Topic: Exhaust Wrap v. Ceramic Coating

[JoshuaJames]

Hi,

I have a 1976 CB550 F SS and I am looking for a nice clean looking on my exhaust, and black. I like the looking of matte black pipes or wraps pipes. I have heard positive and negative things on both, however, I could use some more feedback.

What are the costs?
How long will each last?
Where can you get ceramic coating?


thanks

[sangyo soichiro]

I can only answer part of your question; the cost of the wrap is the cost of one 2" roll  - about $45-ish dollars.  You can stop in your local auto stores and see how much they cost.

I don't know how long it lasts, and I don't know anything about ceramic coatings.  Sorry.  But I'm sure someone here will know.

[Laminar]

http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=55329.0

I just finished wrapping the pipes on my 550. (Well, I'm not really finished since I'll have to redo the right pipes due to running out of length...).

50 feet of two-inch-wide wrap was a couple feet short of doing my custom four-into-two pipes. Fifty feet would be plenty if you were just doing four headers.

I did it purely for looks. I can't comment on the wrap's ability to increase power or retain heat, as I've measured neither. I believe the point is to keep exhaust gasses hot which improves scavenging. In an application this small, I doubt the performance difference would be very measurable.

To apply the wrap - I dipped a few feet of the wrap in a bowl of water, and tightly wrapped it all the way down, overlapping approximately 1/4" each time. I then installed the header on the bike right away and ran the bike for a few minutes to burn off all of the water still in the wrap. It wasn't too hard, it just took time.

There are a few common concerns with exhaust wrap (I have no comments on their validity):
- The headers will run hotter and will be more prone to cracking
- The wrap will retain moisture from rain and make the pipes rust
- The wrap will absorb spilled flammable chemicals and pose a fire hazard

The biggest pro for me is that the wrap covered up ugly pipes.

I got 50 ft of 2 inch wide wrap AND six stainless steel zip ties (useless on the small diameter header pipes) for $26.50 shipped from from this eBay seller (gpgcaver).
Hope this helps.

[JoshuaJames]

thanks for the link.