02-17-2014, 03:08 AM
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 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...