How quickly does bronzing occur?

[CB360T_imp]

I am diligently looking for a CB to call my own. I see that bikes with even 300 miles on them have bronzed headers, so it seem to occur pretty quickly. Some bikes with several hundred or a few thousand miles have dark speckles in the bronzing and some seem uniformly bronzed. Do the speckles suggest that the bike was mistreated? Thanks.

 

[quietguy_imp]

I am diligently looking for a CB to call my own. I see that bikes with even 300 miles on them have bronzed headers, so it seem to occur pretty quickly. Some bikes with several hundred or a few thousand miles have dark speckles in the bronzing and some seem uniformly bronzed. Do the speckles suggest that the bike was mistreated? Thanks.

Mine began to "bronze" within the first 40 miles... Now at 400 miles on the clock, it's a uniform bronze color but not "speckled" or blued.

The Deluxe model has the double walled headers so all that's hidden. But converting a standard to the Deluxe 4 into 2 is a pretty pricey deal.

 

[CB360T_imp]

I am OK with the bronzing...just want to be aware of any visual indications that the bike was not treated right. I saw a pic on this forum a while back where the upper header pipes really looked cooked and the prevailing wisdom was to stay away from that one.

I am diligently looking for a CB to call my own. I see that bikes with even 300 miles on them have bronzed headers, so it seem to occur pretty quickly. Some bikes with several hundred or a few thousand miles have dark speckles in the bronzing and some seem uniformly bronzed. Do the speckles suggest that the bike was mistreated? Thanks.

Mine began to "bronze" within the first 40 miles... Now at 400 miles on the clock, it's a uniform bronze color but not "speckled" or blued.

The Deluxe model has the double walled headers so all that's hidden. But converting a standard to the Deluxe 4 into 2 is a pretty pricey deal.

Mine began to "bronze" within the first 40 miles... Now at 400 miles on the clock, it's a uniform bronze color but not "speckled" or blued.

The Deluxe model has the double walled headers so all that's hidden. But converting a standard to the Deluxe 4 into 2 is a pretty pricey deal.

 

[Gumby 1100_imp]

My pipes were already slightly "bronzed" from the few miles my dealer put on the bike to prep it.

I didn't notice any speckling until the first spring after winter storage. I think that condensation on the outside of the pipes during the cold winter (which you cannot control) or riding in the rain without cleaning afterwards (which I would never do) is at least partly responsible for the speckling/freckling.

OptiGlanz cleaner took care of the bronzing/discoloring, but some more aggressive polishing with Autosol was necessary to get rid of the worst of the speckling. However, either of these processes are just temporary and need to be done at least once a year, that is, if the bronzing bothers you.

 

[quietguy_imp]

To my limited knowledge and understanding, that bluing look is a result of high heat on the stainless steel. And I guess it could be a sign of some kind of motor issues. But here in Texas, mid summer and the bike sitting and just idling could possibly have the same affect... I just don't know.

 

[Guth_imp]

The bronzing on the headers of my 2013 CB1100 did not take long. My 1988 Hawk GT also has stainless steel headers. Looking back at the beauty shots featured in the original sales brochure for my Hawk, the stainless steel headers are shown with, you can probably guess — a bit of bronzing to them. It's just a part of life with the stainless steel headers.

My bike is certainly not abused, but I do ride in the rain which I"m guessing might have contributed to some of the spotting I experienced early on, but it has not been much of an issue over time. I use Honda's metal polish to clean my headers once in a while and it does a great job. The flip side to all of this is the durability offered by stainless steel headers which are the same material all the way through.

I am OK with the bronzing...just want to be aware of any visual indications that the bike was not treated right. I saw a pic on this forum a while back where the upper header pipes really looked cooked and the prevailing wisdom was to stay away from that one.

I am diligently looking for a CB to call my own. I see that bikes with even 300 miles on them have bronzed headers, so it seem to occur pretty quickly. Some bikes with several hundred or a few thousand miles have dark speckles in the bronzing and some seem uniformly bronzed. Do the speckles suggest that the bike was mistreated? Thanks.

Mine began to "bronze" within the first 40 miles... Now at 400 miles on the clock, it's a uniform bronze color but not "speckled" or blued.

The Deluxe model has the double walled headers so all that's hidden. But converting a standard to the Deluxe 4 into 2 is a pretty pricey deal.

Mine began to "bronze" within the first 40 miles... Now at 400 miles on the clock, it's a uniform bronze color but not "speckled" or blued.

The Deluxe model has the double walled headers so all that's hidden. But converting a standard to the Deluxe 4 into 2 is a pretty pricey deal.

There is a coating that is applied to the pipes at the factory. The dealer is supposed to remove this coating entirely when they prep the bike, but that doesn't always happen. I suppose that this scenario could result an outcome as described.

 

[Retsel_imp]

Hey Guth,, any idea what is involved in the removal this coating by the dealer? Thanks!

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[Lord Popgun]

The sheet just says to clean it off (someone posted the setup sheet once) Most likely they just wipe them with acetone or some other de-greaser.

 

[the Ferret]

FYI: Honda Service Bulletin on CB 1100

 

[uscgmac_imp]

Not an issue at all. The coating changes color with time. The standard is a single wall pipe with a bronzed coating. The coating will discolor. This happens on all head pipes unless its a double walled chrome dipped pipe like on the delux. It has nothing to do with abuse or anything else. Some cleaners or solvents may help restore some of the uniformity of the coloring but not nessessary at all. The only thing that could really change the coloring and make the pipes look cooked is if someone did some super mods without any aftermarket fuel managment and ran the bike way too lean and hot. I highly doubt it. The pipes change colors and thats pretty much the extent of it.

 

[Lord Popgun]

FYI: Honda Service Bulletin on CB 1100

How do you keep all these threads handy now that we have so many?

And just mild soap and water huh? I wonder what the coating is.

And a great flashback to Foolardi...

 

[ChipBeck_imp]

Not an issue at all. The coating changes color with time. The standard is a single wall pipe with a bronzed coating. The coating will discolor. This happens on all head pipes unless its a double walled chrome dipped pipe like on the delux. It has nothing to do with abuse or anything else. Some cleaners or solvents may help restore some of the uniformity of the coloring but not nessessary at all. The only thing that could really change the coloring and make the pipes look cooked is if someone did some super mods without any aftermarket fuel managment and ran the bike way too lean and hot. I highly doubt it. The pipes change colors and thats pretty much the extent of it.

Gentlemen,

There is one other way to deal with this and it is to coat the pipes with Jet Hot chrome finish (it's not chrome at all though, just looks like it). Below is a photo of my stock header with hundreds of miles on it and a bunch of heat cycles. Unlike chrome this finish will not "rainbow" near the heads like actual chrome does. This stuff is the bomb as the bronze header really bugged me. The heat shield I fabricated hides the ugly catalytic converter and collector as well. Cheers.

Chip



[url=http://s288.photobucket.com/user/chipbeck/media/Mod%20a1.jpg.html]

 

[Gumby 1100_imp]

Chip,

I always meant to ask: How do the Jet Hot people coat the flanges without creating shadows or areas of poor coverage on the header tubes?

 

[ChipBeck_imp]

Chip,

I always meant to ask: How do the Jet Hot people coat the flanges without creating shadows or areas of poor coverage on the header tubes?

Great question, I don't know. The flanges were wired against the lips at the end of the pipe when I picked it up and the ends were plugged with big rubber stoppers to prevent the coating from getting inside and ruining the catalytic converter. The whole thing looked amazing when I got it back and after I polished it for about 10 minutes with Cape Cod metal polish it looked even better. Since I installed it I haven't touched the pipe other that washing the whole bike once in a while and the header stays shiny chrome. Much better.

Chip

 

[dsan1964_imp]

I tried this cleaner today

. It's a start I think I need some good old fashioned elbow grease... washed the bike waxed the chain. 100 mile ride .


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[JimTT_imp]

I had a stainless Supertrapp 4 into 1 on my '81 CB750F and a number of other stainless exhausts pipes and cleaned them all up with with Scotch Bright pads. It leaves a very clean looking finish; it does not last forever but is not hard to renew. I prefer to finish is a circular motion around the circumference of the pipe; how far down you go is up to you.