Anyone have a opinion on wrapping the exhaust
What kind/brand etc?

 

Using DEI titanium

no fade, no need to wet it, don't get fibreglass shards in your eyes/fingers/lungs.

Good stuff.

 

I had it for a while. I liked how it looked. Didn't like if it rained while the bike was parked they smoked every time I started riding. Didn't like that they couldn't really be cleaned, and they tear easier after being heated up. Not running them anymore. If I was a weekend only when the weather is great rider I might have kept them but just not for me. A shame since they looked great at first.

 

Also running DEI titanium for 2 year now. no problems here, I like it.

 

Can't see the point of it personally! Seems to have acquired 'custom' status, but each to his own.

 

also they help to rust the pipes faster..

 

They are great for causing your pipes to burn out faster to. I wrapped a set of short shots and 2 years later they were burnt out. They blew out right in the bend. I love the look, but not worth the cost of replacing pipes. The bike was a 110 ci Dyna Street Bob and pretty much stayed on the road. I was told it would do it, maybe a Sportster would do better?

 

I have run mine wrapped since 2011. If I am riding when it starts raining, they sizzle off the water, but never get "wet". If it is parked while raining, yes they smoke when fired up. But it is not that big of an issue and are dry pretty quickly. As for cleaning, its not like there is a lot to clean. You clean the bike and as you rinse it, spray the pipes. Road grime rinses off.

Some folks prefer the DEI titanium ... that is good, if you want a gold tinged wrap on your pipes (not being sarcastic; it is sup to be good stuff). But if you want black, there are less expensive options on ebay.

Some folks will wrap the pipes then spray them with a silicone sealer. I didn't. With all of the torrential downpours and 2-3 seasonal washes, they have faded a bit. They are no longer black and are light grey.

I have seen pics of some folk's rides with shredded wrap near the foot pegs. After four riding seasons (Mar-Nov) my wraps are still in tact, no shredding.

I may hit them with some high-temp black to refresh the look .. or I may leave them the way they are .. not sure.

Either way, I am happy with them. They do look good and I have gotten many compliments from onlookers, however, the ONLY reason they are there is to control heat and they do that very well.

When I first added the 2:1, they did not come with heat shields. VH said they were going to produce them down the road .. but a year later admitted the test focus groups they used preferred the wrapped look and 86'd the shields. Their recommendation was to wrap them. I did not want the wraps and tried to rig some shields since I was constantly burning holes in my jeans and scorching my right leg. I finally broke down and gave the wrap a try.

It was easy to apply; easier with the pipes OFF the bike. It took two attempts to get the overlaps tight and evenly spaced. The first time I fired up the bike, I thought it had caught fire. It smoked so damn bad and stunk something horrid. About 20 minutes later the smoke died down. The smell stuck around for a few days.

The important part, I could stop at a red light and momentarily grab the header pipe now; do not grab and hold on. It is still hot, but not OMFG burning hot making me change my mind about riding. They work. They do what they are supposed to do and turn the heat back inward and theoretically out the end of the exhaust pipe. Oh and like I said the appearance grew on me and now I think they look good!

 

thanks for the input.

 

Wrapped pipes cuts down on the radiant heat. The heat staying in the pipes makes it exit the exhaust more quickly, theoretically increasing the scavenging effect for more power.

I used the DEI Titanium on mine because it was easier to wrap and covered up the welds & most of the BBQ paint on my custom exhaust.