Cleaning exhausts - black and stainless types

[alexibrow]

OK, so I know there's plenty of knowledge out there on this subject, as some of you seem to spend more time polishing your bikes than riding them

I believe I'm right in saying there are two types of exhausts fitted to the Super Fours; the stainless one which polishes up lovely with a bit of Autosol and some elbow grease, and the black one as fitted to the Version R.

a) What is the best way to clean up / refurbish the black Version R exhaust (mine appears to be going a bit rusty round the headers);

b) What is the best way to clean up / refurbish the stainless shiny ones?

Presumably removing the headers completely for both types is the way to go, but the studs look so flimsy I'll bet they have a tendency to snap off in the cylinder heads. So,

c) Any tips on pain-free exhaust header removal?

[amorti]

a) take them off, clean them, and paint with suitable VHT paint.

b) take them off, clean them, polish with autosol and a drill attachment.

yes, you have to take them off. Good news is, Honda studs and bolts are cheap enough. I would deffo change the studs while you were about this job. DO NOT EVER use cheap studs, the material quality is paramount here. I have had to drop a CB1 engine and take it to an expert to get some snapped and stripped studs out after using substandard parts. Seriously, cannot stress how much you need to be using OE studs.

c) no such thing, unless it all goes to plan. Top tipm do it while the engine is hot. This does lead to a risk of burnt knuckles though - gardeners gloves would probably be (in my case, have been) wise. Use good tools. The socket must fit well, and you must have the right extensions to get on the nut straight on. If you twist it, it will snap, if your tool slips or only fits half-on, it may round the bolt. Use deep 6-sided sockets where possible, Honda used long nuts for a reason and not just because they're pretty.

If you need to remove the radiator for access, do it. It makes the job easier on the CB1, I never worked on a SF. Save time for the long game, don't save 10 minutes to cost yourself hours and money after you frustratedly snap a stud due to no access.

Ultimately though, there's a good chance you'll break 1 or more studs, if this happens deal with it when you get there. Two choices: leave it alone and hope you are never forced to remove the exhaust (eg for sump removal, or if the baffles rot out, which they do with time) or take them off now, replace the studs and douse in coppaslip so that in future they will come off. Up to you which way to go, but for example on my divvy I am leaving well enough alone, depends on if you think of your bike as an ongoing project or a tool. The CB1 at nearly 20 yrs old was only ever going to be an ongoing project. As much fun as that was, I need a working bike, so it had to go. Many of the problems were my own fault, like using cheap studs which only saved me a fiver but cost me £80 in labour to fix.

Before:

http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i264/ ... G_1332.jpg

After:

http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i264/ ... npipes.jpg


http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i264/ ... lector.jpg

[alexibrow]

Brilliant, thanks for all the advice! I'll make sure I have the right tools before I start, buy some new studs & nuts beforehand and take my time removing the old ones I think! Could be a job for a warm summer's day, with a few cold tinnies while I'm at it!

[Bodhi]

I'm just after painting my black exhaust. I'll try and get some pics taken of it later when my wife gets back with her camera.

I left the exhaust on the bike and used plastic bags to cover the rest of the bike. I sanded down the downpipes to take off as much of the rust and paint as I could and then basically sprayed them with VHT paint that I got in Halfords. I'm really pleased with the results, especially considering I've never done anything like it before.

[cbr900rrider]

Well my stainless exhausts were starting to rust (around the engine) and look a bit tarnished.

I use autosol on every other chrome bit on the bike, just not the exhaust.
Well after seeing what autosol does to it on here, i thought id give it a go.

OMG wow, yes spend 10 - 15 minutes, put on loads of the stuff on the zorsts.
Leave it on 10 mins.
polish off.
Stand back and amire those untarnished, rust free, exhausts.

Worth the £3 for a tube, that lasts for a long time too.

[Bodhi]

Leave it on 10 mins.
polish off.

Worth the £3 for a tube, that lasts for a long time too.

Ooh, I'd never thought about leaving it on for a while before polishing it off, I'll maybe need to give that a go on my End Can and on the Swingarm, RearSets and Top part of the engine block.

Maybe even give it a go on the Fork Bottoms, but they just might not be salvageable as they're badly pitted.

Totally agree with the tube lasting forever though. I bought mine back when I had a Honda Shadow about 5 or 6 years ago and was forever using it on the wheels and exhaust as the thing was covered in chrome. I'm still using the same tube and it's barely gone down. Amazing stuff indeed.

[BUGIE]

Bodhi - It'll work on the fork bottoms but you'll need a polishing mop for the drill.. Remove the wheel and polish away. You'll need glasses as the autosol goes everywhere and stings as hell if it gets in the eye..

The finish won't be perfect but near enough!!!

[amorti]

fork legs - strip them with nitromors, and go at them with wet and dry before polishing. First 600, then 800, then 1200, then polish. You're wasting your time to go straight at it if it's pitted. Go on, ask how I know.



Didn't take me long to realise it was more effort than it's worth on an all-year bike, and put some plastikote on them. Least that's a max once a year job to keep fresh. Was always going to go for powder coat the next time the seals popped, but they never did.

[alexibrow]

I finally got round to removing the exhaust for a repaint today!

I'd sourced some new OEM studs and nuts for the headers (just in case) and some new exhaust gaskets from John Harris motorcycles in Crowborough (very friendly and helpful, I would recommend them by the way).

I've been regularly soaking all the exhaust fixings in Plus Gas for the last few weeks, and so all the nuts came off really easily! I now have a full set of studs and nuts spare for when I do the restoration at some point (must put them somewhere safe!)

I then spent the next two-and-a-half hours with a soft grinding disc getting all the flaky rust off. It turned out to be in quite a poor state, and I ended up chipping a lot of the rust off with a hammer and chisel... I finished off with a wire brush, then some steel wool to provide a key for the new paint, then brushed on some rust killer before washing the whole exhaust in Muc-Off. A thorough rinse later and it was hanging on the washing line to dry, much to my wife's annoyance!

I've used black Plasti-Kote Heat Shield Thermo Lack paint (I think it's supposed to be for boilers but it's good for over 400 degrees celsius so it should be OK). The finish is a lot better than I was expecting, having patiently layered it up until it's nice and thick (no primer required).

Before:



After:




You can see how bad the corrosion was before:



I'll add one more of the bike when it's reinstalled.

[meno]

to throw another one in there, howsabout e chromed mild steel one like my moriwaki.. collector is well rusty... question is... any special thing needed to be done to spray these black with vht.. ie is there soem chance of flaking unless i remove all the chrome.

in meantime ive got an original pipe now too so can fart about with that while sorting the moriwaki.

deffo gonna do the plus gas thing like alex first though and get some spares like u guys suggest.