Exhaust spotting already

[S.D.Willie]

Dont quite understand but with not even 2000 miles on my bike i have spots all over the exhaust and they dont come off easily. I have never ridden in the rain and the bike stays enclosed in a cycle shell when i dont use it. I've tried mothers chrome polish and never dull. I haven't tried any steel wool just yet but i was curious as to what the consensus is. Lately I've been reading here and there about autosol. Is that my best option? I dont particularly care for the look of the black ceramic pipes and come to think of it when by bike was brand new the pipes(see pic below the day i brought it home) were never even chrome. Is this because the pipes are stainless steel? They already had a golden color to them. Is this normal? Id rather not have to take them off and get them looking more like the chrome on my other bike. Any ideas welcome.

First day pic, notice the goldish color of the pipes:

Spots after 1700 miles:

oh, i woulda added on to another thread but the most recent was was too old.

Thanks

 

[Fred]

That's what happens to chrome when it gets hot.

You can waste hours of your life every week polishing them with Autosol, or you can wear that discolored chrome like a badge of honor.

(Whaddya mean I'm opinionated?)

Fred

 

[joshfz6.2008]

i left mine alone i kinda like the bronzed color but thats just me

 

[shuckle]

I'd rather spend an hour riding then polishing my pipes. I also have a dirty bike.

 

[Rocky529]

Look at any fully faired bike, they are the same thing - just the nature of the beast and it is obvious on our bikes because of the naked look.

Get a belly pan to help the appearance if it bothers you a lot.

 

[S.D.Willie]

I'd rather spend an hour riding then polishing my pipes. I also have a dirty bike.

Ok, i havent washed her since i got her either. I like wiping the plastics down with plexus. im too lazy to wash most of the time to and would rather ride. And i can agree with the badge of honor thing..................but id rather those marks show up at 25k and not 1700 miles!!! And as far as chrome goes, arent these pipes stainless steel? My cobra pipes have a nice lifetime warranty and the chrome is superb. Im not worried about those anyhow.

But i will have to take the bronze award then.

 

[GlockDoc]

This is one reason I'm glad I have an added Lower fairing. Hides most my ugly pipes. :thumbup:

 

[shuckle]

There was a thread a couple of days ago that talked about using autosol and 0000 steel wool. I'm sure if you searched for autosol -- you'd find it.
Or I could ...
http://www.600riders.com/forum/fz6-technical/20876-keeping-down-pipes-shiny.html

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road warrior version:

two days ago I saw a thread that would clean those headers

 

[FZ1inNH]

I'm with Fred... it was a badge to wear. Dennis got the bike with that badge. Shows the bike was ridden, not spoiled, and ridden the way Yamaha intended.

No matter how hard you work at it, it'll come right back. Those are hours you could be out riding. Enjoy the road.

 

[S.D.Willie]

Look at any fully faired bike, they are the same thing - just the nature of the beast and it is obvious on our bikes because of the naked look.

Get a belly pan to help the appearance if it bothers you a lot.

The belly pan, while looking pretty awesome is just too much money for a piece of plastic that size. It doesnt bother me a ton to be honest, but however i will give the autosol a shot, i see it on ebay for cheap enough that its worth trying.
Thanks for the replies.

 

[RJ2112]

Your Vulcan Classic almost certainly has double walled exhaust pipes, so the outer surface stays nice and shiny. The insualting air between the pipe walls prevents the heat from roasting the outer pipe. The inside pipe probably looks worse than your FZ6 pipes, as it is probably made of a cheaper grade of steel than stainless.

The FZ setup being single walled, discolors more. But it's lighter, too.

 

[Andz]

Did someone say filthy headers?

 

[Budha59]

I use Autosol on my pipes and it works GREAT!

I used it on my previous naked bike's pipes as well and I could polish them once every three or four months and they would look good even after many thousands of km's.\

You get different Autosol "flavours", but I found that the Autosol marine works the best on the pipes. I think its becuase the grit in it is a bit more coarse.

Rub autosol on cold pipes and then wind a cloth around one pipe, holding one end in one hand and the other end in your other hand and use a sawing action to polish the pipe. It takes a very little bit of the bronzing away, but brings up the pipes great and removes any stains that have developed.

 

[dako81]

Yes they're stainless steel and you can clean them to look like new with autosol and the steel wool they are talking about. You can do this hundreds of time and come out with a like new finish because they are stainless steel and are not chromed. So no re-chroming, just some elbow grease. Oh and at least the tops of the headers will still turn purple and blue because of the heat treatment they're getting from the hot gases.

 

[ranieri]

AUTOSOL!!!
It only takes 20 mins a week.
I do not want this badge of honour:spank:

 

[Tailgate]

AUTOSOL!!!
It only takes 20 mins a week.
I do not want this badge of honour:spank:

ranieri: Where should we send you your check: to your home address? ---The Autosol Company

 

[ranieri]

:Flash::rockon: OH YEAH!!!

 

[Dennis in NH]

Hm... so where do we get Autosol? Home Depot, Wal Mart?

or mail order?

I know Home Depot has steel wool; if I'm bored and stuck at home, I might give it a try.

I figure I already cleaned and polished the underbelly part (front and back) and clear coated the bolts so may as well do the pipes too. That underbelly takes a beating.

Thanks,

Dennis

 

[ranieri]

ranieri: Where should we send you your check: to your home address? ---The Autosol Company

Did I mention you should use Autosol?

 

[S.D.Willie]

Your Vulcan Classic almost certainly has double walled exhaust pipes, so the outer surface stays nice and shiny. The insualting air between the pipe walls prevents the heat from roasting the outer pipe. The inside pipe probably looks worse than your FZ6 pipes, as it is probably made of a cheaper grade of steel than stainless.

The FZ setup being single walled, discolors more. But it's lighter, too.

Yes, the outer chrome pipes are basically long heat shields as opposed to the inner pipe which noone sees.