Triumphrat

pjvenda · 03-01-2010, 05:13 PM

The sun paid Oxford a visit today, all day!

With a smile from ear to ear, I took my new Speedmaster and on to work I went. First bike commute of the year and first time I took the bike to work! Beautiful (chilly) 15 miles into the office with city, motorway and B-roads. After a pair of ohs and ahs from my colleages (well, I deserve it!) I reluctantly did my day's work (would rather ride around all day).

When coming back it smelled a bit of burned rubber, but I figured it must have been of the sad cagers around me. It wasn't. My left foot touched the exhaust at least once and left a horrible rubber stain on my beautiful chrome.

I looked a bit on the Internet and got a few tips, but I would like to ask here what's the method of election.
What's the safest way to get rid of it and restore my pipe to its former mirror finish?

Thanks in advance!!

danf_florida · 03-01-2010, 10:16 PM

I put a nylon jacket on the handlebars that hung down onto the exhaust when hot. I waited until all was cool and simply peeled it off. Then I got some of the marical blue (used to remove bluing from pipes) and a lot of elbow grease.

Harald73 · 03-02-2010, 04:16 AM

Use a piece of sugar (well actually pieces of sugar) and lots of water to scrub it off -> you'll end up with great result.

desmo955i · 03-02-2010, 02:43 PM

Easy-off oven cleaner... It’s not the safest for you but it'll pull that off with minimal effort. Get the exhaust hot, park in an open well ventilated area. While wearing some of those oven cleaning gloves, bunch up a rag in to a ball, stand downwind from your bike (Easy-off will destroy the painted finish of anything it touches). Spray in to the rag then scrub the area. You may have to go over it a few times. After the pipe cools apply your chrome polish. That's how I get boot and bugs off. I've done it several times, here in Texas the bugs get really bad during the summer. Easy-off is as common place to me as wax when it comes to cleaning the bike.

Sparky · 03-02-2010, 03:27 PM

I, too, melted a boot heel onto my silencer. My dealer suggested I use Brake Disk Cleaner which worked like magic (no fumes, no hot pipes, etc.)

Ronz32 · 03-02-2010, 03:55 PM

I absent mindely wiped my still got exhaust with a microfibre cloth which, of course, melted right to it. I was so p!ssed I left it and was surprised it just peeled right off when cold! You could always try the old wives solution for gum stuck on cloth, freeze it with an ice cube and then snap it off. Or I could be talking rubbish.

pjvenda · 03-03-2010, 07:35 PM

Thanks for all the suggestions. Looking at what I have available, I may try the sugar and the oven cleaner techniques. Someone else also suggested warming the pipe and scrubbing the rubber off with a cotton cloth and a little bit of WD40.

Oh and I found out it was not the boot. I checked again and I would have to have lifted my foot on purpose to reach that spot with my boot. +1 for the boots!