Header wraps

[NelanCustoms]

does anyone have their headers or exhaust wrapped? or have you?

[TheCafeKid]

There be mine...

[NelanCustoms]

how many feet did you use?

[TheCafeKid]

Thats a fifty foot roll of one and a half..i think i need another 10 or so feet to finish out round the collector...if i do that at all.

[NelanCustoms]

so then 50 feet is good enough for the stock headers

[TheCafeKid]

Hrmm might need a lil more than that but not much...you'll be able to completely wrap your pipes to the megs, i had to stop the individual pipe wrap and wrap the whole there toward the bottom cos i couldnt squeeze the wrap inbetween the headerpipes.

[TheCafeKid]

might check into the 2 inch stuff since you wont have as tight bends to wrap around as i did...will go farther and doesnt cost that much more...

[Steven Conlan]

What advantage do you get from wrapping ? Hides the blueing ? Holds the heat longer ? Looks cool (now this I understand) ?

[spchips]

I think the idea is to keep the pipes from radiating heat to the block, countering its rejection of heat to the passing air.

The wrap causes the useless heat to get as far away from the block as possible.

[drhach]

Pros and cons

There are some real issues that you face with header wrap. Be prepared for them. Your headers will rust out much quicker with header wrap. It raises the temperature of the pipes significantly. That is a good thing for the exhaust, when it is hotter it moves faster. You get more performance as a result. Although, whether you will notice it or not is questionable. Also, it holds water when it gets wet, so, back to the rusting thing.

That being said, I wrapped mine and lots of other people do it too. Some like it, some don't. Honestly, I wouldn't consider it anything more than cosmetic. I know that there is solid proof that it gives performance gains (in theory) realistically, there are many better things that you can and should do first if you're looking for performance. The reason that I wrapped my headers was because they were too pitted to really look respectable and also there was a dent in the front of the header that I wanted to hide. If your pipes are in decent shape, get the ceramic coated inside and out. There are lots of finishes to choose from and the coating won't destroy your pipes. I've heard of people's pipes rotting out is as quickly as a season. Inmy case, I need to really buy new pipes anyway so what the heck. The bike is not roadworthy yet so I can't comment on how long my pipes have lasted. As usual YMMV.

[TheCafeKid]

Header wrap has many purposes.. It keeps the temp up in the pipes, keeps a bit of uneeded heat of your head and case, and keeps crap off your chrome...Some say it makes the chrome headers rust faster..i havent seen it yet. plus it does look cool IMO

[NelanCustoms]

i see you guys using hose clamps. do i have other options or is the hose clamps best way?

[TheCafeKid]

you could use stainless zip ties..but they are expensive. Personally i dont think the hose clamps look all that bad, and they serve the purpose well.

[rigidchop]

header wrap

the pipes rot out quicker because they are holding in the heat instead of letting it radiate away from itself.you are supposed to soak it in water before you wrap, as it helps it take the shape better and keeps the dust and fibers from getting all over you. a word of warning, it smells bad for awhile after you put it on and let them heat up, kinda like burnt butterscotch, and if they get wet again it will happen again. mine are wrapped, not really for looks (although i really like the look of wrapped pipes) but to cover up my crappy welding.

[NelanCustoms]

im gonna wrap my headers in a little while. i just finished mounting my side mount tail light/ plate holder, modifying the front fender to replace the rear fender. painted gas tank, cut over a foot off the rear of the frame and no waiting for my chopper seat.bike looks sweet