Header wrap

[Jonpin]

Iv been looking into header wrap for my bikes and was wondering if anyone else uses it havnt realy noticed ,I dont have an exaust shield on my 250 bigred cobra exaust and it heats my leg up pretty bad realy red after some riding and it has to be heating up the oil feed tube to the top end . I was thinking this could be a win win situation for me and my bike but i also dont want to get fiberglass all in my leg eaither but iv seen stuff on ebay that says ceramic .any thoughts or ideas about this ?

[code200k]

did you check what denis kirk has i think all they have is ceramic too

[mad]

i bought mine at auto zone and works real good on my 450. i found when you put it on make it wet and i used to clamps at the ends and make sure you wrap it as tight as you can then start it up and let it heat up approx 10 minsor until the steam goes away.i've done a couple quads and they work good. DONT hit them with a pressure washer when cleaning them cause it will come loose.

[Name Brand]

Header wrap will hold moisture against the exhaust pipe and contribute to it rusting. If you ride in wet areas this may be a problem if you shut down the machine before the exhaust heat can evaporate the water. If you live in a humid area the wrap can also hold moisture while the machine being stored.

If you live in a dry area or only ride in the desert, I see no problem.

I added a heat shield to my buddy Karl's (RIP) '84 Big Red with a Cobra on it. He had found a heat shield, from what I'll never know, that matched the curve well enough. I welded two bolts with the shank outward and the heads against the pipe as the mounts. Slip on the shield and installed two nuts. High temp paint was added on what we scraped off. In the pic I'm welding the rear bolt on. The second bolt is laying on the seat. Crazy; A few hours after welding this, I wrecked my SX at the motorcross track and broke my leg and collarbone.

I really do like the look of black header wrap; I'll save it for a street project.

[Jonpin]

You bring up a good point about the rust NAME BRAND maby i could use high temp paint over maby probly not but idk and yea id like to get the black stuff so it dont stick out to bad but id also like to get all that heat off the oil feed tube to.

[81k]

I'm pretty sure Dennis Kirk has some small univeral heat shields that might work better. NameBrand is right about the rust and fatigue, since it traps the heat, it sometimes also weakens the pipe. As a sidenote, all automotive header manufacturers void their warranties if they know you used header wrap.

[The Goat]

jonpin...hit it with 1500 degree paint...let it cure for a week or so. then wrap your headpipe.

civic drivers love that stuff...and the funny thing is, it has been show to make a difference on a dino. not a retarded difference, but a difference.

The hotter the air is kept from the head to the chamber seems to help flow. Hotter gases try to expand...can't, become under even greater pressure, and head for the easiest exit...the exhaust.


I will be ceramic coating and then turbo taping the custom exhaust. Some would say that's crazy. But good for a peak hp or two in a civic has to be good for something on a trike.

[leevarnado]

Header wrap will hold moisture against the exhaust pipe and contribute to it rusting. If you ride in wet areas this may be a problem if you shut down the machine before the exhaust heat can evaporate the water. If you live in a humid area the wrap can also hold moisture while the machine being stored.

If you live in a dry area or only ride in the desert, I see no problem.

I added a heat shield to my buddy Karl's (RIP) '84 Big Red with a Cobra on it. He had found a heat shield, from what I'll never know, that matched the curve well enough. I welded two bolts with the shank outward and the heads against the pipe as the mounts. Slip on the shield and installed two nuts. High temp paint was added on what we scraped off. In the pic I'm welding the rear bolt on. The second bolt is laying on the seat. Crazy; A few hours after welding this, I wrecked my SX at the motorcross track and broke my leg and collarbone.

I really do like the look of black header wrap; I'll save it for a street project.


man your lucky you didn't blow yourself to pieces,welding that close to the fuel tank,lol

[Name Brand]

man your lucky you didn't blow yourself to pieces,welding that close to the fuel tank,lol

Seriously?
I tacked three sides of each bolt head; each tack took maybe one second to do. The gas tank is metal and the vent is closed. The rubber fuel lines are also on the opposite side.

I have to imagine that the sparks falling in the grass or whatever oil/ATF is in the driveway would ignite before the fuel tank would with this small amount of welding.

[Billy Golightly]

Where was your ground at? I'd be more worried about a ground arc happening somewhere (like inside or on the side of the gas tank). Just something to think about :)

[Dirtcrasher]

I think about it, but I never weld with the tank on and I drain the fuel bowl too. I just don't want it to even have a chance to explode.

Taking the extra 5 minutes is worth the piece of mind to me :D

[Name Brand]

I can't disagree that removing the tank and draining the fuel out of the carb would be the safest thing to do. :)

Whether it is necessary...
I used to fabricate and build custom commercial vehicles and semitrucks. We did alot of torching, grinding, plasma cutting and welding on every part of those vehicles. I can't recall pulling a fuel tank out of one of them (outside of a tank replacement). Those are far larger tanks and there was much more sparks and voltage moving around.

You can see the ground clamp on the lower part of the exhaust bend. Looks to be be about six inches away from the rearmost bolt.


Now; the rolled up sleeves and bare arms... I have no defense for...

[old-yellow]

Here's a heat shield I seen at dennis kirk.
http://www.denniskirk.com/jsp/product_catalog/Product.jsp;jsessionid=OHHXM3FVX0MONLA0WTISM4VMDK0 OWIV0?store=Main&skuId=432447&mmy=

[Billy Golightly]

Gas is a lot more volatile then diesel fuel. Not trying to play daddy and tell you what to do, just be careful.