The CB1100 Community Forum

I suspect that most of the crud on my exhaust headers is from bugs that have vaporized when they splattered on the headers. (I do live in Maine you know.) I have cleaned them with NOXON metal cleaner and found that using a 3M pad worked best. However, the White Pad which I believe is the most gentle, did nothing. I had to use the Brown Pad to remove the crud. Problem is, the Brown Pad has left a dull finish on the pipes.

What are you using? What do you think I can use to shine my pipes back up again?

Simichrome and a poweball mini. Plus lots of elbow grease

Check this other thread (in general discussions) out and ease of cleaning the headers. http://cb1100forum.com/forum/showthread....t=autozone
I plan on trying this method.

When I first picked up my CB, after about 30 miles or so I noticed what looked like someone had sprayed some thing on the bike and had got overspray on the headers. The headers were clean when I picked her up and she only had 3 miles on her. Today I picked some Mothers polish and tried it out.
[url=http://s974.photobucket.com/user/Mark_Betz/media/Headerspots_zps682bf81b.jpg.html]

After some elbow grease I was able to get them looking pretty good.
[url=http://s974.photobucket.com/user/Mark_Betz/media/Afterheader_zps2430c85e.jpg.html]

Down low on the header pipes was a little burnt on crud, so I used a green scotch-brite pad lightly to get the crud off and used the polish.
[url=http://s974.photobucket.com/user/Mark_Betz/media/Headersdone_zpsd5892e77.jpg.html]
I'm getting ready to cruise around the roads here by the house. Will see what they look like when I get back. I know they will still turn colors, but hopefully the spots will not come back.
Hope this may help someone else out there.

So, you used a green scotch brite pad on some of it. What did you use for the rest of it?

Those look great, but the problem is every time you polish them, you're exposing fresh metal, so the oxidation, spots & discoloration will always come back. If you stay on top of it forever (we're talking about cleaning it every third ride), it will settle into a pleasing patina, but you'll spend as much time polishing as you do riding the thing. You can prolong that finish a little bit by spraying Honda polish on them, (I've tried it when the pipes are hot, and when they are cold), but the spots & discoloration will eventually come back.

I prefer to let a layer of oxidation naturally occur and give that a quick-n-dirty cleaning (because the layer of oxidized metal will act as a natural seal and prevent further oxidation), OR get your headers ceramic-coated by something like [url=http://www.jet-hot.com/]Jet-Hot, which will give them a dull, chromish look that is easy to maintain.

Like all bikes, the CB11 has a fresh air inlet valves immediately downstream of the exhaust valves for the sake of cleaner tailpipe emissions. It permits a small amount of air into the header to burn off the unburnt fluourocarbons and other yuckies inside the header, but it also turns your headers into a kind of combustion chamber, which will result in heat and discoloration. Some might choose to block off this valve so their headers run cooler, but in addition to dirtier emissions, this can also cause carbon build-up, which can be bad news on your exhaust valve seals over the long haul.

I prefer the look of a ridden bike with just a little bit of patina on her, over the showroom-new look, but different strokes...

(02-16-2014, 12:27 PM)Ole_imp Wrote: [ -> ]So, you used a green scotch brite pad on some of it. What did you use for the rest of it?

Sorry, forgot to add that. Mothers Mag & Aluminum polish. "Very lightly with the green scotch brite pad". It took a couple of coats and changing up the cloth a few times with the polish.

(02-17-2014, 03:08 AM)calamarichris_imp Wrote: [ -> ]Those look great, but the problem is every time you polish them, you're exposing fresh metal, so the oxidation, spots & discoloration will always come back. If you stay on top of it forever (we're talking about cleaning it every third ride), it will settle into a pleasing patina, but you'll spend as much time polishing as you do riding the thing. You can prolong that finish a little bit by spraying Honda polish on them, (I've tried it when the pipes are hot, and when they are cold), but the spots & discoloration will eventually come back.

I prefer to let a layer of oxidation naturally occur and give that a quick-n-dirty cleaning (because the layer of oxidized metal will act as a natural seal and prevent further oxidation), OR get your headers ceramic-coated by something like [url=http://www.jet-hot.com/]Jet-Hot, which will give them a dull, chromish look that is easy to maintain.

Like all bikes, the CB11 has a fresh air inlet valves immediately downstream of the exhaust valves for the sake of cleaner tailpipe emissions. It permits a small amount of air into the header to burn off the unburnt fluourocarbons and other yuckies inside the header, but it also turns your headers into a kind of combustion chamber, which will result in heat and discoloration. Some might choose to block off this valve so their headers run cooler, but in addition to dirtier emissions, this can also cause carbon build-up, which can be bad news on your exhaust valve seals over the long haul.

I prefer the look of a ridden bike with just a little bit of patina on her, over the showroom-new look, but different strokes...

I did not mind the patina, just those spots. I rode for about 25 miles yesterday and the pipes still look great. If I polish enough to wear through the headers I got some other problems.

Why am I wrong on this:

the pair solenoid valve lets air into the exhaust during only a small part of engine running conditions. Since the engine usually operates without the pair valve open, anything that is going to happen or not happen to the exhaust valves, exhaust pipes, O2 sensor, catalytic converter, or muffler is going to happen anyway. Pair hose plugged or not.

(02-17-2014, 04:09 AM)Gingersdaddy_imp Wrote: [ -> ]

(02-16-2014, 12:27 PM)Ole_imp Wrote: [ -> ]So, you used a green scotch brite pad on some of it. What did you use for the rest of it?

Sorry, forgot to add that. Mothers Mag & Aluminum polish. "Very lightly with the green scotch brite pad". It took a couple of coats and changing up the cloth a few times with the polish.

(02-17-2014, 03:08 AM)calamarichris_imp Wrote: [ -> ]Those look great, but the problem is every time you polish them, you're exposing fresh metal, so the oxidation, spots & discoloration will always come back. If you stay on top of it forever (we're talking about cleaning it every third ride), it will settle into a pleasing patina, but you'll spend as much time polishing as you do riding the thing. You can prolong that finish a little bit by spraying Honda polish on them, (I've tried it when the pipes are hot, and when they are cold), but the spots & discoloration will eventually come back.

I prefer to let a layer of oxidation naturally occur and give that a quick-n-dirty cleaning (because the layer of oxidized metal will act as a natural seal and prevent further oxidation), OR get your headers ceramic-coated by something like [url=http://www.jet-hot.com/]Jet-Hot, which will give them a dull, chromish look that is easy to maintain.

Like all bikes, the CB11 has a fresh air inlet valves immediately downstream of the exhaust valves for the sake of cleaner tailpipe emissions. It permits a small amount of air into the header to burn off the unburnt fluourocarbons and other yuckies inside the header, but it also turns your headers into a kind of combustion chamber, which will result in heat and discoloration. Some might choose to block off this valve so their headers run cooler, but in addition to dirtier emissions, this can also cause carbon build-up, which can be bad news on your exhaust valve seals over the long haul.

I prefer the look of a ridden bike with just a little bit of patina on her, over the showroom-new look, but different strokes...

I did not mind the patina, just those spots. I rode for about 25 miles yesterday and the pipes still look great. If I polish enough to wear through the headers I got some other problems.

Sorry, forgot to add that. Mothers Mag & Aluminum polish. "Very lightly with the green scotch brite pad". It took a couple of coats and changing up the cloth a few times with the polish.

(02-17-2014, 03:08 AM)calamarichris_imp Wrote: [ -> ]Those look great, but the problem is every time you polish them, you're exposing fresh metal, so the oxidation, spots & discoloration will always come back. If you stay on top of it forever (we're talking about cleaning it every third ride), it will settle into a pleasing patina, but you'll spend as much time polishing as you do riding the thing. You can prolong that finish a little bit by spraying Honda polish on them, (I've tried it when the pipes are hot, and when they are cold), but the spots & discoloration will eventually come back.

I prefer to let a layer of oxidation naturally occur and give that a quick-n-dirty cleaning (because the layer of oxidized metal will act as a natural seal and prevent further oxidation), OR get your headers ceramic-coated by something like [url=http://www.jet-hot.com/]Jet-Hot, which will give them a dull, chromish look that is easy to maintain.

Like all bikes, the CB11 has a fresh air inlet valves immediately downstream of the exhaust valves for the sake of cleaner tailpipe emissions. It permits a small amount of air into the header to burn off the unburnt fluourocarbons and other yuckies inside the header, but it also turns your headers into a kind of combustion chamber, which will result in heat and discoloration. Some might choose to block off this valve so their headers run cooler, but in addition to dirtier emissions, this can also cause carbon build-up, which can be bad news on your exhaust valve seals over the long haul.

I prefer the look of a ridden bike with just a little bit of patina on her, over the showroom-new look, but different strokes...

I did not mind the patina, just those spots. I rode for about 25 miles yesterday and the pipes still look great. If I polish enough to wear through the headers I got some other problems.
To Clearify, I used the scotch brite first, by itself and then applied the Mothers Mag Polish with a wash cloth, After I was done I wiped the pipes down a second down time with a micro fiber towel.

(02-17-2014, 05:18 AM)Deanohh_imp Wrote: [ -> ]Why am I wrong on this:

the pair solenoid valve lets air into the exhaust during only a small part of engine running conditions. Since the engine usually operates without the pair valve open, anything that is going to happen or not happen to the exhaust valves, exhaust pipes, O2 sensor, catalytic converter, or muffler is going to happen anyway. Pair hose plugged or not.

I never said you were wrong. But the intake valves are also only open for "a small part of engine running conditions"--does the brevity of that part make it unimportant? That brief moment of air intake is crucial for combusting(/oxidizing) the unburnt fluorocarbons etc. before it leaves the muffler. If it remains unburnt while it's in there, it will result in carbon build-up. I've seen both air and liquid-cooled engines with carbon build-up on the valves that eventually killed the exhaust valve seals, which then leaked oil into the exhaust.
It's a relief when you find out that it's just the carbon-encrusted valve seal leaking oil (and not your cylinder rings leaking oil into the chamber), but it's still leaking oil.