Re: hot hot hot

["David Arnett" <DArnett@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Header tape is good for racing vehicles, where header life is not an issue and reducing underhood temps is a big concern.  The tape can entrap moisture, leading to corrosion.  Also these pockets of moisture will boil off into steam.  Heaven forbid you have oil of fuel soak into the tape :-(  This is one theory of how the stick-on heat shield comes undone from the lower fairing.. as pockets of moisture will boil off, causing the heat shield to blister out, contact the collecter and burn through.

Ceramic coating may be a good idea, but is kind of expensive.  I don't know if it will make a big difference, but as the exhaust cools, it expands.  With a coating or tape, the amount of gas expansion will be occuring later in the exhaust system, and at a slower rate, thus altering the flow charactoristics of the exhaust system... not to mention your girlfriend will need asbestos shoes for the hotter silencer.  Just at glance, the three down-tubes let off a bit of heat, before joining at the collector.  I know with the fine science of trial and error "exhaust tuning", collector placement and tube lengths will make a difference in horsepower, as the exhaust pulses will help scavenge exhaust from the next exhaust pulse as long as everything is at the right place.  That CBR929 uses a special collector valve that changes with rpm to take full advantage of "scavenging", although it is a four cylinder.  Look at how funky exhaust systems look for two-strokes, where proper and exact system geometry promotes scavenging which makes big power.

I live in Houston, where the summer is long and hot.  I just remove the lower fairings, for the summer season.  The bike does not look bad, runs a hell of a lot cooler, and I do not have to worry about the lowers melting, as other's have done in the past.



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