When I was at the autoparts store, they had black tips. I had a chrome one in my hand, but then decided black would look good and I would have to polish it.
I removed the can and installed a black tip but was unable to turn the heat shield around due to the angle of the shield and placement of the clamp.
Any ideas how to paint the chrome heat shield black? Do they make black ones?
You can paint chrome if you first scuff it so the paint will stick. Use wet/dry paper -say 360 grit and primer it , then paint. Better make sure that it isn't too hot for regular paint before you paint it. I have never felt that part to know.
I don't know, looks OK to me. The chrome shield blends in with the catalytic converter and your silver case, and the black pipe blends in with your tire.
I would just take the heat shield off.
But if want to paint it you can use a high heat engine paint OR BBQ grill paint. Sand it the best you can, it will seem like your barely doing anything to the chrome and use a primer-use the same brand primer as you do paint for best results.
mad1150 which auto-parts store had the black tips? I love the way the black looks. I have a chrome on mine, but now want the black! I removed my heat shield though, looks cleaner imho.
1) I sometimes ride without earplugs, like to work and back about 15 min. one way. It seems pretty loud. I liked my quiet bike.
2) I now have a vibration in the left foot peg, a little bit on the right, but the left is very noticeable.
Riding all day tomorrow, that will tell me. But at least I can make a little noise with the 100+ HDs I'll be riding with at the JP Cycles Poker Run. Can you say - EARPLUGS!
Clamp is a stainless steel band type. Made in Australia too! Only costs a few bucks. I had to get mine from a specialty fastener store, as the exhaust shops wanted 6 times the price for lesser quality. Mine's not noisy, and no vibration. Maybe it's the slight tip angle. Mine is set up to direct exhaust gas down and slightly outboard, to keep the wheel clean.
I ride an R1150GS Adventure with sidecar. IBA #39193
From an engineering standpoint - three slots work better than one or two. Allows for a more even contraction of the pipe around the cat outlet so that it doesn't distort it, just in case you need to put the original can back on. It also allows you to keep the slot length to a minimum. My cuts are only a few mm longer than the width of the clamp. Having three sections of the tip able to comppress (three slots) means that the tip end is evenly pressed against the quite thin cat outlet.
The clamp doesn't need to be wound down as tight (easier removal later) and the slots collect less crud and water, so less corrosion at the clamp. Too many slots, and the tip is likely to be weaker. Anyway - Lots of theories on that sort of stuff, and people can please themselves. That's what I did.
I've sent a couple of those clamps to people in 'obscure' places (like the USA) when they just couldn't find them locally.
I ride an R1150GS Adventure with sidecar. IBA #39193
Just a quick addendum to the excellent reply by MIXR.
Another reason to keep the slots as short as possible is to eliminate any possible sources of air leaks (which cause the dreaded exhuast banging on overrun).
Rog.
From the planet Zephyron.
Models owned:- Rog (Yorkshire Dales)
Rog - Don't know that that's an issue, because the tip is so short anyway. The natural 'popping' on overun (in every 1150 I've ridden) that gets damped by the can is much more noticeable with the short tip. It's not a loud 'bang', just a soft pop. I don't mind it. Some hate it.
You still raise a valid point about the short tip sealing correctly though. When I first tried mine, I had it pretty loose. It definitely leaked. For some reason, the exhaust seemed to be noisier because of the leaks, even though the outlet was only a few inches further back. It was quieter when I tightened everything down.
Mine's been in place for 65,000 kms, and my service guys don't have an issue with it. It scrapes in under our noise limits (95 or 97 dBA - Can't remember). The tip on my bike was a standard heavy-duty auto one. I cut about 4 inches off the straight end as it was a bit too long and looked too 'dorky' hanging way back to the rear wheel centre. It's only job is to make sure the hot exhaust is directed away from the side case, and away from the tyre/rim.
I ride an R1150GS Adventure with sidecar. IBA #39193
Well, after riding 450+ miles yesterday without the can, it goes back on today! Maybe all the cool kids are doing it, but if all the cool kids jumped off a cliff...
I reached the following conclusions (sorry in advance Harley owners):
1.) If I wanted a loud bike, I would have bought a Harley.
2.) If I wanted a bike that vibrates, I would have bought a Harley.
3.) I want it even quieter with less vibration (I think I just said R1200R)
I rode for 3 days straight in WI last month with only occasional right hand numbness. At the end of the day yesterday, my ears, feet, hands, and rear-end were all bothering me, and I was extremely tired. Could have been an off day, but I think it was the vibration.
...btw...the black looks great.
...did you put a slot in your tip so can be tightened properly?
