| Author | Message | ||
     Jaimec |
As a lot of you know, I've complained about rusting Buell mufflers for YEARS. On my M2 Cyclone it was easy enough to replace the rotting metal piece with the SuperTrapp manufactured Buell slip-on racing muffler. At least THAT was made of stainless steel, and by playing with the tunable discs I was able to keep it reasonably quiet and kept the stock powerband. Unfortunately, that is not an option with the XB12Ss. Nobody makes an aftermarket exhaust that meets all of my requirements (stainless steel, active exhaust, may be used as a jacking point, reasonably quiet). That last requirement alone seems to eliminate every single aftermarket exhaust available in the States. I spoke to Matt (Trojan) about the E-certified mufflers he carries and although they'd be nice and quiet they do not support the active exhaust and can't be used as a jacking point. Only thing left to do is make the best out of what I already have. My friend Mike (Techmikeny here on Badweb) and I decided to attack the rust problem head on. It took us much longer than expected and I think Mr. Murphy was assisting the two of us in the only way he can BUT I think our results speak for themselves. This is what my muffler looked like before we started. The bike is LESS than two years old with 17K miles on the odometer:  This is what it looked like AFTER we were done:  And this is what it looks like installed:  The bike looks NEW again, instead of looking a hundred years old. It took many hours of wire brushing, Naval Jelly and sanding and several coats of Rustoleum high temperature paint. We're BOTH hoping we won't have to do this again for a long long time. | ||
| Lightningrob |
The results look great, Jaimec. Hopefully you won't have to make that a bi-annual ritual. Let us know how that Rustoleum holds up to the elements. | ||
| Beachbuell |
I like to consider it part of my 10K service. Sanding and re-painting my race muffler. Makes me feel kinda good! | ||
| Dynasport |
Well, it looks like your hard work paid off. Good job. Let us know how the Rustoleum holds up. You may want to consider some of the high temperature paint they use on grills and such. Dan | ||
| Dbird29 |
What about a Jet Hot coating? | ||
| Jaimec |
Dynasport: That IS the Rustoleum paint they use for grills. Supposed to be good up to 1200 degrees Fahrenheit. I'll keep an eye on it and report back for sure. | ||
| Tdiddy |
That last picture looks just like my bike. I check my muffler every 2 weeks and I don't see any rust yet. I think I'm lucky as some other XB's I seen around do have some orange on the can. | ||
| Jaimec |
My problem is that I live on Long Island. We're surrounded by Salt Water so even the air can be corrosive to exposed metal. In the winter the roads are salted, and to add insult to injury up till a couple of months ago my bikes were parked outside under a bike cover. My K1200LT has over 108,000 miles on it (I bought it new in 1999) and still has the original exhaust. It looks almost brand new except for some heat discoloration on the headers. By comparison, my XB12Ss has 17K miles and is less than two years old. Is it any wonder I'm pissed at the way the stock muffler rusts? I was up in Danbury today at Marcus Dairy. Every single Buell XB I saw with a stock muffler was showing signs of rust. In fact, the only XB I saw without rust had a Buell race can on it. Why should anyone have to pay extra for a non-rusting muffler? All documents I've seen for the 1125R say it has stainless steel "exhaust tips." It says nothing about the muffler body itself. It appears as though my XB12Ss has a stainless steel exhaust tip too (look at the above photo). Someone (and NOT Anonymous) on the 1125R board said the entire system was stainless steel, but I'm not 100% sure till I see it confirmed by Anonymous. | ||
| 07xb12scg |
Have any of you tried to make a warranty claim on the rusting exhaust? | ||
| Jaimec |
I haven't. Even if I did, all I'd get is another muffler doomed to rust out again. Be interesting to see if anyone else has tried though. | ||
| Lonexb |
Jaimec wipe your muffler down with wd-40 when you clean your bike. i had over 35k miles on my 12r and not a spot of rust. brian | ||
| Lonexb |
 | ||
| Teddagreek |
I Used grill paint... Had a bunch left over.. | ||
| Jaimec |
We used about four light coats of the Rustoleum high temperature grill paint. I'll keep the WD-40 recommendation in mind. Probably smells pretty funky the first few miles though, eh? | ||
| Diablobrian |
High temp brake caliper paint might be another worth while idea to try if the grill paint doesn't stand up to chips and scratches very well since rock chips are not a big problem on your average weber barbecue | ||
| Steve_mackay |
07xb12scg, I'm going to try and do this with the wife's '06 CityX. The muffler is actually rusting real bad right now. Looks far worse than Jaimec's pictures. | ||
| Bads1 |
Steve, If they don't...wait till winter have it powder coated and be done with it. | ||
| Jaimec |
A friend suggested powder coating for me too. I might still consider it, but as a winter project not during prime riding season. | ||
| Steve_mackay |
I'll have it black ceramic coated if they don't cover it under warranty. I've got a shop like a mile from my house that does REALLY good work, and is quite reasonable. Both the muffler and the pipe are rusted. But I suppose, that what I get for riding 11 months out of the year in Wisconsin  | ||
| Jandj_davis |
I would like to get my race pipe ceramic coated, but I don't really want to pay a bunch to have it shipped around. Is there a "locate a dealer" type website for ceramic coating places? Also, does ceramic coating offer any advantages over powder coating? I have heard lots about people ceramic coating their headers, but not much on powder coating. | ||
| Jaimec |
Wow! I ride 12 months out of the year here on Long Island but the headers are rust free (as is the exhaust tip). The headers shouldn't rust... they'll turn a golden brown from the heat, but that's not rust. Unlike the muffler, the headers are made of stainless steel. | ||
| Steve_mackay |
Yup, they are made of stainless. But the grade of stainless used on the pipes will still rust. | ||
| Jaimec |
Dang, I thought I lived in a corrosive environment (an island surrounded by salt water with high humidity in the summer and salted, icy roads in the winter)! | ||
| Steve_mackay |
I'll snap some pics tonight when I get home to prove it. | ||
| Blake |
Would a powder coat finish be at risk of melting on a muffler, especially near the collector and tailpipe? | ||
| Blake |
If not, then that sure would seem like the way to go. | ||
| Toona |
Powder coat is only good to about 400-500 degrees, it will then burn off. My father powder coated an exhaust tip on his short bed full size truck, it still burnt off all the way back at the rear bumper. Ceramic coating or high temp paint are your best bets. | ||
| Damnut |
I have a bunch of stuff powdercoated on my bike and I'm going to have my race can powdercoated as well. My powdercoater said that it should be fine........ we'll see and I'll keep you posted. I should have it done in a week or so but the only problem is I won't be riding for a while after the 15th. I had my header ceramic coated and it looked good for a while but the black pigment lost it's luster after about a year and a half. That's why I'm not going to ceramic coat the race can. | ||
| 07xb12scg |
07xb12scg, I'm going to try and do this with the wife's '06 CityX. The muffler is actually rusting real bad right now. Looks far worse than Jaimec's pictures. Let us know how that goes. It should be replaced under warranty! | ||
| Lonexb |
wd-40. brian | ||
| Jaimec |
S100 makes a corrosion protectant that was tested to be superior to WD-40. Of course, WD-40 is a lot easier to find. Steve: I was thinking about your stainless headers rusting and I think I know what happened. Rust is an electro-chemical reaction. Once it gets started on the non-stainless and gets bad enough, I believe it can easily spread to the stainless steel through this process. That's why it's important to remove ALL of the rust when de-rusting your muffler. Rust is like cancer; once it's set it'll spread and the only way to stop it is to get ALL of it. | ||
| Blake |
Rust as a disease? Who knew? | ||
| Jaimec |
Best simile I could come up with on the spot. |
