Engine and Exhaust black out

[Lbrown311]

I am thinking of painting my exhaust black and painting the engine black as well. Then wrapping the headers with heat wrap and sanding the fins. Any thoughts on this and does anyone have any pics of such a task?

[latexeses]

You won't be the first....

Take a stroll through this.....

http://www.xs11.com/forum/showthread...ht=bike+photos

[MaximPhil]

I am thinking of painting my exhaust black and painting the engine black as well. Then wrapping the headers with heat wrap and sanding the fins. Any thoughts on this and does anyone have any pics of such a task?

Hi Lbrown,
Would Jack Lemkus mean anything to you ?
Phil

[mro]

Black is good

[MaximPhil]

I am thinking of painting my exhaust black and painting the engine black as well. Then wrapping the headers with heat wrap and sanding the fins. Any thoughts on this and does anyone have any pics of such a task?

Hi Lbrown the painting is no problem. A search should show threads discussing high temp paints. The wrap has also been done. The wrap traps moisture which speeds up the rusting process. If you want to wrap as a performance enhancer
you may want to consider a Ceramic coating. Maybe available in black though white and grey seem more common.
Phil

[James England]

PJ1 satin black case paint is where it's at, IMO..... It's great for wheels and plastic too. It never comes off and cures faster on hot surfaces. In the pix below, the main crankcases are factory finish and the generator and ignition covers are PJ1. It's virtually identical and, in 25 years of using it, I've never known it come off. I also did my brake calipers with it....

[natemoen]

I agree with the ceramic coating rather than the wrap on the pipes. The ceramic coating is better and more durable than the wrap and it doesnt smell like a pack of wet dogs all the time! And yes black ceramic coating is available.

[Lbrown311]

Ok... I like the pic MRO. Since I am considering this exhaust enhancement, what is the ideal exhaust for these bikes to get the best performance out of them. Is it the 4-2 with crossover or 4-1? I have been told both, even by the same drunk guy at the same bar on the same night LOL. I don't wanna do this upgrade on an exhaust I will change for a different one I have 4-1 right now, but not sure of the brand as it doesn't say anywhere. I have been looking at 4-2 but I would like to know peoples opinions on the difference between the 2.

[natemoen]

Ok... I like the pic MRO. Since I am considering this exhaust enhancement, what is the ideal exhaust for these bikes to get the best performance out of them. Is it the 4-2 with crossover or 4-1? I have been told both, even by the same drunk guy at the same bar on the same night LOL. I don't wanna do this upgrade on an exhaust I will change for a different one I have 4-1 right now, but not sure of the brand as it doesn't say anywhere. I have been looking at 4-2 but I would like to know peoples opinions on the difference between the 2.

The stock exhaust is the best. Very well tuned to the bike.

[Lbrown311]

got one for me :P I have actually been looking for one. What kinda sound does the stock exhaust have? Now I know what I am looking for at least.

[James England]

I had a Marshall Deeptone 4 into 1 which I got rid of because it looked pretty rough close-up. It was also quite noisy and that's not my style...also, I personally didn't want that naked look to one side of the bike on this particular bike (although I do like it usually).





I paid a small fortune for a stainless steel 4 into 2 with balance chambers and pipe underneath, like the original. It's as near as I could get to the original although someone did point out that the silencers on mine have a slight angle on them whereas the OEM ones were exactly horizontal.

The bike is really quiet now, breathes easily and performs well..... Personally, I think it's easy to confuse noise with speed. My engine makes a controlled 'woof' noise when the throttle is blipped. Aside from finding an unused mild steel OEM system (last one I saw cost more than my stainless one), I couldn't do any better in terms of quietness, performance and looks. It was expensive though but I want to keep this one, so I felt it was worth it

[mro]

You can increase the HP of an XS. But doing just the exhaust and re-jetting the carbs doesn’t seem worth it to me for the tiny amount you might get at WOT.

Easy to tune the XS when it is stock all the way around and in it’s stock condition has enough power for me. That being said I still have my “hot rod” XS which currently is receiving a dual plug ignition. I’m about 90% done with the head but have run afoul of having little time and money for finishing the frame the way I want it. There are a lot of faster bikes out there that are cheeper to buy than dumping a ton of money into the XS which even when your done they will still blow you away at the top end. I think the fastest top end speed I’ve read about ((by professional racers with a chain drive, (french guy Balo)) was around 155mph. That’s not counting drag bikes or nitrous. The XS in it’s day won some modified drag bike championships and was made into a respectable modified race bike for a short time.

[Lbrown311]

Pretty sweet exhaust. I like the 4-2 system, but I am pretty sure it has to have the crossover pipe to get the full performance out of them. Wonder what a Titanium system like that would cost

[cywelchjr]

got one for me :P I have actually been looking for one. What kinda sound does the stock exhaust have? Now I know what I am looking for at least.

Next best if you can find one is the Jardine 4-2 Spaghetti exhaust. I personally feel they have the best sound, and they come a close second to best overall performance.

Now here's the thing, what changing the exhaust does, it move the performance. Most 4-1's move it up higher, and degrade the low end. An exhaust on these machines is not going to make more power, just move where it's made, as the stock exhaust and intake system was well matched to the engine and carbs. But even the Jardines, the best ones are the ones with the crossover, it helps match them more evenly across the RPM range for better performance across the board (you won't really get better than stock, but IMHO you will get better sound )

[James England]

Pretty sweet exhaust. I like the 4-2 system, but I am pretty sure it has to have the crossover pipe to get the full performance out of them. Wonder what a Titanium system like that would cost

You def have to have a balance pipe. Hell... titanium?? Now that would be something. I suspect stainless and titanium would outlast the bike

The only problem I can see with stainless is that it yellows with heat but, if you have OCD about polishing, you can polish it out until it comes back.....again... and again.....