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Exhaust preservation

Richard Pitman

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 1, 2020
Total Posts
2,527
Total likes
633
Location
Worcester, England
Having recently got a NOS exhaust for my CL175, I wonder if there is any way that I can prolong its life ?

Obvious one is to make sure silencer is really hot before shutting down, to drive off moisture, not repeatedly doing cold starts without allowing it to get fully hot, make sure that the drain hole is clear.

Just wondering if spraying some sort of preservative / water dispersant ( ACF 50 etc ) up the tail pipe would work. Two stroke pipes seem to last forever ..
 
Keeping the bike in a dry area helps. When not using the bike for a while; I’ll spray WD40 into the exhaust until it starts to drip out of the weep holes. I think this helps as most times the rust starts at the bottom of the mufflers.
 
Everything you say + (personally) I take the mufflers off the bikes after the riding season. This way they can be stored on a dry and warm place. Before storing I clean them thoroughly, and, if needed, treat them. My 1967 CB450 K0, which I ride at least 5000 km a year (sometimes over 10.00 Km) also through rain and fog, has still the original mufflers.

IMG_0034.jpg

Every year, november / december I clean, inspect and, if necessary "update" my mufflers

IMG_0035.jpg

Always fighting rust, in this case I fill those area's with heat resistant grey paint

IMG_0036.jpg

Keep an eye on those marks, every year I clean those area's and put heat resistant grey paint on them after using a oxalic acid.

IMG_0039.jpg

And sometimes you find another ding somewhere, this case the bottom side.
 
Thanks.

Interesting to see that Honda and others used heat resistant silver paint on some of the welded areas of the pipes and mufflers. Allen Millyard mentioned this in an article where he made some 3 into 2 adaptors for the pipes on his Kawa Z900 (1350?) six cylinder conversion.
 
Interesting to see that Honda and others used heat resistant silver paint on some of the welded areas of the pipes and mufflers.

Not only on the welded area's, I think. I the case of my bomber mufflers, as well as on my dream, CB72 and CB400f I see the same silver / grey paint used throughout the whole muffler, they used so much that it runs oiut of the little holes on the bottomside of the mufflers. And it must be heat resistant, because after 55 years it's still there:

IMG_0038.jpg

Unfortunately, it didn't keep the rust away...
 
Thanks.

Interesting to see that Honda and others used heat resistant silver paint on some of the welded areas of the pipes and mufflers. Allen Millyard mentioned this in an article where he made some 3 into 2 adaptors for the pipes on his Kawa Z900 (1350?) six cylinder conversion.
Thanks Richard for turning me on to Millyard. Just WOW, hack saw??? Unbelievable, I'm sure you know Paul Brodie?
https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCZjb4tzi9ECiOhVDgoocC3Q
 
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Everything you say + (personally) I take the mufflers off the bikes after the riding season. This way they can be stored on a dry and warm place. Before storing I clean them thoroughly, and, if needed, treat them. My 1967 CB450 K0, which I ride at least 5000 km a year (sometimes over 10.00 Km) also through rain and fog, has still the original mufflers.


Every year, november / december I clean, inspect and, if necessary "update" my mufflers


Always fighting rust, in this case I fill those area's with heat resistant grey paint


Keep an eye on those marks, every year I clean those area's and put heat resistant grey paint on them after using a oxalic acid.


And sometimes you find another ding somewhere, this case the bottom side.

Great info Jensen. Will follow your procedure. Also thanks for putting in so much time, way above my skill level and understanding still, but the 5% I can follow is very informative.
 
Richard,

This is what I use on NOS exhaust systems for temperature control and not causing the headers to turn bluish. It is a product that will creep somewhat so I place it both into the header and the muffler section and any joiner pipes if connected. It does a great job on new pipes and seals and protects them, likely not indefinitely. I would also use a WD or other product if laying the bike up for a long storage as extra insurance.

Eastwood Ceramic exhaust paint for headers and exhaust systems. This picture is the products category and these products shown are for exterior headers on cars, yet there is a slightly different variation of the high temp spray can that is for internal header use. It has a 2Ft nozzle (you have to purchase aerosol can and hose in a kit, or as optional accessory) to reach down into the system and it sprays in a 360 degree pattern.

https://youtu.be/aX6kqLSFY5o

Eastwood coatings.jpg
 
That's the one and great to have on the shelf to use as needed.

I just clean the clear hose and valve assembly with my small spray gun cleaner chemical. I have used it again after 1 year of storage with 1/2 can left and it was just fine with no deterioration of the paint process.

I have done a CL175 K0 complete NOS exhaust front and back and a CB550K complete 4 into 4 front and back NOS system. Recently a friends brand new 4 into 1 header pipe complete assembly.

Here's the exhaust muffler baffle rear opening on my CL175 with the entire interior fully coated. Not a rider bike so should last a few years. ;)

P1080179.JPGP1080177.JPG
 
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