17 header corrosion

[peterbaron]

If I recall correctly, our member michael1954 has already been through that "restoration ordeal" with his DLX, and it cost him big buck$ and required a lot of work.

https://cb1100forum.net/forum/search.php...e2919775f3


^^michael1954^^ beauties, the EX was sold to one of our forum member.

[Karidis]

I used Harpic Powerplus Original to clean my header. It did a pretty good job. It is a wipe on, wipe off.
If they don't clean up two other options are a Delkevik Header or Jet-Hot Coatings.

Chip Beck's bike
https://cb1100forum.net/forum/showthread.php?tid=9200

[Lunchbag]

I don't know.  I would go see it if I was in the market and it wasn't too far away.  The headers do look bad, but I'm not sure it isn't just gunk.  I don't see much corrosion on the other pictures.  The chrome fenders and mufflers look nice.  Why would the headers be badly corroded and not the rest of the bike?

I think it's just a bike that the owner doesn't clean up because he rides it daily.  Fair, if the price is fair, and you notice there is an "or best offer" option on the listing.  I would look it over carefully, think about how nice I actually need the bike to look, think about how much work I want to do cleaning it, and if all those things line up, I would make an offer.

The goodness about getting an affordable runner is that you don't spend a lot, you get a great bike, and you don't feel bad when something happens and it gets nicked or scraped.  You will get a nice discount for the cut in the seat, and that can be dealt with later.  Just my thoughts.

P.S. - also, if you get into the CB1100 and love it, and decide after a year you absolutely must have a pristine 2017, you can take your time and find one at your leisure, while enjoying the one you have.  You will know everything to look for.  You're never stuck.

---

Also, the seller's got a two-car garage in a nice neighborhood.  I'll bet he keeps the bike in the garage rather than outside.  When I was shopping last year I saw an ad for a 2017 that was kept outdoors in FL.  It was nasty, a real project.  This one is not like that.  For me, this one is a matter of price, assuming a close inspection doesn't reveal it to be much worse than the pictures.

[dave]

Looking at a 17ex next week, it looks nice in pics but the header is heavily corroded. Has 15k miles on it.
Can the corrosion be polished away?

Hello Boynton6spd. Just a suggestion: Have you examined the fork tubes? It appears that the owner of this bike didn't spend much time taking care of it, and I'm thinking that if he let the exhaust pipes become this damaged, then the chrome fork tubes are probably in a similar state. If the fork tubes are rusted / pitted, walk away from this bike, unless the owner is willing to discount it heavily.