[Classic250]

Now your just showing off

Mate, it looks great, but the house is a financial nightmare.

 

[makenzie71]

Everyone I know who has a house on the beach wants to get rid of it lol

 

[makenzie71]

So I wasn't happy with the way it sounded and went out and got the cheapest mufflers I could get off eBay lol...you can skip to the last three minutes or so, I stuck several of the before and after clips together for a more direct sound comparison.

 

[Classic250]

Exhaust wrap is the latest thing, but is falling out of favour pretty quickly because it tends to absorb water and rust your headers more quickly than unwrapped pipes. It's even does a great job of farkin' up SS headers. But hey - your build.

 

[makenzie71]

I've never liked the stuff due to rust...I tried it 15 of 20 years ago and it ate up a set of old steel headers on an EX500 I was racing. Didn't really hurt my feelings but it turned me away from using the stuff...but it IS suppose to be an insulator that helps hold heat in so I thought it'd be worth taking a shot at. I live in such a dry environment that I'm doubt rust will be a huge concern, but it doesn't seem particularly insulating lol it almost seemed hotter. I'm going to have to cut the whole setup apart to reposition the cans properly, I'll evaluated between now and then whether I keep it.

 

[Classic250]

IMO, unless you have a very high performance machine, where a few degrees in exhaust gas temp is critical, then exhaust wraps are just a token 'good (debatable) look.'

But again - your build. Keep us posted.

 

[DesmoDog]

Any water the wrap may absorb is gone pretty quickly in use, that's not what causes oxidation on the pipes. It's the heat itself that does it. Heat steel up to a certain temperature and it will begin to oxidize, no water needed. The wrap keeps the heat in the pipe. The heat causes oxidation. Doesn't matter if you live in the desert or on the coast - heat steel up to whatever temp it is (IIRC something between 500-600C) and it will oxidize.

The vast majority of the time you see a pipe being wrapped for other than cosmetic reasons, it's to protect something near the exhaust from heat, not to make more power.

 

[makenzie71]

Not much of an update beyond what I posted in the video, but I was able to get some decent pictures today. I still think it needs a touch more angle, but I don't think it looks as bad today as I did yesterday...

 

[Classic250]

Any water the wrap may absorb is gone pretty quickly in use, that's not what causes oxidation on the pipes.

I've never used wrap - so I'm just going on what has been said on a lot of forums and websites. What you say make sense, but here's a scenario: you have your mild steel pipes wrapped, get caught in the rain, go home and park the bike for a few days. I'm guessing that the heat combined with the water the wraps retain will hasten corrosion.

Just putting it out there for discussion.

 

[dirkchecken]

ill use wrap if a pipe is close to a body part or a oil cooler line.

 

[makenzie71]

Only reason why I put it on there is because it’s right by my leg and it’s supposed to be an insulator, so far it doesn’t seem to be working all that great lol

 

[Classic250]

Only reason why I put it on there is because it’s right by my leg and it’s supposed to be an insulator, so far it doesn’t seem to be working all that great lol

Yeah, After seeing your pipes and how close one was to your leg, I thought that the insulation thing was a good idea.

 

[TrialsRider]

Gotta say I like it a whole lot more then when you started nicely done,
wet wrap makes steam and steam burns, but y'all don't see a lot of wet where you live so you might be safe

 

[makenzie71]

Not much of an update...but I got a fresh dunlop on the back and mirrors. These were the last things needed in order to be mechanically road legal. I'm going to start working on registration shortly...trying to decide if I should bond it or VT it. They're about the same cost with this bike because of it's age...bonding gets me a Texas plate but I have to give four different agencies money, but I can get a VT plate from my office while only wearing underwear...

I will have to figure out paint and finish soon...I think...I keep seeing that bare metal tank and feeling like that's how it should look...

For anyone interested...a dunlop sportmax GPR300 on an RC46 wheel clears the GT Hawk swingarm.

 

[makenzie71]

Finally got a chance to ride for more than a few miles...had a little errand to run and took the Shadow 750. Handling is so muted over what my CX500 was that I kept turning wide. Going to have to work on that. She did well other than that but I think even that's more me than the bike. Identified a couple of oil leaks, though. I'll need to get real side cover and valve cover gaskets.

 

[TrialsRider]

Finally got a chance to ride for more than a few miles...had a little errand to run and took the Shadow 750. Handling is so muted over what my CX500 was that I kept turning wide.

Could have something to do with the super long wheelbase and extra 10 degrees of rake over the norm for a sport bike. On the up side I bet she wants to roll in a nice straight line at warp speed.

 

[makenzie71]

Wheelbase is actually not "long" unless you're comparing it something like a Buell XB. It's actually about 3" shorter than stock, but still not as short as my CX was. The rake is definitely longer than I'm use to, it's certainly a "me" issue that I'll have to get accustomed to.

 

[TrialsRider]

I was comparing it to the bike your donor front forks came off.
Fuel tank seems to have developed another 18 shades of rust, you might want to put some sealer on that to slow the oxidation process slightly.

 

[TrialsRider]

750 Shadow

• Rake – 34°
• Trail – 161mm
• Wheelbase – 64.6”

vs 675 Daytona

• Rake – 22.9°
• Trail – 87.2mm
• Wheelbase – 54.1”

She's a long stretch from sport bike specs, it's bound to handle more like a freight train.

 

[makenzie71]

Was finally able to get a picture on the road...hard to pull off when you don't have a lot of riding buddies lol...had to mount my camera on a pole bolted to the frame, then edit the pole out

Still haven't made up my mind on paint...kinda like the rust...might end up going with some kind of patinaed and distressed look. Still need to find new rotors for the front and rebuild the forks and a few other maintenance items I thought I'd do over the winter. Too many other things going on, though.