I've been meaning to ask this question for a month. My pipes began bronzing almost immediately when I got my bike and I have noticed 599/hornets in magazines looking like they had bronzing pipes. Is this normal? What causes this?

We had a big debate on it before so I'll try not to rekindle it but if you want them to stay shiney you could send them to Jethot to be ceramic coated.

I'll post my jethot video if you are interested. They will send you a lot of material if you check out their website.

I haven't bit the bullet and done it yet. But it's on the to do list. Most likely in the winter when I have more down time.

It's just what happens when you heat up the metal. Suffice to say, if it doesn't bother you, don't worry about it.

The other cool thing (no pun intended!) about Jet-Hot is it makes the pipes run cooler, makes them much easier to clean, and they don't change color. I'm with Steve - shipping them out this Winter during down time here in the northeast.

I'm sure this was asked in the other thread (by me)...but since no one else ever searches for old topics :wink:

Once they are tarnish/rust/patina/blued...will the Jethot process get them back to factory chrome again or is it something you gotta do out of the shoot?

I'm sure this was asked in the other thread (by me)...but since no one else ever searches for old topics :wink:

Once they are tarnish/rust/patina/blued...will the Jethot process get them back to factory chrome again or is it something you gotta do out of the shoot?
No need to do out of the shoot. They treat them (dip or blast I don't recall) and then coat. There are also a number of different coatings you can shoose from based on heat and color desires. If I remember right, it was about $175 plus shipping.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRjJ4npgYZE

They blast it. For all the labor they do it's a good deal.

"wow took a licken and kept on ticken" that kills me! :lol: I was in a goofy mood taping this.

Mine are getting bad and I don’t look forward to spending a day polishing them again...Know I've said this before...but after I get my new bar and mirrors...this will be my next thing. The ugly things just distract too much from the look of the bike. I really mean it this time... :roll:

Maybe im nuts, but i like bronzed pipes on a streetfighter/naked bike. :idonno

Maybe im nuts, but i like bronzed pipes on a streetfighter/naked bike. :idonno

+1

Maybe im nuts...
+1

(BTW: not necessarily a bad thing :lol:)
Mine just look plain ugly...got to go.

I have to admit, when I see everyone on here posting new bike pics and see those nice clean pipes, I do kind of want to go break out the blue-away and hook it up. I'm just too damn lazy. Would rather the spend the time making them more crusty with a nice long ride through the canyons. 8)

I just try to stay on top of cleaning 'em. I wash the cars every other
week, sometimes once a week and give the hornet baby a good wipe
down with Honda polish and that seems to keep her sexy.

Yeah I like the bronzed look. I just wanted to make sure it wasn't a symptom of something bad. Thanks everybody for the info.

i spent some time cleaning up my headers on my new/used 2004, and with a some fine steel wool, a scrub pad and metal polish you can get rid of the discoloration in a few hours. i'm sure it won't last long, but it looks nice and shiny for now.

My pipes did the same thing almost right away. It bothered me at first, but I don't even notice it anymore. Or I don't care anymore. I just love my 599.

I keep my headers covered in a protective layer of road grime and dirt. They don't appear to be blueing at all!

Option to Jethot,

http://www.hpcoatings.com/
Estimate $150 - $250 for coating

Anyone use header wrap? I personally don't mind the bronzing, but I was considering header wrap to try and help with the heat... I don't like it much when it gets above 210, which happens a lot in traffic. It's gotten as high as 230, but I'm really not sure where the upper limit is to keep my engine safe...

Just get the bronze anodized FMF pipe and the whole system looks sikk! If your bike is yella you'l be very happy eith the looks of it.

Anyone use header wrap? I personally don't mind the bronzing, but I was considering header wrap to try and help with the heat... I don't like it much when it gets above 210, which happens a lot in traffic. It's gotten as high as 230, but I'm really not sure where the upper limit is to keep my engine safe...

Header wrap will destroy your pipes faster, but it looks cool on the right kind of bike, if you like the ratty mummy look.

I think Jet Hot is the best option.