifics to clean it out? Thank you guys

EDIT: Is there any way to change the thread name? Because it is not the best English.

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

Are you referring to the small dark spots?

If so, is it JUST AFTER YOU WASH IT? If so, its likely just water blowing out the exhaust.

One pipe will likely be a little cooler than the other normally as the "Y " pipe is a straighter run to the other USUALLY.

I know you mentioned YOU didn't make any mods to the bike BUT, does it have an aftermarket fuel manager installed???

And out of curiosity, what mileage are you getting (in US Gallons if you could please). Should be close to 45-47MPG for a stock bike.. If its considerably lower (without a lot of WOT runs) it may be running too rich.


IF your getting those spots AFTER THE BIKE IS GOOD AND DRY, (exhaust heated up, etc) it may be spots of oil/fuel...

When was the last time you changed the oil?

Are you getting ANY BLUE smoke from the mufflers, ESPECIALLY ON deceleration(operating temp)?

 

[Jendker]

Thank you Townsends for quick and extensive response

I took me a bit longer than I expected to make the response because a got a strange 403 error while submitting the reply.

Regarding your questions:
Yes I am refering to those small spots which in fact were not present when I bought the bike.

I noticed that the yellow discoloration appeared after the ride before which I washed the bike. I've run the motorcycle for 5-10 minutes on idle to dry it out but maybe it wasn't enough.

I cannot tell for 100% that my FZ6 doesn't have any fuel managers, but the previous owner didn't mention any. Normally it does something like 45 MPG, but lastly I managed to make 200 miles with 51 MPG. It was on route travelling mostly at 80 mph, sometimes I pushed to 100 mph but it was with a passanger and small luggage. I would say that the fuel consumption is not lower than normal after reading what the others said about the consumption but if I could check easily if I have a fuel controller I would like to do it.

I changed the oil half a year ago so this is not the case.

I don't get any smoke out of the pipes but it makes an explosion sound during deceleration which I think is normal. In fact the pipes get quite hot on a warm day even though I mentioned different in the previous post.

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

No problem.

I'd just keep an eye on it (especially after the bike is dry).

Just as a side note, instead of letting it sit there idling to dry, if you have (or can pick up) a cheap electric leaf blower, it works GREAT for drying the bike. It'll get into all the nooks and crannies.

I dropped a bunch of $ on a MC specific dryer (works really good- [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Air-Force-Blaster-Motorcycle-Dryer/dp/B00DOOA1CG"]Amazon.com: Air Force Blaster Motorcycle Dryer: Automotive[/ame] ), but for 1/4 the price, the leaf blower works just as well. I have one out by the boat just form drying the boat after a wash, etc.

As for the fuel controller, your good mileage is an indicator you Don't have one. Their 99% of the time mounted under the seat and is quite obvious its an aftermarket part and not stock.

Some bikes with aftermarket pipes (especially with a K&N filter) tend to back fire on de-cel, some lope some at idle.

I have the stock air filter on mine, open Scorps and get NO de-cel pop, dead steady idle (about 1,100 RPM's). Both cats still on, AIR pump still on, never messed with the O2 settings...

 

[Jendker]

Thank you for your help!

In that case I will keep an eye on it, if things develop in any way I will post about the changes at this topic

In fact I knew that it is important to be carefull with the motorcycle after the wash but I didn't expect it to be so problematic. I will think about a dryer in the future.

I don't get any problems with the bike, it works smooth while riding. In fact it lopes on idle, but sometimes it gets steady with rpms, I don't see any correlation when it lopes or it doesn't.
I've just checked the TPS using diag and it showed 101 at full open throttle. I guess I should replace the TPS unit... May it have anything to do with the bad combustion - marks on the exhaust pipes?

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

The lope is pretty common with the aftermarket pipes AND an aftermarket air filter. Nothing to be overly concerned about..

Re the dryer, it much easier and works considerably better. Just something to think about. Its rare I have to take a towel to dry my bike after using the blower to dry it. And work top to bottom...

Besides, its not the best thing you can do to just let the bike sit and idle for extended periods of time..

Re the TPS, you don't have any running issues (as described) indicating the TPS is failing. A high reading of 101 won't hurt anything. Turning the throttle slowly while checking the #'s, that their ALL THERE and there's NO skipping is what your looking for.

As a side note, adjusting the TPS with a higher than say 100 simply tells the computer the throttle is open further than it actually is (enriching the mix very slightly). On my old FJR, it had a re-called TPS. The machine was VERY lean below 3,000 RPM (actually surged while holding the throttle steady at about 3k). Mama Yamaha (in CA) had them set it to (as I recall 102 or 103).

Check the "stickies" in the tech section, there's MUCH more on the TPS (but I don't think you have an issue with it)..

 

[Jendker]

Could you only tell me what I should clean these marks on pipes with? Are there any chemicals or should I polish it after some time when I will see that it stopper from appearing? Because it's not the rust I guess, what should I look for if the chemicals are able to clean it?

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

Could you only tell me what I should clean these marks on pipes with? Are there any chemicals or should I polish it after some time when I will see that it stopper from appearing? Because it's not the rust I guess, what should I look for if the chemicals are able to clean it?

You talking about the header itself? The header and mufflers can be polished and cleaned;

My post is # 8 in this thread;
http://www.600riders.com/forum/gara...aust-pipe-stains.html?highlight=polish+header

 

[Jendker]

Just to inform about the issue development. After being more careful with the residual water (as I don't have any dryer I started to leave the motorcycle for a bit longer after wash to make sure that the motorcycle is completely dry) and the discolourations disappeared from exhaust by itself what was great to see Thank you for your advices, I will think about cleaning the header and mufflers during the winter, the effects on your Fazer are tremendous!

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

If you have a cheap electric (or gas) LEAF BLOWER, it works very well at blowing 98% of the water off your bike without leaving spots, etc.

Gets into the nooks and crannies very well.

You'd be surprised how much water the radiator itself will hold after a wash just sitting...