The brown pipe mystery

[motoquest]

You are supposed to twist the throttle. Go ahead, twist it to the stop (and hold on tight).

Don't worry about the color of the pipes.

Yes, I definitely plan to plan to put the grin factor back into riding it. :drinks: But serious question just for piece of mind. Since I have seen others with FJRs with 50k miles and no blue pipes, could the fact mine blued be due to me running in 100 degree weather with 430 pounds on the bike even though the engine temp wasn't high? If I can just have some plausible explanation I can put this out of my mind and not have a nagging feeling that an expensive engineer repair is waiting to happen.

 

[ionbeam]

I do a lot of riding in the rain and that definitely affects the pipe color. If you are really (really) concerned about *something* being wrong take your bikie to a shop with an EGA tester and have them stuff a probe up your pipes and measure CO, Nx and HC readings. Since the cats mix exhaust from the headers, side to side tail pipe emissions should be the same. If there is something wrong the tester will sniff it out.

Once you confirm that there is nothing wrong Simchrome your pipes and just ride it. Simchrome seems to be one of the better polishes and evidently they charge you for the performance. I have a large old container that I'm still using up.

 

[RadioHowie]

You are supposed to twist the throttle. Go ahead, twist it to the stop (and hold on tight).

Don't worry about the color of the pipes.

Yes, I definitely plan to plan to put the grin factor back into riding it. :drinks: But serious question just for piece of mind. Since I have seen others with FJRs with 50k miles and no blue pipes, could the fact mine blued be due to me running in 100 degree weather with 430 pounds on the bike even though the engine temp wasn't high? If I can just have some plausible explanation I can put this out of my mind and not have a nagging feeling that an expensive engineer repair is waiting to happen.

Didja ever think that the reason you've never seen blue pipes on other Feejers might be those owners had already polished theirs????

 

[motoquest]

Didja ever think that the reason you've never seen blue pipes on other Feejers might be those owners had already polished theirs????

That did cross my mind but I figured everyone would be saying, yes common problem, I have to do mine every XXX number of years.

 

[HotRodZilla]

Mine have a sort of brown tinge to them too. And I don't give a shit...There's all kinds of factors in what makes some look different than others.

 

[rogdeb]

Stop it ....... now!!

RIDE

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BIKE

 

[mcatrophy]

You want blue pipes? Try a Bonneville.

(Click on image for larger view)



Ok, it's not an FJR, but it shows there's no particular issue with temperatures or whatever. When this picture was taken, the bike had done 4000 miles, all fairly gently. The pipes had blued after just a few hundred if memory serves. (Not that it does serve particularly well.)

 

[TheZsdad]

Try the simichrome. If the brown returns within a 1000 miles you might want to get the sniffer test done. Or just get it done now.

I'm sure lots of shops in Charlotte could do this but one I know is Lee's Performance Center.

See Clicky

 

[Richouse]

As stated before, pipes blue because of high temps. Usually caused by a lean mixture which stock FJR's are notorious for. My header is discolored all the way to the pipe that goes into the 2 Bro's can and it has less that 8000 miles on it. No, it didn't blue "Just" because you ran in 100* weather with 430lbs. on it. If you don't want to get a power commander you can do a barbarian jumper mod and enrich the fuel mixture which might help some but won't stop it more than likely. the bike will run a little better though.

 

[Fred W]

Looking back to your original post, you said "the pipes are turning blue and the muffler is turning brown."

Most of the responses have been in regards to the first half, ie the header pipes turning blue. That is completely normal. If you leave them alone they will progress to a fine brownish gray patina that indicates you ride your bike and don't fret about polishing it.

The second half is a bit more troubling. I have noticed the mufflers themselves taking on a dingy yellowish tint, but only when they are really dirty. However, I'm not sure that is what you are referring to. Perhaps you could take a picture for us? It's also possible that someone did something dumb like putting car wax on the stainless steel cans. That might turn brownish as it heats up and burns on.

Most of us do keep the exhaust cans relatively clean and shiny. Afterall, unlike the headers, they are hanging right out there for all the world to see. So a little metal polish and a lot of elbow grease will get those cans back to looking new. But you really shouldn't have to do anything special to the cans on a regular basis for them to stay that way.

 

[motoquest]

Ok, so silly question. How do I post a picture. When I click on insert image it asks for a http address.

 

[Fred W]

Ok, so silly question. How do I post a picture. When I click on insert image it asks for a http address.

Yes, you have to host the image somewhere like Photobucket or Flicker. Then you link to that hosted file with the "img" html tags.

 

[motoquest]

I think this will work. As you can see half of the muffler has begun to turn brownish as well.

 

[Fred W]

Yeah, that is well worth 1000 words.That amount of discoloration of the pipe leading into the muffler is excessive.

Something is messed up with your fueling to cause that much blue that far down the pipe.

 

[motoquest]

Yeah, that is well worth 1000 words.That amount of discoloration of the pipe leading into the muffler is excessive.

Something is messed up with your fueling to cause that much blue that far down the pipe.

Thanks Fred. In hindsight I should have started off with the pictures.

I am trying to think through my options. If I do get the sniffer test done, what can they do if there is no power commander and with stock pipes? Especially since the dealer said the O2 sensor wasn't throwing any codes. Would I be better off to buy a power commander and download a map for a standard setup? Is this just a fuel mixture issue or is there any chance something more significant is going on?

 

[wfooshee]

I see it's a bit one-sided, as well. I wonder if there's a blockage somewhere, forcing more exhaust out one side than the other. The discoloring is after the catalyst, which sits in the center section that the headers feed into. None of which would have anything to do with the O2 sensor, which is (barely) ahead of the catalyst.

In your original post you said the headers were turning blue, but that's not headers there, thus everyone answering a different question all this time.

 

[RossKean]

I don't think you will get a code if the O2 sensor is disconnected??

 

[Fred W]

The O2 sensor doesn't throw codes if it's not working at all. That is how we can disconnect the thing altogether when we install a Power Commander and the ECU is still happy. Also, when Ross Keen got his O2 wire pinched in between some faring piece and a frame member, grounding that wire cause the engine to run like doody but there was nary a check engine code. [edit - Ross jumped into the thread while I was typing!)

The FJR's emissions ECU is a lot more primitive than the typical OBD2 automotive ECU. It will put up with a lot of evils and never throw a code.

Walt makes a good observation, that the blueing is more pronounced on one side than the other, but I think that both sides are excessive anyway. I'm pretty sure an exhaust gas analysis will lead a competent tech to conclude the bike is running much too rich. The raw fuel in the engine exhaust is being burnt in the cats and generating afterburner heat.

There are a multitude of sensors that could be FUBARed that would result in the ECU delivering a rich mixture.

 

[TheZsdad]

The O2 sensor doesn't throw codes if it's not working at all. That is how we can disconnect the thing altogether when we install a Power Commander and the ECU is still happy. Also, when Ross Keen got his O2 wire pinched in between some faring piece and a frame member, grounding that wire cause the engine to run like doody but there was nary a check engine code. [edit - Ross jumped into the thread while I was typing!)

The FJR's emissions ECU is a lot more primitive than the typical OBD2 automotive ECU. It will put up with a lot of evils and never throw a code.

Walt makes a good observation, that the blueing is more pronounced on one side than the other, but I think that both sides are excessive anyway. I'm pretty sure an exhaust gas analysis will lead a competent tech to conclude the bike is running much too rich. The raw fuel in the engine exhaust is being burnt in the cats and generating afterburner heat.

There are a multitude of sensors that could be FUBARed that would result in the ECU delivering a rich mixture.

Possibly previous owner has done the barbarian jumper mod or what ever you call it.

 

[Fred W]

The O2 sensor doesn't throw codes if it's not working at all. That is how we can disconnect the thing altogether when we install a Power Commander and the ECU is still happy. Also, when Ross Keen got his O2 wire pinched in between some faring piece and a frame member, grounding that wire cause the engine to run like doody but there was nary a check engine code. [edit - Ross jumped into the thread while I was typing!)

The FJR's emissions ECU is a lot more primitive than the typical OBD2 automotive ECU. It will put up with a lot of evils and never throw a code.

Walt makes a good observation, that the blueing is more pronounced on one side than the other, but I think that both sides are excessive anyway. I'm pretty sure an exhaust gas analysis will lead a competent tech to conclude the bike is running much too rich. The raw fuel in the engine exhaust is being burnt in the cats and generating afterburner heat.

There are a multitude of sensors that could be FUBARed that would result in the ECU delivering a rich mixture.

Possibly previous owner has done the barbarian jumper mod or what ever you call it.

Good point. Maybe they jacked the CO way up across the board? That would be easy to check. See any of the Barbarian Jumper Mod posts