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Cleaning Pipes ???

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795 views 2 replies 2 participants last post by  Jimmy  
C
#1 ·
The 2002 I just bought has dark "stains" for lack of a better word, burnt onto the pipes where they come out of the engine. The story from the dealership is that the person who owned it before, spilt a Mocha on them and the rest of the engine when it was hot. I can imagine many here have had one thing or another get burned onto the pipes. What is the best method to remove such stuff. I tried scrapping the stuff off with my thumb nail with the engine cold but no luck so I know the stuff is on good. The dealership suggested steel wool but I would think that would damage the finish of the pipes.

Thanks !
 
C
#2 ·
Added note "and question" for my original post

When I first realized that these "stains" were on there good and are very ugly, I thought to myself that if they can't be removed without sanding them down with steel wool, I would do so, then take the pipes down and have them re-chromed. I mentioned this to the dealer who said that from the factory these pipes are not chromed and if I were to chrome them, they would quicly turn blue instead of the gold tone that takes place with the stock pipes. Since I have the "Blurple" color bike, maybe this would be a cool looking idea. Has anyone done this and if so, what are the results ?? I am hoping the burned on stains will come off by some other means so I can spend my money of more important things like a good Helmet and riding cloths.
Thanks Again
 
J
#3 ·
Craig,

Your dealer was right, you can safely remove the stains with steel wool and a metal polish. Really stubborn ones can be removed with #800 and/or #1200 wet & dry. The pipes are stainless steel and will not be damaged or harmed in any way.
You can in fact take the pipes off and they will buff to a nice silver colour, but will very quickly turn back to a golden straw colour with the heat from the exhaust.
BTW if your bike is jetted lean then the blue/purple blotches will accumulate at a much more rapid rate.
 
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