Hi, long time since I've been able to get on, won't bore anyone why.

I'll see if this helps your perspective as to what & why. Why not chrome? Well, we're talking the actual pipes, not the shields, and as one probably knows the heat coming right out of the cylinder is so high it will 'blue' any chrome you'd attempt to apply to the actual header. So chrome is not even an option. Before I took the plunge I asked the ceramic coater if indeed their shiny (like polished aluminum) color would stay or turn from the heat. I was told that same coating is on Nascar engines which put out way more heat than our modest HD engines. In the past I'd dealt with and had installed quite a few race headers on cars with ceramic coating and YEARS later the headers still looked like new polished aluminum. So I took the plunge. I even took the time to properly wipe down the entire exhaust system to assure there were no finger prints or oily substances on the pipes. The idea was to have shiny headers seen through the holes in the black shields. I fire the bike up to test for exhaust leaks, all was good. I then let the engine cool down completely to recheck the torque on all hardware. I take the bike for a 15-20 minute ride to completely heat-cycle the system and recheck the hardware for the last time. After that ONE short ride those beautiful shiny headers turned a dull gray. The effect was less pronounced the further away from the cylinder head, meaning, the heat killed the shine nothing else. So no, the shine wasn't dulled the same amount all the way back, not consistant. The first couple excuses I got were that the bike was running "so" hot that it turned the color on the headers. Really?!! That ceramic coating was supposed to be high temp and able to withstand temps FAR exceeding 1000 degrees. Does anyone honestly believe they could even ride a bike with temps over 1000 degrees coming of the engine, let alone does anyone even think for a moment our HD engines would not seize itself at those temps? SO to counter that BS excuse I went and purchased a Laser Digital thermometer and even after going on a long very hot ride with boringly slow newbee riders at slow speeds the hottest part of the pipes I could register was in the 500's. Less than half of the temps that ceramic coating was supposed to be good for. Prior to firing up the engine the first time the headers looked great being seen through the holes in the heat shields, but immediately after first ride they looked HORRIBLE. All that said, it was absolutely the heat that killed the shine. Also, felt NO reduction in heat coming off exhaust compared to OE headers.
Lastly, a long time after that experience I happened to speak with an individual in the same industry who explained in detail why the coating should have been applied thoroughly INSIDE the header in addition to the outside and that perhaps that step wasn't done, done enough, or done properly. Sounded plausible but I wouldn't know either way. In the end it was VERY expensive, produced zero benefits and tons of frustration. I'd have been WAY better off simply wrapping the headers and then simply putting the shields over that for a visual effect. Would've been less heat that way for sure.

 

so, it sounds like you never got with mushokc to see what he could do for you?

 

What was the name of the place in az

 

The thread thatll never die...this thread has 9 lives like a cat. Well 10+ years ago when then thread first started the place in Arizona was jett hot.

 

OP you have a sharp bike! Sorry this did not work out as planned. Seems the head does not know what the tail is doing at that company.

Good luck

 

good grief, it's like having the barrel of a .45 in my mouth, squeezing the trigger and "CLICK" such a big disappointment (reading this fuc&^ng thread)
but, to say the least, I can still go for a ride!!!

 

I wonder if Mush is still there.