Wrapped pipes?
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 11,068
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From: Texas! Ya mean there's someplace else?
RE: Wrapped pipes?
OK, folks! Here's some reasons for wrapping the pipes.
1. Looks. Yep, on some bikes it looks "cool."
2. Looks. Yep, I repeated myself. For some of us thrifty types, aka cheapskates, tightwads, etc., the tape covers up the rusty, dented, blued, pieces of crap old pipes we have.
3. And now for the original reason behind wrapping pipes: Wrapping the pipes allows less heat to dissipate from the pipes. The pipes are kept at a higher temperature, and this keeps the exhaust gases at a higher temperature. Hotter exhaust gases exit the combustion chamber & exhaust pipes at a higher velocity. This means the engine is breathing better, and that means it can have more fuel/air sucked into the combustion chamber in a given time. More fuel/air = more power. That's the simple version of the physics that is taking place.
But part of the physics would need to be an engine tuned for the wrap. If an engine is at least "tuned" somewhere above "too lean" then increasing the exhaust gas velocity will increase power. Again, simple physics. How much more power? Not enough for the rider to notice the difference, and maybe barely noticeable on a correctly operated dyno when the engine is in the normal riding RPM range. If you are riding at WOT then the HP increase would be noticeable.
There you have it; the condensed version of heat wrapping your pipes. Looks, looks, performance at WOT.
1. Looks. Yep, on some bikes it looks "cool."
2. Looks. Yep, I repeated myself. For some of us thrifty types, aka cheapskates, tightwads, etc., the tape covers up the rusty, dented, blued, pieces of crap old pipes we have.
3. And now for the original reason behind wrapping pipes: Wrapping the pipes allows less heat to dissipate from the pipes. The pipes are kept at a higher temperature, and this keeps the exhaust gases at a higher temperature. Hotter exhaust gases exit the combustion chamber & exhaust pipes at a higher velocity. This means the engine is breathing better, and that means it can have more fuel/air sucked into the combustion chamber in a given time. More fuel/air = more power. That's the simple version of the physics that is taking place.
But part of the physics would need to be an engine tuned for the wrap. If an engine is at least "tuned" somewhere above "too lean" then increasing the exhaust gas velocity will increase power. Again, simple physics. How much more power? Not enough for the rider to notice the difference, and maybe barely noticeable on a correctly operated dyno when the engine is in the normal riding RPM range. If you are riding at WOT then the HP increase would be noticeable.
There you have it; the condensed version of heat wrapping your pipes. Looks, looks, performance at WOT.
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