Topic: The wisdom/folly of exhaust wrap and 4-1 headers?

[Skonnie Boy]

Damn, that was a long winter.  Shee-it.

So I'm thinking of getting a used 4-1 header and exhaust to replace my 4-2.  I don't really care for chrome and cosmetics, and I'm guessing whatever I end up with won't be much to look at.  So I figure I might wrap the pipes.  Is there any tangible benefit in wrapping the header?  I understand the theory behind the wrap, but does it really make it any difference for someone just tearing around town?

Also, my bike has had issues with overheating in stop and go traffic.  Would the exhaust wrap ease this somewhat, allowing exhaust to exit faster?  Curious, is all.

[Spanner 1]

Exhaust wrap is pure fashion for fashion victims ...go ahead do it !!!!
Seriously tho', I think it's great...hide those crappy headers and it's kind-of retro Mad Max looking !!....it may hold heat in your pipes that would normally be cooled by air-flow across the headers, that would be my only concern.......

[dummkauf]

The first time you ride through a puddle the wrap will soak the water up and steam off.  The first stop you come to after getting them wet will look like your engines smoking!


I have a bike with wrap and if freaked me out the first time til I realized what was happening.

[ev0lve]

Eh, if they look like crap and they're cheap wrap em. That's the equation I used. Hides these dents pretty nicely.



As to tangible benefit for a daily rider - the consensus seems to be no.

[MRieck]

Exhaust wrap is pure fashion for fashion victims ...go ahead do it !!!!
Seriously tho', I think it's great...hide those crappy headers and it's kind-of retro Mad Max looking !!....it may hold heat in your pipes that would normally be cooled by air-flow across the headers, that would be my only concern.......

That's the real purpose of it.

[billybobobrain]

The reason you want header wrap is when any fuel burns there is an amount of hydrogen that combines with oxygen, this creates water. if you let the exhaust cool to quickly this water will condense on the inside of your pipe and rust the sucker out. header wrap allowes the excess moisture in your exhaust to remain a super heated vapor until it leaves the pipe.

[fuzzybutt]

the hotter you can keep the exhaust gasses, the faster they flow.

[billybobobrain]

the hotter you can keep the exhaust gasses, the faster they flow.

That too

[ev0lve]

My impression from other threads was that you wouldn't see any particular benefit on a stock engine and carb setup for regular old highway/city motoring and that it would "probably" reduce the lifespan of the pipes due to water retention/rust if left to sit for long periods.

Wrong?

[Spanner 1]

So, the hotter the headers the better, right ?,...can't be hotter than cylinder heat no matter what, right ?

[ev0lve]

So, the hotter the headers the better, right ?,...can't be hotter than cylinder heat no matter what, right ?

Hotter the exhaust gasses IN the headers the better they flow or so I've been told.

[fuzzybutt]

because the wrap holds in so much more heat the pipe becomes very brittle after a while and they start cracking.

[Spanner 1]

O.K., I'm back to 'fashion'...see no benefit..it will go away like sissy bars and 'hi-way' pegs (ugh!).

[ev0lve]

O.K., I'm back to 'fashion'...see no benefit..it will go away like sissy bars and 'hi-way' pegs (ugh!).

I like to think of it more in the "hide your shame" category. But, yeah.

[NickC]

I wrapped mine solely on the fact that they looked like crap.....

[Ricky_Racer]

Okay, since this thread is probably going to peter out anyway... Question on the same lines: has anyone had any success with removing dents from old headers without cutting the piece out and welding in a new section?

About a jillion inquiring minds would like to know!!!     RR

[dummkauf]

Just a heads up on the wrap debate...since I asked around on a few forums before wrapping mine.  There seems to be 2 types of responses.

1.) The wrap will retain moisture and heat and either rust your headers out quickly or they will crack
2.) Guys who have run wrapped headers for years without problems

As far as the rust goes, if you run the bike for 5-10 minutes after getting it in the garage, that's all it should take to steam off an excess moisture and the those wraps nice & dry.  The only way I personally set that being an issue is if you store your bike outside in which case the pipes on would get exposed to more moisture when the biks isn't running and hold that moisture in.

there are an awful lot of strong opinions on header wrap out there and the only thing close to an actual study on the effects of wrap I could ever find were done by companies the manufacture the wrap....not exactly an unbiased source 

If they're cheap old headers I'd personally just wrap em' and take my chances, though I did wrap a brand new header on my thumper(I'm ratting that one out though so the wrap was mainly just cosmetic)

[fuzzybutt]

wrapped headers on a car was my introduction to header wrap. there is makes a huge difference in underhood heat.

[Skonnie Boy]

So, wrapping headers can:

-Possibly improve exhaust flow to an immeasurable effect.
-Maybe reduce the chance of rust inside the header, but not the outside.   
-Look really cool and/or foolhardy.
-Much like a good doctor, they do no harm. 

Cool, many opinions here.  I think if there's dents in whatever header I get, wrap it is.  Otherwise, just black engine paint.  Wrapped headers looks alright IMO, but if there's no reason for it I'm not putting it on.  There's beauty in pure utility.     

[volkswagendan]

my 4 to 1 was nice and chromie, yet i wrapped my #$%* like hot dog in a whore house.
i've put over 600 miles on it and here's what i found.
1.  i think it gives my bike an organic touch. 
2.  it looks really cool.
3.  it smelled a bit strange for the first 20 miles.
4.  i dont drive it in the rain, and i keep it in the garage. no rust inside yet.
5.  by retarded dog doesnt melt his fur to it when i pull in the garage. (although i think he might of learned this lesson the first time.)
6.  it sounds a little different on the highway. 80+ sounds like the most perfect note ever played.
7.  it looks really cool.
8. it takes 3 rolls to wrap it tight. (no left over and no muffler.)   
9.  all my friends dig it. one person said i should of done black. i like the natural.
10. start at the top and work back so the wind doesn not push the edges up.
11. keep checking what you've done as you do it because it tends to move around as you wrap, opening up in places.
12. it looks cool.

[nobody]

I've not yet run wrapped exhaust on either of my CBs but probably will on my project 750f some day down the road (it's got a long way to go). I did run wrap on my 1100 shadow for the 18 months or so that I had it and was extremely pleased. When I first got the bike it shot huge flames out of the pipes on throttle snap, which actually looked pretty cool despite being a bad thing. The pipes also had a tendency to burn holes in my jeans where they touched the pipes. So after wrapping them my jeans no longer had new holes and the flames and popping decreased a bit, I don't think the jetting was spot on. I didn't notice any increase in power or engine cooling. The pipes did smoke for the first 50 miles or so after I wrapped them and would steam like crazy when they got wet. I left the bike out in the elements, somehow always forgetting to cover it when it rained. The wrap had become a little weathered after 10,000 miles so I rewrapped them before selling it. No rust, no cracks. I spent two and a half months riding the bike for 5-8 hours through various climates and altitudes so I think if rust and cracks were common with wrap I probably would have had some on this bike. I say wrap em.

[MJL]

Eh, if they look like crap and they're cheap wrap em. That's the equation I used. Hides these dents pretty nicely.



As to tangible benefit for a daily rider - the consensus seems to be no.

Fill your headers with water and stick them in a big freezer, it'll push out the dents.

[eydurkee]

so i've got stock 4-2 on a 78 cb750k. cans are all rusted out with holes, bafflers are rusted out and my ears are hurting from the noise (hearing loss in family). can i wrap my entire pipes head to toe to deal with the holes or do i need a whole new system for a quieter ride?

ted

[rachet]

The wrap will probably help deaden the sound, but is no real substitute for bad pipes.  It may not be cheap, but getting new pipes would be recommended I'd think. 

VWDan, Such a bad ass bike!

Rach-

[fasturd]

My .02... Yes I like the look. The only failure problems I have seen is a wierd pinholing on some titianium pipes.
I wrapped the pipes on my ZX12 because the heat was unbearable. It made a huge difference in heat reduction while riding the bike.
I am sure there is performance to be gained with the wrap in certain circumstances. Will we see it on an original un-rebuilt 35 year old motorcycle? Not likely, but who cares? If you like the look go for it. If you are worried about rust make sure you ride it long enough to fully heat up your system and it wont be an issue.

If it looks faster I am sure it will be faster...