Header wrap
Elite HDF Member
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 3,654
Likes: 362
From: Mansfield Texas
Road Warrior
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 1,948
Likes: 4
From: Ottawa, Ontario
You soak it to make it easier to wrap. It sticks a bit better and doesn't move around as you're wrapping (especially if you do it with the pipes on like I did). Also, the reason to wrap it from the back towards the top (for pipes directed like mine) is to keep dirt and random **** out.
I'm going to have to take the pipes off. There is no way I will be able to do a good job with them on the bike. Guess I will get out a bucket when I get home and soak the wrap for a while before I start.
Road Warrior
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 1,948
Likes: 4
From: Ottawa, Ontario
I did mine with the pipes on in a car wash bay in 30 minutes. They turned out great.
Club Member
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 16,320
Likes: 306
From: Boynton Beach, FloriDuh
Be sure and replace the old manifold gaskets when you reinstall the pipes, and I recommend using the SE gaskets, not the stock gaskets.
On your pipes...no... but as the wrap ages I have seen the edges become frayed faster when wrapped from the top down...no joke. Do a search on wrapping pipes and they almost all start at the end and go toward the head, just in case you decide to break any land speed records 
in all honesty i was gonna double wrap those bitches so i will do it from bottom to top 2nd time around....
I will let you know how the record breaking goes...lol... wiseass! haha
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Road Master
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 899
Likes: 10
Don't wet the wrap! No matter what the instructions say. Water is what causes the problems with the pipes deteriorating under the wrap so why introduce it right off the bat? Keep in mind these wraps were developed for thick cast automobile exhaust headers, not thin steel motorcycle exhaust headers.
Yes! Wrap them aerodynamically! Don't wrap from the motor down. Wrap from the tail pipe up. (Again contrary to instructions.) It will start to fray (it's a woven fabric after all) a lot quicker with the leading edge facing into the relative wind.
If you want to do it right remove the pipes. It's the only way you can get it tight and looking right.
Also, if it's typical black, white, or tan wrap coat the wrap with several coats of high temp paint. (Another reason to remove the pipes.) They sell special paint for header wrap but RustOleum has High Temperature Barbeque paint that works just fine. It's available everywhere and at a third the cost. Plan on re-coating every once in awhile as the wrap fades over time. When I re-coat mine I don't remove the pipes I just carefully stuff a bunch of newspaper around the pipes and shoot them just for appearance sake.
Lastly don't use wire ties. Use hose clamps. Once the fabric of the wrap starts to fray and come apart there's no stopping it, so don't let it start. And hose clamps just hold better. Hide the screw heads behind the pipes and paint the clamps to match with the same color high temp paint. Or a contrasting color if you want to go the funky route, LOL!
Yes! Wrap them aerodynamically! Don't wrap from the motor down. Wrap from the tail pipe up. (Again contrary to instructions.) It will start to fray (it's a woven fabric after all) a lot quicker with the leading edge facing into the relative wind.
If you want to do it right remove the pipes. It's the only way you can get it tight and looking right.
Also, if it's typical black, white, or tan wrap coat the wrap with several coats of high temp paint. (Another reason to remove the pipes.) They sell special paint for header wrap but RustOleum has High Temperature Barbeque paint that works just fine. It's available everywhere and at a third the cost. Plan on re-coating every once in awhile as the wrap fades over time. When I re-coat mine I don't remove the pipes I just carefully stuff a bunch of newspaper around the pipes and shoot them just for appearance sake.
Lastly don't use wire ties. Use hose clamps. Once the fabric of the wrap starts to fray and come apart there's no stopping it, so don't let it start. And hose clamps just hold better. Hide the screw heads behind the pipes and paint the clamps to match with the same color high temp paint. Or a contrasting color if you want to go the funky route, LOL!