| Author | Message | ||
     Thunderbike |
As far as I've been reading this section,I've never seen this appear before. Heres the sitch.Took my '09 1125R to the dealer in oct. for a stalling problem,failed ign.switch and 600mi.service.They replaced the ign.sw.ok.Did the 600mi.service and reflashed the ECU for the stalling problem(aparantly it did'nt need the rotor like the bulletin indicates).Deal is I owned an '08 before and one of the best things about the '09 was the rt.footpeg area got nowhere near as hot as the '08.Not until after I picked it up.Now you can't wear jeans the will literally burn,no kidding.Removed the plastic heatshield(between the header and footpeg)and watched the header get as red as the burners on an electric range(stove).Looked at the front header and it does the same.Think it was the flash?As I said never did this until after reflash,also only gets 28 mpg used to get 32 mpg.Oh,it's all stock. danny. | ||
| Moosestang |
I only got 28mpg my last tank.  I've never seen my headers glow and i've had three flashes on the bike. I will look very closely tomorrow morning. How long does it take to start glowing from a cold start up? | ||
| Ccryder |
Yep they will glow. SOme do, some don't, sometimes. | ||
| Barker |
Look at em glo | ||
| Sknight |
 Yep, mine do it too. However I'm pulling near 40 MPG. I aired the tires up to 42 PSI per the tire and gained a lot of MPG. | ||
| Ponti1 |
Ummmmm, 42psi is WAY too high. You are killing both your handling/traction and your tire life. EDIT: I know that this is a header thread rather than a tire pressure thread, but I am geetting 39mpg running 32-33psi. Also, my headers will glow while still and in little ambient light, especially during warm-up. (Message edited by ponti1 on December 15, 2009) | ||
| Thunderbike |
Moosestang; It only takes the time from startup to when the engine cold warning goes out,not long.I don't remember it getting this hot until that last flash.I'm going to check my buddies bike and see if it does it.Also like to know if it does this with aftermarket exhaust. thanks guys. | ||
| Justa4banger |
if its getting that red hot, you got issues.. something is causing it to run retarded timing or the fuel mixture is too rich/lean. i suggest taking it back to the dealer.. (Message edited by justa4banger on December 15, 2009) | ||
| Sknight |
OK. Not hurting a thing, I promise. It handles just fine for me and so far the tires are wearing pretty well. | ||
| Ccryder |
Ponti: Try it you may like it, on the street that is for commuting. Justa4banger: I suggest that you read some of the previous posts. It is common on IC engines to see this. I've seen it on all my Buells, Japanese and Italian bikes. Exhaust gases get HOT!!! | ||
| Xtreme6669 |
All the modern 4 stroke mx bikes do it as well... but most have ti head pipes. | ||
| Zac4mac |
 It's normal, go ride it they will cool down with a little airflow. | ||
| Moosestang |
Yes mine are glowing after 5 minutes. They were also glowing when I got to work, but not nearly as hot. | ||
| Blackflash |
My christmas tree glows as well. | ||
| 1_mike |
Ponti - No necessarily true on the tire pressure.... Most after market tires I've used...currently the Pilot Power, need 42/43psi to maintain a good wear pattern. This isn't guessing, this is from years of motorcycles. Now if I'm heading up a canyon..I'll lower the pressure some. but for everyday driving back and forth to work, front-43, rear 40. Mike | ||
| 1_mike |
As far as the bright red headers..... Fuel and ignition timing are ALL that's required to fix this problem. Been there, done that. Nothing new, still the same fix required. Been on the 1125 boards for a long time...! Mike | ||
| Justa4banger |
Just because many owners have noticed a red hot header doesn't make it right... I find it hard to believe this is normal.....Red hot headers are usually from retarded timing.... Whether its a car, bike or what ever.... Next cause would be a lean condition. In the last 600 miles i put on my bike i never once noticed a red hot header.... I will say though i was riding in very cool weather... Too me this just isn't normal... now on my turbo stang.... 1750* and red hot headers is normal... but then again i was working that turbo over time.. I guess i'll just have to keep an eye out for this.. | ||
| Moosestang |
Do a google search for glowing headers. It's more common than you'd think. Anyone with the O S B tune have the headers glow? | ||
| Xtreme6669 |
I have never noticed it at all on mine... before or after •••, I will keep an eye out for it and report back... | ||
| Moosestang |
http://www.f650.com/phpbb3/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=226 790&p=459302 Look at the pic in this post. I wonder if the fast 1500rpm idle of these bikes is part of the reason. | ||
| Froggy |
Then why do the XB's do it? I have never seen it happen on any of my bikes, but I don't sit idle wasting gas. | ||
| Thunderbike |
Thanks guys, On the idle question,thats another thing I liked about my '09.from when I test rode it until that last visit to the dealer it idled at 1,100 rpm when fully warm.Now it's like my '08 was,it idles at around 1.700 rpm.The stalling would happen and ck'eng.light would flash,code stored was crank position sensor.They updated the ECU.The receipt does'nt give a flash update number though.I'm wondering if maybe another flash might correct this. | ||
| Moosestang |
Well the xb's are a whole other ball of wax. I never saw my pipes glow on my 9, but I know others had. I of course added timing and fuel at idle, set the static timing and completely remapped the fuel and timing. I can tell you that after the 152 flash, i've gotten the worse gas mileage to date. 26mpg this last fill up.  I hope Erik Buell racing sells a race ecm for around $300. Hopefully it will solve all my surging issues. If not it's time to learn the O S B software. | ||
| Moosestang |
http://www.tlzone.net/forums/tl1000s-tl1000r-forum /55224-rear-pipe-glowing-header.html Some more glowing headers on a TL forum. If they start to glow yellow or white, then you've got problems. Why are so many saying this is a timing or lean issue, while people in the business say it's perfectly normal? They mention high octane fuels burning at 1100*, so maybe it will glow less running 89 instead of 93. Anyway i'm more worried about my 26mpg. | ||
| Froggy |
Because its both from what I understand, as it needs to pass EPA testing. I am curious if tuned bikes still do it, probably not as much if at all. | ||
| Justa4banger |
IMO regardless of what "others" say... its not correct to have a glowing red hot header... NOW if the headers is that red after doing a 5th gear WOT pull , then yea i can see it, but to sit at idle or putt around town and glow... something is just not right.. It could very well be in the tune for emissions.... they run the engines lean and/or retarded/advanced timing to get em to pass emissions. Oh and yes glowing exhaust is caused by fueling or timing issues. So thats why i keep saying its one of the 2 or more likely a combination of both. | ||
| Thunderbike |
Well to kind of give it another spin.Went for a ride today.On the highway steady speed,ck'eng.light comes on.Checked the code,frt.O2 sensor malfunction.Off to the dealer.Funny thing is I don't think they like working on these bikes. | ||
| Justa4banger |
Honestly.... the O2 sensors on this bike are basically crap... they are narrow band O2 sensors with VERY limited range of measurement... I have considered Throwing a Real wide band O2 sensor in there. the Zeitronix WBO2 sensor i have has a 0-1 volt output for narrowband operation... basically i could fool the computer to think there is a stock O2 sensor there In the mean time get real accurate readings for a/f ratio... Also any time one of these silly o2 sensor goes out.... its not critical... they only read at idle and cruise between a narrow range of the tach... (i dunno the range as everything is different) So basically they are junk... nothing worth worrying over.. | ||
| Justa4banger |
2 things, i just thought of this also... if you guys have glowing red hot headers... stock up on O2 sensors... they only live at 800* or so... any higher and the heat will kill them... On the flip side, if you bike only has a glowing header on start up, if could be programmed that way to get the o2 sensors up to temp.... as they don't work worth a poop when not in the proper operating heat range. | ||
| Moosestang |
Honestly.... the O2 sensors on this bike are basically crap... they are narrow band O2 sensors I know of no motorcycle that comes with anything different. So your rear header doesn't glow at idle? We are talking about at night here. I'm willing to bet if you asked buell, they would say this is normal. I'm sure there are many ways to lower EGT's, but i'm not sure it is necessary. There's a lot of speculation in this thread, lots of opinion. | ||
| Ezblast |
Welcome to the BADWEB! - lol EZ | ||
| Justa4banger |
No i have never noticed a glowing red header at night... and i've have quite a few night rides in the last week or so... and yes i understand the O2 sensors are cheapos, my point is i wouldn't sweat a code from a O2 sensor going out... I also would bet that buell would say a glowing header is normal, doesn't make it right... Ford back in the early 80's had 2.3 4 cyl with drawthru turbo setups in their mustangs... They ran good and only lasted about 20-30k miles. customer complaints ranged from smelly exhaust to glowing hot parts, fuel smell etc, etc... the problem was the dinosaur of a carb used for a drawthru turbo setup... Ford went through countless warranty repairs before finally ditching that POS turbo/carb setup. Dealers claimed everything was ok... Even though it wasn't... My point being, dealers are only told whats on paper... it may not be the truth.. I'd be willing to bet that because of emissions standards, the bikes runs lean at idle, and richens up just off idle... and also for cold start is runs lean to get those POS O2 sensors up to temp. that might explain the red hot header... either way its not right. it just is what it is. | ||
| Buelldyno_guy |
I want to be careful here, not to start a fight, but there are several posters who are way off base. Ask your self why Buells have SS header pipes, answer to help matters due to heat. All bikes have hot pipes, well above 800 deg F. The red glow we see on a Dyno is because it's standing still while at high power and we can see it. One of the biggest issues for Dyno shops is how well we keep the headers cool. Customers don't like their new system all blue when we are done with the Dyno tune. Yes lean is hotter but most upper end chrome systems use heat shields as the pipes almost always turn blue. On the issue of narrow band 02 sensors, most are manfactured by the same few company's and if needed they can sometimes be clean by heating them up with a torch until they are cherry red which is well above 1000 deg. So back to your 1125 issue the dealer's reflash could have changed the Fuell map both richer or leaner in places as needed, and you sometimes may or may not feel that on your leg. But your red pipe during a Dyno run is more about where the exhaust cooling fans in the Dyno room are aimed. Terry - www.jtsperformance.com |
