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General Topics/Tech TipsDiscussion on break in periods, rider comfort, seats and pad suggestions. Tech tips as they become available will be posted here.
I genuinely dis-like the wrapped pipe look so you can take this comment with that in mind. There was a time when I was considering it however when I discovered there is a black wrap material available. Further research revealed a lot of conversation on the 'net about pipes "rotting" underneath the wrap. That, along with the fact that I'm not a fan of the look in the first place got it off my mind.
what is the ole saying
"if you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen"
started at 12 now 68 and heat never was an issue(40+ diff machines). wrap looks good "NEW", add some age, fitting for a rat bike. even if you use stainless, the pipe will go down hill since the 400 grade they use for pipes will rust on their own.
since you are not going to see them, get some crapola pipes to wrap to see if you really want it. btw: but the best wrap your money can afford, they are not equal, go to a commercial insulating shop.
Get the 2" wide roll, 50' long. It's cheap enough anyway. Just get it on eBay, nice and cheap.
Wear rubber gloves
Put the whole roll in a bucket of water
I painted the exhaust first with high temp paint to do as much as possible to prevent rust, but that's my own idea
Start at the head a few inches down from the exhaust port
Get a couple good wraps, then start heading down the pipe
Overlap the previous layer by 1/2 the width
Keep pulling TIGHT on the wrap as you go around the exhaust
As a loose bulge builds up use a screwdriver to press the bulge under the wrap (you'll see what I'm talking about)
I like to use stainless steel hole clamps instead of those chintzy steel zip ties
If you go with the black, expect it to lose color in a few months. There's a paint for that to make it black again, unless you like that patina look
Oh, and she'll smoke like a bitch for the first few miles and smell funny for a few hundred. This is normal.
Keep Your wraps back to front. Your overlap will be less likely to catch debris and water. Also, regular zip ties as you work will help keep things tight as you go. Cut them off when done.
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