Over the past few years most of the grief ive had with my 749 have been exhaust related where the gaskets end up blowing. Does anyone know if I wrap the exhaust with something like this: Vance & Hines Motorcycle ATV MX 2"X 25' Header Exhaust Wrap Heat Tape 26523 | eBay Will it also prevent blowing from exhaust joints if tightly wrapped?
There's only gaskets at the joint of the flange with the head. Exhaust wrap wouldn't help at that point. The joints in the pipe downstream of the head joint are "dry" and don't have gaskets. Never had any issues with any of my bikes - how bad is your grief exactly? Does it cause the bike to run badly?
Exhaust wrap can affect stainless steel and make it become brittle due to heat build up so wrapping is not really advisable as far as the pipe(s) goes. If you have blowing exhaust gaskets then you can use teflon tape sealer to close any gaps or warping of the exhaust flanges. Racing two strokes used to use this method and I purchased some from an American company for my RGV 250 track bike some years back. The Tuning Works in the UK were a stockist at one time.
Im talking about oem pipework with termi decat pipe so it uses the std oem gaskets at the joints which i think are crap. i was told that a trick is to use two gaskets but seeing as they are about 40 quid a set it gets expensive. I normally use good quality copper grease which does the trick but its the vibrations that eventually lead to them failing. ive read about the teflon tape so might look into that. ive been advised to get myself some of the red extreme high temp silicone and i know this was used on the bike before and worked. would be flexible too which may sort the vibration issue. i just wondered if wrapping was an option as it is essentially fibreglass fabric.
Don't use silicon if the bike is fitted with Lambda probes(O2 sensors) as it will damage the sensors.
Bear in mind exhaust wrap will retain some moisture if it gets wet and the quality of the stainless that Ducati use is not always the best (check with a magnet to see how much iron might be in it) so pinholing from rust can occur. I have a spare crossover for the SS which is more or less junk because that has suffered badly from rust.
Yeah basically I had all sorts of issues over the summer, had the bike running the best it ever did, blew the ECU after washing it and then after sorting that I had all sorts of issues I couldnt sort so eventually went in for a service which was due. Before I took it in I found the joints were blowing like mad and had occurred after a long ish ride and thats not the first time its happened. I used firegum in the joint without dis-assembly and the problem almost went away. Its cost me a bit mind as ive had to have new exhaust valve guides on the horizontal cylinder and that was mostly down to the blowing exhaust resulting in it running lean and backfiring big time. epressed: I keep my pipes polished and the firegum is water soluble so its not the best long term solution both aesthetically and in terms of longevity. I will probably give the special silicone a go the next time the pipes come off for a proper polish and write a review in the spring (no Lambda probes on a 749). I was hoping that wrapping may have been an option but I will take the advice you guys have given and avoid.
Anyone used this stuff? Only rated to 350 degrees... http://www.halfords.com/motoring/pa...-premium-silicone-copper-gasket-maker-sealant
You're going to see more than 350 degrees at the exhaust joints. I'd go for pukka exhaust sealant paste. I used some one on my 888 which had an Akrapovic system. Some of the joints were spigot-type (no gaskets) and the paste sorted the blowing. The excess was blown out the back end like a cloud of snow though!
As already said. Red smeg is not much use. It will break down and blow out. But Teflon tape sounds like a good shout?
I have a trick to trevent the pastefrom going everywhere.... Get yourself a small blowtorch. I use one of these.... CORDLESS REFILLABLE BUTANE GAS MINI BLOW TORCH - 1300 EXTREME HIGH TEMPERTURE | eBay That way you can heat it up and set the paste without even starting the motor. Worked for me
I once used 'Gun gum' on my 916 exhaust as it was blowing a little at one of the midpipe joints. Did the job great but was a bastid to get the pipes apart at a later date as it sets like concrete...
Same stuff I used to fix my leaks between the end of the headers and the link pipes on the SS. Works a treat
