Clean the Collector?

[HiVel]

My 3 into one collector pipe under the engine is turning redidsh from the yellowish color it started out as- what to clean it with or just forget it and buy a Zard? Really, how do you take care of this pipe that seems to be a cast material of some sort and is
morphing into some kind of sore looking mess.

[TripleTrouble]

you can get the whole thing ceramic coated, thats one option.

Chris

[crashmasterd]

The whole Triumph exhaust is Stainless Steel, even the cast parts. You can get rid of the discoloration temporarily by using a quality polishing compound. However, it will come right back. This is a characteristic of stainless and a lot of people like it- although some don't. It won't effect the longevity of the exhaust.

Someone on here took some time to wet-sand and polish all the cast stainless parts. It looks really nice when done, but it's a fair amount of work. I think it would be difficult to remove all the discoloration without doing this though.

If you want the Zard exhaust then go for it, but if you are just unhappy with the discoloration of the Stainless then I suggest some other alternative. Maybe have the whole system black chromed? That would look fantastic, and probably be less expensive than the Zard system! And Black Chrome doesn't discolor.

In my case I don't care. The discoloration is a badge of honor that says "Stainless." That's me. I just ride the thing.

[HiVel]

Good enough-guess I will just ride the heck out of the thing!!

[Geof3]

I'm with Crash... The "patina" created on hot stainless is just too friggin' cool. Wouldn't even try to change it...

[realizations]

I believe that's where the catalytic converter lives, and polishing would be pointless or short-lived.

[robnobrakes]

On 2006-03-11 17:30, HiVel wrote:
My 3 into one collector pipe under the engine is turning redidsh from the yellowish color it started out as- what to clean it with or just forget it and buy a Zard? Really, how do you take care of this pipe that seems to be a cast material of some sort and is
morphing into some kind of sore looking mess.

I polished the sand cast parts to the collector soon after buying the bike. The picture below shows it 'just polished'. The bright finish soon mellows to a golden colour which looks superb. I have since repolished it once in 6 months as the finish holds up well (the bike is used in all weathers). I repolished it due to salt staining this winter. The oil spots are not from the bike, before someone asks :razz: