Bike is an 08 510 that I bought last month. Due to my work, I only am able to ride on the weekends, so the past few, I have been doing just that. This weekend, however, is dedicated to maintenance and a few mods.
When purchased, the bike's exhaust system was wrapped in a DEI titanium wrap (from header to muffler). I talked to Bill from 113Moto a couple weeks ago regarding a different issue and he mentioned that he advises against exhaust wraps because they retain too much heat in the pipe. It also was becoming brittle and looked kind of crappy so I removed the headers, midpipe, and muffler from the bike and took off the wrap. A couple of questions:
1) The metal appears to be discolored and a bit rusty. There is also mesh like coloration pattern that the wrap left behind. What's the best way to clean up the pipes to make them look a little cleaner and maybe polish them up a little bit? Steel wool? Sandblasting? Are they steel, aluminum, or titanium?
2) What is the best way to reassemble the pipes to ensure that they are sealed and free of leaks? RTV silicone? If so, how do you apply it; just put some on the joints before connecting?
3) I noticed that one of the headers was very loose and once I took the spring off, it came off effortlessly. Even with the spring still connected, there was still a lot of wiggle in the header. The other one was rock solid and took some muscle to get off after removing the spring; I assume that is how both of them want to be. How do I fix this? Do I need to replace that spring? If so, where can I get them?
When purchased, the bike's exhaust system was wrapped in a DEI titanium wrap (from header to muffler). I talked to Bill from 113Moto a couple weeks ago regarding a different issue and he mentioned that he advises against exhaust wraps because they retain too much heat in the pipe. It also was becoming brittle and looked kind of crappy so I removed the headers, midpipe, and muffler from the bike and took off the wrap. A couple of questions:
1) The metal appears to be discolored and a bit rusty. There is also mesh like coloration pattern that the wrap left behind. What's the best way to clean up the pipes to make them look a little cleaner and maybe polish them up a little bit? Steel wool? Sandblasting? Are they steel, aluminum, or titanium?
2) What is the best way to reassemble the pipes to ensure that they are sealed and free of leaks? RTV silicone? If so, how do you apply it; just put some on the joints before connecting?
3) I noticed that one of the headers was very loose and once I took the spring off, it came off effortlessly. Even with the spring still connected, there was still a lot of wiggle in the header. The other one was rock solid and took some muscle to get off after removing the spring; I assume that is how both of them want to be. How do I fix this? Do I need to replace that spring? If so, where can I get them?
