Should I be concerned?
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Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 83
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From: Door County, WI
Should I be concerned?
I'm hoping someone can lead me in the right direction here. I have a 95 superglide. Has EV27 cam, Ness big sucker filter, V&H style short shots with torque cones and very small baffles. No ignition upgrade as of yet. But my concern is the amount of bluin on my pipes. I read somewhere that to blue means to lean. Which in turn means melted motor. I havent noticed any starting or running issues. I did put the baffles in due to the local police informing me they are to loud. Had the torque cones in becuase of the open pipes. Any suggestions here or am I just being to cautions? EVO motors aint cheap!!
Road Warrior
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 1,476
Likes: 5
From: Florida
You can't really judge the state of tune by the exhaust pipe color. Plug condition, pinging/not pinging under throttle, popping/backfiring on decel, engine temps, and general performance are all fair indicators of AFR's condition. If the bike performs well, doesnt rattle/ping, doesnt run hot, and plugs look good you are more than likely in the safe ballpark.
Only way to be 100% certain is with a dyno tune, or set the bike up w/ AFR gauge
What jets are you running?
Oh yeah, I agree with aces, torque cones are crap.
Only way to be 100% certain is with a dyno tune, or set the bike up w/ AFR gauge
What jets are you running?
Oh yeah, I agree with aces, torque cones are crap.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 7,736
Likes: 1,524
From: Coromandel Peninsula New Zealand
Stock pipes and many aftermarket have heat shields on them which not only stop you burning your shoes but they cover the blueing, which some people find unsightly.
Chrome pipes will always blue, stainless go brown.....the issue is are they too blue for too far down the pipe? and that can depend on thickness of steel and other manufacturing factors.
Usually, if you are lean enough to fry your motor it will overrun when you switch off, pink under load, spit back when you crack the throttle or all of those things.
Check plug colour first. You don't need and AF meter on an Evo as there is enough info on jetting for various states of tune out there.
I have evidence that torque cones do make a difference as I have tried them on a few Evos with definite but not spectacular results.
Chrome pipes will always blue, stainless go brown.....the issue is are they too blue for too far down the pipe? and that can depend on thickness of steel and other manufacturing factors.
Usually, if you are lean enough to fry your motor it will overrun when you switch off, pink under load, spit back when you crack the throttle or all of those things.
Check plug colour first. You don't need and AF meter on an Evo as there is enough info on jetting for various states of tune out there.
I have evidence that torque cones do make a difference as I have tried them on a few Evos with definite but not spectacular results.
Road Master
Joined: Oct 2011
Posts: 957
Likes: 2
From: Carlsbad Springs Ontario
Im blue .
Stock pipes and many aftermarket have heat shields on them which not only stop you burning your shoes but they cover the blueing, which some people find unsightly.
Chrome pipes will always blue, stainless go brown.....the issue is are they too blue for too far down the pipe? and that can depend on thickness of steel and other manufacturing factors.
Usually, if you are lean enough to fry your motor it will overrun when you switch off, pink under load, spit back when you crack the throttle or all of those things.
Check plug colour first. You don't need and AF meter on an Evo as there is enough info on jetting for various states of tune out there.
I have evidence that torque cones do make a difference as I have tried them on a few Evos with definite but not spectacular results.
Chrome pipes will always blue, stainless go brown.....the issue is are they too blue for too far down the pipe? and that can depend on thickness of steel and other manufacturing factors.
Usually, if you are lean enough to fry your motor it will overrun when you switch off, pink under load, spit back when you crack the throttle or all of those things.
Check plug colour first. You don't need and AF meter on an Evo as there is enough info on jetting for various states of tune out there.
I have evidence that torque cones do make a difference as I have tried them on a few Evos with definite but not spectacular results.
Just point and shoot and you get the temp. of whatever the laser dot is on.
You can compare your temps. to anothers bike etc.
Great little shop tool to have around .
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Joined: Feb 2014
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From: oklahoma
i agree with spanners, exhaust pipe colors and temps vary greatly between manufacturers. the thickness of pipe used, the quality of the pipe, the thickness of the chrome, the quality, etc etc.
my new longshots are bluing about 4 inches out of the head. that is fine as i've had the bike on my lm-2 wideband and the afr's are spot on.
on our vw bugs our exhaust always turns colors, and the afr's are checked every time the engine is started (during race season) due to the datalogger on the lm-2.
plug reading is good ONLY if you know what your doing. any idiot can pull a plug and look at it, but you have to know WHEN to pull it, WHAT to look for, and HOW to make the changes. also plug condition plays a role in the readings as does the rest of the ignition system.
to be honest i've never had a failure of an aircooled engine (harley or vw) due to heat of the exhaust, heat of the oil (had oil temps above 250 lots of times), it's always the HEAD temps that kill a motor. you get your head temps over 400 and your gonna have problems quick.
my new longshots are bluing about 4 inches out of the head. that is fine as i've had the bike on my lm-2 wideband and the afr's are spot on.
on our vw bugs our exhaust always turns colors, and the afr's are checked every time the engine is started (during race season) due to the datalogger on the lm-2.
plug reading is good ONLY if you know what your doing. any idiot can pull a plug and look at it, but you have to know WHEN to pull it, WHAT to look for, and HOW to make the changes. also plug condition plays a role in the readings as does the rest of the ignition system.
to be honest i've never had a failure of an aircooled engine (harley or vw) due to heat of the exhaust, heat of the oil (had oil temps above 250 lots of times), it's always the HEAD temps that kill a motor. you get your head temps over 400 and your gonna have problems quick.
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Thread Starter
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Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 83
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From: Door County, WI
I checked my plugs today. The front is tan and the rear is tan/black. I left the torque cones in because of at first not having any baffles. THe bike performs great, no ping or popping out the exhaust. I appreciate the help. Thinking its just the make of the pipes. I have some good cleaner that helps it go away for a little while. Any opinions on exhaust wrap?
