heat wraps

mitsubishimarc · 02-26-2008, 10:28 PM

so winter in PA is dragging on and i'm getting pretty ancy about getting out and riding on the next nice day we get. and as riding season is coming up, i've started looking around at things that i want to do to my 919 this year and came across exhaust heat wraps. has anyone ever had any experience with them on their bikes current or previous. rumor has it that they reduce temperatures since they keep it in the pipes, and it doesn't sound half bad because i dont know about anyone else but my 919 tends to heat up pretty quick in the summer when sitting at red lights for more than 5 minutes. any insight you guys could give would be appreciated.

dicksneeed · 02-27-2008, 4:02 PM

I've been wondering the same thing. Do they affect performance at all or just a cosmetic thing. Got the Sato Banzai system on my RC51. I might just get some to experience for myself. Any feedback would be good.

ratdog · 03-05-2008, 1:40 PM

do they impact performance?
yes
how much?
not enough to care, especially on the 919...

you want to see a mummy header?
checkout bucky's bike over at Wrist Twisters Performance in the naked/919 section

it will help keep the heat down somewhat but that's not an issue on the 919

blue1000rr · 03-05-2008, 2:39 PM

ive been considering doing it to my 1krr but havent had time. I have it done on my corvette though because the sidepipes get to hot near the fiberglass

blue1000rr · 03-05-2008, 2:41 PM

and i also heard that if you put heat wrap on the bottom side of your tank the bike will run better because a cooler fuel means more power

mitsubishimarc · 03-10-2008, 11:13 AM

i was more or less wondering about how much they kept the heat down because like i said, i don't like sitting at redlights for extended periods with my fans running on the radiator. maybe its just my bike... heat isnt a factor obviously when riding down the road because of the wind cooling everything but when i sit at lights my temp runs up. does anyone else notice this?

blue1000rr · 03-11-2008, 11:40 PM

they arnt going to keep the heat down in the engine it's self, just keep the heat from getting away from the pipe. have you tried Water Weter? it actually makes your bike run 10-20 degrees cooler. i run it in everything that is liquid cooled that i own

-Z- · 03-12-2008, 2:17 AM

I recommend Engine Ice over Water Wetter, but Water Wetter is pretty damn good stuff too.

As for the exhaust heat wraps, the key idea is by keeping the heat in the exhaust, the gases don't cool as much and will keep moving quickly through the pipe. Also the above-mentioned bit about helping keep the engine cooler. The only part I don't see mentioned is that the increased heat will also cause the packing in your muffler to break down faster.

mitsubishimarc · 03-17-2008, 3:44 PM

i'll have to get some engine ice or water wetter... i didn't think about that before. thanks guys

prtsimmons · 03-19-2008, 5:26 PM

Aside from the thermodynamic implications for engine efficiency, something you might want to consider is corrosion: heat wraps hold in moisture even better than they hold heat. Plus, heat speeds up corrosion (the pipes will be hotter, even if your legs are cooler). I used to work in a bike shop and I saw some pretty rusty headers under some heat tape.

bikepilot · 04-26-2008, 10:09 PM

Yes, wraps can make a mess. You can get similar heat insulation with a ceramic coating without the downsides of wrapping. It will likely keep things a little cooler because you'll have less heat radiating off the exhaust and back onto the motor. I had the header on one of my bikes coated by Jet-Hot and liked the results

129CBRider · 06-20-2008, 12:08 AM

I've had header wrap on my XR400R, XR600R, and 919 for years now with no corrosion on the pipes. I first painted them with some good 1200 degree header paint, then painted over that with some cold zinc galvanizing compound, then another coat of header paint, then the wrap, then painted the wrap with the black header paint again just to even up the color.

I've worn the wrap completely off the XR400 riding on gravel roads once and re-wrapped them again.

All four bikes feel cooler riding them and the 919 runs cooler by about 1/8th of the dial. At long stop lights the fan still comes on. Only Water Wetter might help that but Honda designed it that way so it's normal. Without the fan they'd boil over in 2 minutes like a CRF450R. The XR's can idle all day and you can still touch the head fins.