exhaust

[jmcvey1]

hey all,

I've got a bit of extra elbow grease and was wondering if this would be a good use of my time or not.



You see that shiney exhaust end? I think i'd like it more if it was less shiney, and more black. Now, I know there are a few options, sanding, chemicals (i'd probably take it to a chroming place to strip it for this option,) or replacement. So my questions are:

Has anyone actually stripped chrome off an exhaust or is that something that would take too long without the proper tools? I can get my hands on some grinders back at my school's metal shop which could help, but I'd hate to grind too much.

That having been said, I've heard people say that if you have OEM exhaust (which i don't think mine is) you should hang on it it, is that because pipes/headers are a pain to get back on correctly? Should I just leave it all on and not worry about it?

And finally, would anyone have recommendations for buying a new muffler? I dont mind the rest of the pipes as I can tape over those, just that bit at the end I'm not terribly happy with.

Anyway.

Thats it for now.

Thanks in advance, you guys are a huge help. Hopefully as I start getting parts in the mail I can start working. I tend to overthink before I work and get off to slow starts...

[edit]

its worth noting that I have several parts of the bike i'd like to take off and paint, so if i could get it off and paintable, that would be preferred as I could paint it to match everything else.

[XS1100_OEM4ME]

Chrome

I have done it on my down pipes to prep for coating. I used a bench grinder with a wire wheel and it just went right down to bare metal, not that hard either The OEM exaust thing (yours isn't OEM) is worth alot because they are hard to find in good shape and are tuned to these motors, so getting and keeping your bike running well is alot easer with the OEM pipes

[madmax-im]

Of course it has been done before...and still is...not that i have but I know you can do a number of different things...prolly the most successful and relatively inexpensive options is to have the pipes or muffler can ceramically coated .... There should be discussions here about that do a search and see what can be found. BTW that exhaust looks to be a MAC which is the only manufacturer that still makes an exhaust for our bikes...as for quality...its so-so...

[madmax-im]

As for buying another muffler it is possible but you will have to make it fit as theres nothing that will just be an easy bolt up attachment. For a while I was going to take a MAC exhaust and modify it to accept a universal Supertrapp muffler can...but instead I found a Kerker exhaust which is on the XJ now. I still have a full MAC exhaust and brand new Supertrapp muffler There was a time when there were more than a few exhaust manufacturers out there..Jardine,Kerker right off the top of my head. As was mentioned the OEM Yamaha exhaust which is increasingly more scarce was tuned best for these bikes even though it lacked the sound quality of other systems. I believe my Kerker which I have tuned in to be as good as my OEM exhaust was and waaay better when it comes to the sound which comes out of it....

[XS1100_OEM4ME]

Coating

Here are my down pipes after I removed the chrome and rust and then coated them with an Eastwood silver exaust spray can coating, pretty easy do-it-yourself kind of thing

[bikerphil]

This is what I did to the exact same 4-1 Mac system that you have. I cut that terrible sounding can off (JMHO), and replaced it with a Supertrapp fully tunable can. Sounds great, lots of power, and it's black. On the header I just scuffed the chrome and painted it with high temp black. I didn't scuff it well enough though as the paint peels off rather quickly.

[crazy steve]

I'll add one thing to this; you can have the plating stripped off, but it's still a fairly expensive process, and if the muffler has any non-removable packing inside, will probably ruin it. You can ceramic coat right over the plating as long as it's not peeling, and if you want to paint, have it sandblasted or sand it with a jitterbug sander using 220 grit paper. That will give you enough 'tooth' for the paint to stick.

[Cobia]

If you just want to paint it, I've had a lot of luck using a wire wheel on a drill to scuff it so the paint has a rough surface to stick to. In some occasions I've even used high temp BBQ paint with a high degree of success. Krylon worked better than rustoleum for me. Rustoleum washed off while doing the water spray check for temp at the downturn.

[mack]

Ceramic


These were bead blasted, holes repaired then ceramic coated. Jeez, I got to get a better camera.

Nope no better. Sorry, but itthey do show that beading leaves a smooth finish and the ceramic sticks well to the bare metal.

[jmcvey1]

awesome guys, I guess my next step is grinding down the end and slopping some paint on it. I'll start searching around for some ceramic paints


thanks again

[XS1100_OEM4ME]

Paint

There is a million of them out there, any auto parts will have em Or if you got the cash, you can have them done at a shop, will last longer

http://www.google.com/webhp?hl=en&ta...w=1280&bih=598

awesome guys, I guess my next step is grinding down the end and slopping some paint on it. I'll start searching around for some ceramic paints
http://www.google.com/webhp?hl=en&ta...w=1280&bih=598

thanks again

[TADracer]

Its all in the prep with plain paint or ceramic and if you want a truly carefree finish that will last many years and can take rock hits, oil and fuel spills and still clean up easily then I will recommend a metallic ceramic coating like Cermachrome by Techline Coatings. They also have a number of black ceramic coatings available by online purchase (techlinecoatings.com). Applying their finishes is not really hard to do and in fact, the directions usually sound alot harder than it really is.

The chrome on the header or muffler can be easily removed by blasting with 80-100 grit aluminum oxide since it has a jaged shape to the grains. That will remove the chrome and leave a satin finish for a good grip. If you have an air compressor you can blast them with a cheap gun from Harbor Freight and a small detail spray gun will apply a metallic ceramic coating. The trick is baking on some of these finishes and that must be done in an oven and not by running the bike with the uncured headers installed (I waited till my wife was gone for a day and used the kitchen oven). After the ceramic was baked I used the same cheap gun and blasted the header with glass beads to smooth the finish out and then I compounded it to a chrome-like finish. A vibratory polisher could have made it like a near chrome finish but I did not have access to one big enough and with the right polishing agent. The whole deal took a long afternoon and it has been in service six years now.

Here is a pic of my MAC header when this was done in 2005.



And here is a current-day picture. Still looks like the day it was coated.

[jmcvey1]

That looks really good, I'm hoping to sand and get it painted tomorrow. I'm really excited to have some progress that shows.

I ran into this though today when taking it off.








Now, don't get me wrong, I don't want my bike to develop asthma because the previous owner bottomed out on a curb or whatnot, but I also don't really mind a few dings and dents. How serious is this? I'll clean it up and make sure there's no cracking going on just to be sure.


In other news. Look at this nice new fuse box I've got.

[madmax-im]

hmmm a little banged up...if none of those dents or what looks like a small hole is leaking then its prolly ok...If you wanted to buy a new MAC they are about $365...I have a used one I have been trying to sell...its in alot better condition that yours...no doubt you'd want to make work what you've got...if possible.

[madmax-im]

These were bead blasted, holes repaired then ceramic coated. Jeez, I got to get a better camera.

Nope no better. Sorry, but itthey do show that beading leaves a smooth finish and the ceramic sticks well to the bare metal.

Thats real sweet Mack...