Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums Exhaust Polished Header Pipes

Pulled the header pipes and polished them today with my neighbors bench grinder and a cloth wheel. Took out 99% of the brown/blue markings. After polishing, not new in appearance, but pretty darn close. Previously, I'd removed the markings with "Blue Job" by hand, but there were some stubborn spots. The original owner left the AI in place for 1,200 miles, see my gallery for what the pipes looked like when I bought the bike.

Took a little longer than I anticipated to remove the header pipes and reinstall. I had to pull my Specialty Spares silencers completely off to get enough clearance for removal. On reinstallation, getting the center balance tube and the rubber header mount points properly aligned took some fiddling. The pipes look a lot better than they did and only a keen eye would detect any discoloration. I'm pleased and it was worth the effort.

Thanks to the folks who advised me to give this a shot. (Fryguy and others)

Here's a picture:

And the left:

Looking really good in your pics Al. Maybe next winter...

Post deleted by Grump

Well sort of, with the dremel I wouldn't have to pulled the whole system! My discoloration was severe enough a dremel wouldn't have made much of an impact. I literally had smoke coming off the cloth wheel and the pipe had to be held with a cloth it was so warm.

Hi Al,
My exhaust flange studs are showing some oxidation. Can we use stainless steel studs? Or would that be dangerous due to the different expansion rates of the dissimilar metals - Could the SS studs cause the cast head to crack?
Is there something like high temp never seize that would prevent or retard rust?
Dennis

Dennis:
Sorry, that's not my level of expertise. My studs looked OK but I found the fasteners to be very loose. They only get 15 ft-lbs of torque to tighten which isn't much. I suspect you may have a problem with stainless in the aluminum heads, maybe someone else will comment.

The shop manual didn't call for any anti-seize of the like so I didn't apply anything to the fasteners.

Post deleted by Grump

Yeah, I knew that was bad and stopped. A few stubborn marks just wouldn't come out. I guess maybe some wet 2000 grit sandpaper or the like may have done the job but I was afraid to go that route. They look pretty darn good, so I'll leave well enough alone.
Like I said, this stainless is nothing like the 304 stuff on my Borla exhaust system. That stuff polished up to a chrome-like finish.
This will keep me looking good until Dale at Specialty Spares comes out with chrome headers for the America/Speedy.

Just out of curiosity, does anyone know if or where header pipes could be attained without paying an arm and both legs?

Currently, we do not have any alternative to the factory headers. Specialty Spares has indicated they may make a header pipe for the BA & Speedy. They do make a double-wall replacement for the standard Bonneville. I'll email Dale and see if this is still a possibility.

Hi Al,
Have you heard anything from Dale yet about SpecialtySpares make us some header pipes? I figure they will be a couple hundred bucks since his complete Bonneville system is around $600. I wouldn't mind single layer pipes. The jacketed pipes seem so fake to me.
Dennis

Thanks for the reminder, I forgot to email him to inquire. I'll shoot out an email this morning and let you know. I hope they are double-walled, if not, they'll blue in a heartbeat. I think his standard Bonnie headers are double-walled as well, I'll ask.

Thanks Al,
You just lead the way brother, we'll follow!
I love what you've done with your bike so far. I'm even planning on moving my tool pouch to my front peg support. Is chrome your favorite color too? That's the real reason I did away with my short TORs. I didn't like the blap blap sound, but there just wasn't enough chrome at the rear of my bike.
Look for a new post from me soon. I am going to lower my luggage rack behind my sissy bar. My bride loves her back support where it is, but everything I've put on the rack is riding too high. Not enough height for straps on tail bags and the sort. I really think it will be simple. I'll take pics, in case some "cut to fit, trim to suit" stuff is involved. Where's my camera?
Dennis

Dale @ Specialty Spares said he is working on the header pipes and they will be released shortly.
Thanks, I'm pretty much done with chrome for a while, except for the taillight mount, foot control bar, cool clutch cable bracket from Brent....

I'd like to see your sissybar/rack combo. Do you have any pictures?

Not Yet,
My digital camera has been dropped one time too many, so I'll get another soon and start the modification on the rear rack. The bolts are two inches apart and there is room to drill another hole above the top bolt. There is also about 2 inches of room below the bottom of bracket, so it should just slide down.
I'll try to do some pictures again. I dropped my digital camera on the floor just now and it appears to be working again.
Dennis
NEVER MIND - I took four pics with camera, but it won't download. I even kicked it from the mud room into the kitchen, and it still won't load onto computer. I'll do something in the next couple days.

Hey Al,
Camera works fine now. The last kick worked wonders.
You can look at my photos here and see what I did and the difference it made. I am gonna like it. The little storage compartment under the pillion is harder to get to, but a nonproblem. Should I start a new thread under "Customs" for this? Maybe someone else will want to do it too.
Dennis

I can't quite make out the change in the rack location. If you get a chance, snap another photo, it would be interesting to compare them side-by-side. I'd pop them up on either customs, but probably accessories.

I get it now, you just drilled lower mounting holes - a simple solution! I'd post that, lots of folks use a larger bag and no doubt the lowered rack probably works much better.

Did I remember someone saying they used Scotchbrite on their pipes? turns out there's a ton of different grades or grits of that too... Any suggestions? Also, I thought scotch brite came impregnated with some sort of polish or substance that helped the process, am I right? Just wondering what the easiest way to go about my header pipes will be since I don't have a polishing wheel...

Don't know about Scotchbrite and am pretty certain it won't remove much if any of the discoloration. Might be too coarse and leave scratch marks. Maybe some real fine steel wool? (00 grade)

Well I have a couple chunks of my rain cover melted on:) I think I'll wait and see if Friguy replies...

Ouch, that hurts. Grump is right, if you scratch the pipe, it will be difficult to remove the scratches no matter what you try. Polishing by wheel might be your only choice, ask around maybe someone you know has one.

Now I thought people were saying that the header pipes are stainless, not chrome....

They are absolutely 100% stainless steel, just not a good grade (not 304 which polishes to a chrome like finish). I'm just saying once you scratch the metal, it can be polished out, but the deeper the scratch the more aggressive you have to polish. You probably can't hurt them anymore than the burnt plastic has done, I'd just be careful. Try a little 00 grade steel wool pads. I've polished my Borla and Hooker exhaust with this stuff and never hurt either. The Hooker exhaust tips were chrome not stainless but the 00 grade steel wool pads didn't harm them. The 00 grade may not be aggresive enough to remove the burnt plastic.

Cool thanks Al. I went to the hardware store and they had a whole wall of scotch brite, steel wool, sandpaper, etc, so I'm sure they have all kinds of grades, etc. I'll check it out.

I tried a the '00' grade steel wool on the inside of my pipes yesterday. Didn't hurt but also didn't appear to do anything. You might have to experiment with different grades. Proceed slowly grasshopper!

Never SEEZ which I have used for years and I believe is nickel
based works well with hot stuff

Since the headers are SS and not chrome, won't any SS cleaner work to some extent?

Sure, but depending on the severity most won't remove all the discoloration. At least none that I tried. Even buffing with a wheel didn't get all of my discoloration, but 98% or so. I guess the metal literally changes at those temps.

Post deleted by Grump

Chrome is not ferrous, no iron, just chromium and nickel and whatever they use in the process, copper? Plus it's just plating. The base metal is what gives it shape, strength, etc, so if it's Aluminum or plastic or whatever.

So how do you tell if the item is stainless or not?

Well, YMMV but, I just went out to try the magnet test. First I tried it on my wife's Suburban chrome bumper, the magnet stuck. Then I moved over to the TBA, my magnet stuck to the silencers, the side covers (both sides) the headers, tank, and the rear fender.

I used a "promo" style refrigerator magnet from the vet's office. It has very litte weight and good magnetic strength I guess.

I used "Blue Job" today on my left header...it's now clean as a whistle in about 12-15 minutes with very light buffing using a battery operated variable speed drill/driver. The gold and blue are gone but there is a slight "dull" strip where the blue was the worst.

My headers were replaced under warrenty two years ago by the dealer. Way back then - as soon as I got home from the shop, after a short ride, I noticed a slight blue area on the first bend of the left header. Took another ride a couple of days later and it got a little worse. I called the shop mechanic and he asked me to check the header bolts. Well as you might guess they were not tightened all the way on the left header and this lead to air being pulled in and thus the blueing. I didn't make a big deal out of it then since they had just replaced the headers at no cost and the "new blue" was small compared to the old headers so I just sucked it up and lived with it.

As of today, they look fine when compared to the other "signs of age" and regular riding you can find on the bike at other parts. In summary, and for me, this is a "rider" not a show bike! With well over 15,000 miles on it - what the heck? It looks like I ride... and there's nuthin wrong with that.

Post deleted by Grump

The rear hangers could be aluminum, that's strong stuff man, if designed properly, ya know?

Took about 2 hours time after removal of mufflers and header pipes on the 8" wheel, some white rouge-and the blue and gold is GONE!!! Thanks to all the chatter about buffing etc I decided I'd give it a go. Can't believe how much better they look vs how little effort. I had hand polished for about the same amount of time before putting to sleep for the winter in December with not so hot results. Was taking the mufflers off anyway (t-pipes to be ordered soon-another $100.00 to save), was looking for another project, so out into the driveway with the bench grinder in 30 degree weather. Had to take a couple breaks due to my hands getting really cold. Probably coulda used choppers instead of gloves-any one in Florida or AZ know what choppers are??? Got another 1 1/2 inches of snow last night, I'm sure spring will come soon. Good riding to all that can, Mike