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Re: Melted fairing



I believe you should have the fairing lowers replaced under warrantee, but without corrective action on your part, I think that it will just melt again!!  You may be better off getting the new fairing lowers, and riding the bike without them until a good method of repair has been found!

I had the lowers off of mt ST and noticed that the stick-on thin insullation had started to bubble out and away from the fairing towards the welds on the exhaust collector, resulting in a hole in the insullation.  I wrapped the exhaust in the prone area (welds at the collector) with one of those exhaust repair kits with the glass tape and thin metal sheet.  It looks like crap, as it can be seen from the outside, but I guess its working because the fairing has not started to melt.  It does get hot to the touch although.  Other Listers have mentioned other types of insullation that may be used, but I haven't heard of what really works, and what doesn't in this unique situation.  Ideally I would think that we would want air between the exhaust and the fairing insullation, so that the heat transmitted is radient as opposed to conductive...meaning less heat transfer to the fairing.....so simply "packing" the area with thick insullation may not necessarily do the trick, plus airflow (a cooling agent) could be compromised, resulting in even more heat buildup in the area.  Another possibility could be to "build up" the lower mounting points, placing the lower fairing farther away from the exhaust...disadvantage will be that the fairing lowers will not meet and fit properly where they meet under the bike...also decreased ground clearance (some Listers have scraped the lowers on turns).  Maybe take a hammer to the exhaust collector!!...seriously maybe filing the welds (that protrude out) may be a solution, but you are playing with fire there if you are not careful!!!  Some Listers have removed the lowers period, and ride the bike around without them.  The bike really doesn't look bad that way either, plus some say the bike is cooler (temperature-wise) to ride without the lowers, and if they are not there, they can't scrape the ground, or melt either!!   Here are a couple of posts from other Listers regarding the issue.

..there is a product out there...an
adhesive backed, 3" wide, 1/8" thick heat shield used by dirt bikers to
protect their air box from the exhaust. It is made by a company called
"100%", and should be found in an off-road bike shop. Hopes this
helps....this product does work quite well, I have used it on my dirt
bikes....Chuck Packard...99ST...Utah


Dan Curcio wrote:
You may want to try a different approach to the heat problem.  I would suggest trying a heat barrier like the auto racers use for the floors in their race cars to stop exhaust heat transfer to the interior.  There are two products of which I am aware.  There is an aluminized heat barrier that is made of the same material as header wrap but it comes in sheets and the aluminum stops any oil soaking which could lead to a fire.  The other product is a heat shield paint  which was developed by NASA for the heat tiles on the space shuttle.  It will actually insulate any surface to which it is applied and stop heat transfer by 50%.  Both of these products could be applied to the inside of the fairing instead wrapping the exhaust pipe thereby eliminating the damaging effect of pipe wraps to the header.  These products can be purchased through Racer Wholesale at 1 (800) 886-7223.  They also have a tech line at 1 (800) 397-7811.  The heat shield paint is part# RB-101 and is sold by the !
quart
for $24.99 and the aluminized heat barrier part# AUT-P100A sells for $29.99 for a 40" x 36" x 1/16" thick piece.  Hopefully one or both of these products can save your fairing.  I have not had any problems with my lower fairing yet but up here in Wisconsin we don't get a lot of really hot days.









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