Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums Exhaust Blueing

I have 100 miles on my bike and the pipes are already blueing. I was wondering if anyone has recommendations on how to avoid this. I am willing to buy new pipes if I have to and modify the mix if needed.

I spoke to the dealer and he told me the only thing I can do is to have the headers plated in this flat silver plating. That is not a solution for me as I want the chrome.

Anyway... Any sugestion or past experience is greatly appreciated as I am very new to the world of bikes.


Ralph
2006 America Grey...

first thing is to pull the air injection system...then be sure your not running lean (becasue YOU ARE) these bike come set up SOOO lean to meet EPA emmision standards...prowl around the TECH VAULT you'll find all sorts of data...

Remove the AI and it will solve the problem.

The secondary air injection unit reduces the level of pollutants emitted in the exhaust gases.

What will happen if I remove it?

Removing this will not have any adverse effects on the running of the bike; the following has been noted on bikes that have removed it.
1. The motor tends to run a bit cooler. This will prevent bluing of the manifolds in some models.
2. A slight variation in power has been noted on a dyno test but none that you can notice when ridding.
3. It is also known to stop the popping on deceleration on certain models.

Get rid of the AI. Itll burn up your pipes also avoid long idiling periods with the choke. I made that mistake. Where you at in Jersey anyway?
Check this place out. Comes with instructions. Super easy.
newspeedmaster.com

First of all, do you have a BA/SM or a Bonneville/T100/Thruxton?

Post deleted by Grump

Thanks Folks... I knew there had to be a solution.

BTW... I am in Harrison, NJ.

Keep in mind that although all of the above is true...it could also be that you are to rich (this is rare with a stock setup as the are ALWAYS lean from the factory) or that your letting the bike sit idleing to long...this will also build up heat in the pipes and give them no "cooling" air movement....but its most likely to be the AI and to lean...

as Erwin pointed out idleing to long (no cooling) with choke (misnomer it actually richens the fule circuit) to rich

A little blue on the pipes gives the bike "Character".
gives her that ridden look.

I say this because I left my AI in for first 600 miles.
And am too lazy to try and buff out the bit of blue and gold
I have at the top of the head pipes.

Which part can you see blueing? The header pipe at the head will blue and yellow. This part is single walled header and is visible. the header part of the exhaust is double walled from the head to the slip on muffler. Chrome cover ar there so you don't see the blueing of the header. If you are blueing the outer chrome covers, see above posts... If it is just the edge where it collects from the head, thats normal. T100's and the like do not have the double walled header, and they blue for the first + 18", when properly tuned.

I sprung for one these
http://www.caswellplating.com/buffs/chrpolkit.htm
A bit of overkill, but I bet it beats elbow grease.

This looked interesting too, but also a bit pricey
http://www.caswellplating.com/buffs/alwheel.htm
It will allow you to turn an aluminum wheel into a chrome like finish. If you call Caswell, they could put it together cheaper than the paint remover etc.,

http://www.caswellplating.com/restgal/index.html

After searching all the threads I came across this one. My header pipes are very blue ( Occurred before Dyno running and rejetting) and I have just had it rejetted and Dyno'd. Base run was showing 46.79bhp After replacing jets and drilling float Dyno run showed 63.8 bhp Gained 17bhp . The improvement is stunning. Somewhere I have read that you can remove the blueing on the pipes with buffing.
AI removed. TOR pipes. 130 mains
Is there a chemical or paste that you should use??. Any help will be great.

If you're inclined to use an electric drill
to power buff the blue out, (which I would strongly recommend)
At the upper left of this linked page:

http://www.caswellplating.com/#

click on "Pick-a-Buff helper"

Link on how to buff
http://www.caswellplating.com/buffs/buffman.htm
Buffing is an easy job. Keep the wheels in motion,
and use a dedicated wheel for each color compound bar.

The compound and buff wheel materials fling here & there.
A shop apron and wearing a dust mask wouldn't be a bad idea.
The upper oil lines should be turned up out of the way.
I would recommend leaving them bolted in place to keep fling
out of the oil passage. Wrap some tape around the drill chuck
so as not to mar the chrome.

Removing the AI is the most important to avoid this after that is getting the carbs jetted correctly.

Wud up Green. Born and raised in Kearny, just moved to Belleville like a year and a half ago. My bike lives in Harrison though. Welcome to the site, lots of good info and advice here. Drop me a line, we'll go for a ride.

BTW, what they all said - Get rid of the AI pronto.

I think that I would find another dealer . Use Semichrome ( non-abrasive ) or Blue Away ( slightly abrasive ) and wear your elbows out , it will get rid of most of the blue / yellow . BE careful with the Blue Away , will leave a slight patina .

Hate to say it Roger, but try the local Hardley dealer. I'm not dissing the stuff guys above have suggested but they are not readily available over here.

Try Autosol too. It is the stuff we are told not to use in the handbook, but it will get most stuff of everything.

Thanks Gina looks like a jolly down to Dock Gate 20 is in order. Mind you they will probably try and sell me a Harley

Yeah my local Hardley dealer tries that too.... but hasn't suceeded. And won't

But don't knock a Hardley dealer over here. They are fiercely loyal to their brand, but tend to sell stuff that suits our bikes. My local one sell Kurykyn (or however it's spelt) stuff and can get their stuff for Americas.

I think my local H Dealer sells Blue off.

I've heard here, that Semichrome is the best. I use Mother's chrome and aluminum polish.

Start with one of these kits, http://www.newspeedmaster.com/html/ai_removal_kit.html and then richen the mixture a bit. A pair of more open mufflers such as Epco Stainless will help by getting the hot exhaust out quicker. To restore the finish, there are a number of polishes such as MAAS or Simichrome.

I LOVE the blueing on my pipes! ~*~ Painted Lady

Painted Lady & Scarlet (‘06 Triumph America)
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y79/PaintedLadysGallery/PaintedLadyScarlet3b.jpg
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y79/PaintedLadysGallery/PaintedLadyScarlet2web2-1.jpg

Scarlet (‘06 Triumph America) and her Fishtails........
http://s3.photobucket.com/albums/y79/Pai...adyTriumph6.jpg
http://s3.photobucket.com/albums/y79/Pai...adyTriumph7.jpg

Semichrome + Dremmel tool with polishing attachment worked great! Took most of the day but evened out the headers and really smoothed them out.

Agreed i quite like the blueing