really wish i had gone with the franken welded de cat route using the stock headers, they really are superior material to the aftermarket straight pipe headers (u know that tho! well polished!) also kawasaki did something with the diameter near the first collector, decreasing radius, havent seen on any of the after market, they all use one diameter all the way back obviously for power, i guess the guys in the white coats know what they doin!
If you put a thin coat of metal polish on the pipes and leave it on overnight, all you have to do is wipe them off the following morning and they will look brand new.
I have the advantage of owning an SR500 with only one easily removed pipe and every year or so will remove it and after sanding it with something like 1000 and then 1500 grit wet and dry paper I buff it with a cotton polishing wheel and polish on my bench grinder
Thanks for the tip. The Wet and Dry paper sounds a bit aggressive, especially if you are doing it regularly but I guess the stainless steel can take it.
@@bikerevz After looking at some of these video about cleaning them with acid and Harpic I'll try that next time I've actually got the motor out at the moment and was going to polish the pipe while it was apart anyway
@@bikerevz Thanks for the reply Mark, I like your videos. You are straight to point, but in a pleasant and in a clear manner, with some humour trickled in too! For that reason, i am letting you have my grand secret.. on keeping bikes in showroom condition through the winter. First though, try Abranet cloth on your stainless exhausts (P600 or P400) its brilliant stuff and lasts a very long time! You probably heard of ACF50, well it can leave a sticky residue when left on for a while. Mix ACF50 and GT85 60:40 respectively. Keep in a container open to the air for a few days until it forms a gel. Use this, with a small brush, to coat all shiny stuff and anything metal that corrodes on the bike, (not brake discs!!). Its fantastic, and will wash off without residue come springtime. I keep my bikes outside through the winter, and they look like they rolled out of the showroom when i do the spring clean. Thanks again.
You should protect your hands with gloves when you are handling all those chemicals Mark. Do you use your bike during the winter when they are gritting the roads ? If yes how good is that treatment in resisting the bite of the salt on the pipes ? I have seen in other videos that some riders/mechanics are not recommending harpic on the pipes as it damage the metal. Mark Tell me what is your take on that please.
Thanks for the gloves tip, hands OK, but of course anyone using chemicals should have gloves on. I ride all winter and the pipes are looking very brown at the moment so it doesn't help protect, it's only cleaning and I don't know what to use for prevention? I'm not an engineer but know people who are and they didn't think it would cause harm for a short period. I only put the stuff on and then clean off a few seconds later, so I feel that this is not harming the stainless steel pipes - I wouldn't leave it on overnight. I've been given a few other tips so may have to do a part 2 in the summer!
Holy man 😍 I try lot of things in my 2021 z900 but after this you are my hero now 👍 keep it up
Thank you so much for your kind comments.
really wish i had gone with the franken welded de cat route using the stock headers, they really are superior material to the aftermarket straight pipe headers
(u know that tho! well polished!)
also kawasaki did something with the diameter near the first collector, decreasing radius, havent seen on any of the after market, they all use one diameter all the way back
obviously for power, i guess the guys in the white coats know what they doin!
If you put a thin coat of metal polish on the pipes and leave it on overnight, all you have to do is wipe them off the following morning and they will look brand new.
Well, they are filthy again and so I'm definitely going to be trying that method. Thank you.
@@bikerevz it works great for brass cleaning. I use Simichrome.
@@bikerevz let me know how it goes when you do it.
How did it go @markz900 ?
Also how long till they got dirty again?
I have the advantage of owning an SR500 with only one easily removed pipe and every year or so will remove it and after sanding it with something like 1000 and then 1500 grit wet and dry paper I buff it with a cotton polishing wheel and polish on my bench grinder
Thanks for the tip. The Wet and Dry paper sounds a bit aggressive, especially if you are doing it regularly but I guess the stainless steel can take it.
@@bikerevz
After looking at some of these video about cleaning them with acid and Harpic I'll try that next time I've actually got the motor out at the moment and was going to polish the pipe while it was apart anyway
If you want to keep them shiny for longer, when storing the bike spray on a little GT85.
Great tip thanks, I think I'm going to have to do a part 2 on this because lots of people have offered advice.
@@bikerevz Thanks for the reply Mark, I like your videos. You are straight to point, but in a pleasant and in a clear manner, with some humour trickled in too! For that reason, i am letting you have my grand secret.. on keeping bikes in showroom condition through the winter. First though, try Abranet cloth on your stainless exhausts (P600 or P400) its brilliant stuff and lasts a very long time! You probably heard of ACF50, well it can leave a sticky residue when left on for a while. Mix ACF50 and GT85 60:40 respectively. Keep in a container open to the air for a few days until it forms a gel. Use this, with a small brush, to coat all shiny stuff and anything metal that corrodes on the bike, (not brake discs!!). Its fantastic, and will wash off without residue come springtime. I keep my bikes outside through the winter, and they look like they rolled out of the showroom when i do the spring clean. Thanks again.
I sometimes use coke and tin foil does a good job
That is a great tip and I'll be trying it out very soon.
Well done
Thank you!
Some good polishing action @ 8:52
I do my best :-)
You should protect your hands with gloves when you are handling all those chemicals Mark. Do you use your bike during the winter when they are gritting the roads ? If yes how good is that treatment in resisting the bite of the salt on the pipes ? I have seen in other videos that some riders/mechanics are not recommending harpic on the pipes as it damage the metal.
Mark Tell me what is your take on that please.
Thanks for the gloves tip, hands OK, but of course anyone using chemicals should have gloves on. I ride all winter and the pipes are looking very brown at the moment so it doesn't help protect, it's only cleaning and I don't know what to use for prevention? I'm not an engineer but know people who are and they didn't think it would cause harm for a short period. I only put the stuff on and then clean off a few seconds later, so I feel that this is not harming the stainless steel pipes - I wouldn't leave it on overnight. I've been given a few other tips so may have to do a part 2 in the summer!
Harpic 1000 bleach is great
Dangerous del boy is not a god🤣
Ha ha, you're definitely not the first person to point that out! I'll be more careful with God selections in the future 🤣
Mark, do u have an email address or something i can message u on pal?
markz900email@gmail.com. I'm intrigued!
@@bikerevz sorry mate just seen this ill message u now.
Holy man 😍 I try lot of things in my 2021 z900 but after this you are my hero now 👍 keep it up
Thank you for your kind comments. Glad you enjoyed it!