CL77 exhaust...

[cyclon36]

[quote="cyclon36Thanks for the heads up. I don't plan on running the heat shields on them so I might luck out in a pair that has a few things missing..

The CL exhausts have brackets for mounting the heat shields that are pretty ugly if the heat shields are not mounted. If you want a clean, slick looking exhaust, you will have to cut off the brackets and grind the welds smooth.

It's your choice, but I suspect that you will want some type of heat shield. The first time you burn your leg or hand or something plastic when it inadvertantly touches those pipes, you'll wish you had. The CL pipes are not double wall like a lot of Honda pipes.

regards,
Rob[/quote]

I was planning on using a header wrap. I'll PM eyhonda and see how that worked out for him. He might have not preferred it in the end.

[davomoto]

The header wrap gets hot, not as hot as the steel. I have it on my street tracker, and no burns yet! No riding in your skivies either ! :-)

Davo

[Snakeoil]

Anything that makes contact with the source of heat will eventually, given enough time get very close if not equal to the temp of the heat source. When I built my track bike I glassed in a small bulge in the lower fairing half to accomodate a bend in my Arrow exhaust. It was still pretty close. So I tried wrapping it with high temp ceramic insulation which is used in 1000C fuel cell applications. It blistered the paint first time I fired up the engine. So I pulled off the insulation, and just put aluminum tape on the fairing opposite the pipe to reflect the heat and left the 1/2" air space. Never got hot again.

Nothing beat air as an insulator.

I have no personal experience with heat wrap. But I've read several accounts from others who have, that say the stuff causes your pipes to corrode much quicker than if you did not use it. Not sure anyone notices until they take it off one day and find a mess under the heat wrap. Davo, have you ever looked under yours? I'm curious of those reports are accurate or not.

Personally, I think some small, nicely made heat shields, maybe out of polished aluminum, are an attractive feature on a bike. And you only have to burn yourself once in a tender spot on a hot header to never forget the experience.

A racy looking bike should indicate a proper racing position for the rider. This means legs tucked in tight. You won't know you are burning until it's too late.
regards,
Rob