17 header corrosion

[Boynton6spd]

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?

 

[Cormanus]

Are there pictures we can look at?

 

[Gone in 60]

Welcome, Boynton6spd!

The '17 has chrome-clad headers, correct? If so, that's chrome, and if it's rusted, it would probably not polish to perfect, but as well as rusty chrome would clean up.

Pictures would really help.

 

[suhawk305]

Welcome to the forum Boyton6spd. Is the CB1100 EX you are considering?

https://ebay.io/m/Jfs47R

 

[Boynton6spd]

Welcome to the forum Boyton6spd. Is the CB1100 EX you are considering?

https://ebay.io/m/Jfs47R

Yes, that’s it

 

[rdprdp01]

Welcome to the forum Boyton6spd. Make yourself at home.

I suspect suhawk305 has identified the motorcycle. See chrome exhaust photo:

These pipes will never be perfect again, but they can definitely be made presentable.

The Road Gunk: The dark, dusty, and baked-on speckled texture covering the lower bends looks like road grime, kicked-up tar, and salt that has been "baked" onto the metal by high exhaust temperatures. This gunk sits on top of the chrome and can be removed with time, patience, good products, and some serious elbow grease.

The Pitting: The black pinpricks at the edges of the dirty patches (where the speckled pattern breaks up) are almost certainly tiny pits in the chrome. When road salt and moisture sit on hot chrome, they "eat" through the chrome layer to the steel base, causing it to oxidize (rust). These physical craters cannot be polished out. The only true fix is re-chroming, which is incredibly expensive and increasingly hard to find due to environmental regulations.

The step-by-step routine below will make the absolute best of a bad situation. Will the chrome be perfect? No. But if you clean them up and take pictures in soft, indirect light, they will look great. From 6 feet away, the blemishes will not be seen unless you are actively looking for them or a bright light is shining on the headers.

If you decide to purchase the motorcycle, here is a possible plan to get the exhaust to a presentable state:

Initial Wash: Wash gently with Dawn dishwashing detergent and warm water using a microfiber cloth to remove loose grit.

Heavy Polish: Clean and refine the finish with Chemical Guys' Heavy Metal Polish.

Fine Polish: Clean and refine the finish with Chemical Guys' Light Metal Polish.

Repeat: Apply the Light Metal Polish to any stubborn areas until the remaining gunk is gone.

Final Buff: Using a clean microfiber, hand-polish to a nice, even shine. Expect to spend about 30–60 minutes using elbow grease to get the best possible result.

Maintenance: Keep the exhaust clean going forward so moisture and road grime does not sit on those newly exposed micro-pits and cause further rusting.

Hope this helps you make a more informed decision on the purchase! David

 

[Nachodaddy]

Welcome to the Forum. Unless it is a great deal, I'd walk away from this one. If you do get it, before any polishing, I would try a small amount of Naval Jelly in an inconspicuous spot. I have had good success with it on spots like this. These look pretty bad. Good luck!

 

[peterbaron]

From the pics, I would not buy it either, but I am picky

 

[Gone in 60]

Depends on how much cosmetics mean to you. No doubt it’s been stored outside so for sure there’s lots more corrosion you can’t see in the pics.

If all you want is a runner then maybe, but that tends to not be what this bike is about.

 

[MagnaRider]

Price also seems high for a bike in this condition with no extras really

 

[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.

The CB1100 Community Forum

^^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
The CB1100 Community Forum

 

[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.