I'd like to know what the reason is to wrap the exhaust pipes? Is it to keep the heat off your legs? Is it just for looks? I like the look but don't know why people do it.

 

Did mine for heat and looks, on the stock exhaust till I get an HP exhaust system (D&D Bobcat) probably wrap it also. I used the Lava titanium 2" wrap from Summit.

 

As with cars wrapping the exhaust properly keeps the heat high inside the header helps with the scavenging of gases keeping the speed of the exhaust high. That is what you want. Engine is an air pump. You want nice clean cold dense air going in and hot waste going out as quickly as possible to clean out the cylinder.

Side benefits are: keeps heat off the rider, lowers temp around the engine especially in stop and go traffic where the airflow is lowered.

 

Any of the quality wraps will do the more expensive wraps are no better than the others as long as you do it properly. Basically no improvement with the exotic stuff.

You want around a 1/4 inch overlap and spray it will the silicon stuff you'll want to impregnate it pretty good. This will help it resist water, road grime and keep them lasting a it longer and keeps them from getting ratty looking.

I prefer the silicon spray with the black dye in there which helps cover up dirt etc.

 

I was going for a balance between the black and chrome on my bike. But when I first installed the pipes it was way too much on the chrome side for my taste. So I black wrapped the pipes to tone it down a bit. I've since wrapped some other pipes for friends and here's some things I've learned.

Some say the wrap will eventually rot your pipes but I've found there are mitigating factors. First off you should completely ignore the instructions that come with the wrap. It's water getting in between the wrap and the pipe that causes the problems so you want to do everything you can to prevent that. First off remember this wrap wasn't originally intended for motorcycles. It's for the header pipes on cage motors or more-so hot rods. But the header pipes on automobile engines are much thicker than the thin walled pipes on our bikes so with cars, especially if the wrap in under a hood, water corrosion isn’t much of an issue.

The instructions that comes with the wrap for motorcycles usually says to wet (or soak) the wrap in water prior to installation. Don’t do that! Why introduce water into a situation where water is the biggest problem? Also, the instructions will say to wrap from the header down toward the exhaust end. Don’t do that either! Doing that leaves the leading edge of the wrap exposed to the relative wind (the wind you ride through at speed) and this may eventually cause the leading edge of the wrap to begin unraveling. So wrap from the exhaust end up toward the header. Now the exposed leading edge becomes a protected trailing edge.

No matter which wrap you buy they all discolor over time. The blacks wraps will lighten and the grey, white, and tan wraps will darken. They do sell high temperature wrap paint but it’s spendy. However, your local hardware store sells Rust-Olium high temperature barbecue paint that works just as well at half the cost. The paint also provides some measure of water intrusion protection. I re-shoot my pipes once a year for looks and protection. And this wrap can soak up lots of paint so a half dozen coats isn't too many.

The way to really get a tight dry wrap is to remove the pipes and secure them down on a workbench (it’s tempting to wrap the pipes installed, but you’ll never get an even all around wrap.) Next don’t use the wire ties that come with some wraps. Use regular size hose clamps. If you paint them to match the wrap and hide the screw mechanism behind the pipes they look fine.

Lastly consider the climate you live in. If you ride where it’s dry pipe corrosion isn’t much of an issue. But if it’s very humid and/or it rains a lot then the under the wrap corrosion issues are much greater and you must take stronger measures to keep the water out.

Well, that about wraps it up, lol.

 

What about ceramic coating?

 

Cermic coating moves the heat out and cools quicker but the pipes need to be coated inside and out.

If you decide to wrap, follow NickD's advice. I have seen wrapped pipes that corrode the pipe in one season and will eventually corrode all the way through the thin wall of most head pipes.

So, it boils down to what look you want. Performance Coatings ceramic coated the Rinehart TDs on my 104" '02 FLHT.

http://www.performancecoatings.com/index2.html

 

As far as the type of wrap used, I've only used one so far, the Lava, Titanium, removed pipes, wrapped dry, and DID NOT apply anything to it. It has been rained one and has not changed color YET, kind of a carbon fiber color, I was planning on painting black, but after 8000mi and no color change I'll probably just leave it. Now when I get my new exhaust I might wrap and paint it? Not sure what the different wraps are made of but I'm guessing the Lava wrap is Fiberglass.

 

Thank you. Seems like most guys wrap pipes. What are your thoughts on wrapping pipes that have slip-ons? I have a Fat Boy Lo which has stock black heat shields on the pipes. The mufflers are black Vance Hines. I guess I would take the heat shields off the pipes, wrap them, then the black mufflers installed over the wrapped pipes? Or I wonder if it would look better to also take the heat shields off the mufflers & wrap them as well.

I'd like to hear you input on this situation.

 

Check out my photo album. I wraped pipes only and cut the stock heat shields and installed where your leg is while stopped. Works well.