| Author | Message | ||
     Captdi |
I started riding on a Buell Blast. I had a bit of heat blowing on my right leg but was fine with it. In April on my bday Hubby and I bought a Buell X1 for my upgrade. I love the bike. But... The heat blowing on my leg with pants not shorts. Makes it feel like I am on fire! I can get down the rode 3 miles and am fine during the day. Any farther and you can start to feel the burn. At night it is better 20 miles then a burn. I live in the Florida Keys! And I want to be able to ride my bike comfortably all year. Any suggestions? This is all on the right leg only. Thanks | ||
| Djkaplan |
I ride an M2, but I also had this heat problem. I stumbled upon a solution I would have never thought of: I polished the header and it cut down on a noticeable amount of heat. I realized I had changed the header surfaces emissivity when I polished it. Emissivity is an important factor in radiative heat transfer (a shiney surface has a lower emissivity compared to a dull flat one). Radiative heat transfer tyically doesn't come into play until temperatures get really hot, apparently like these Buell pipes can get. I had a new race kit pipe and decided to polish it before I installed it. One of the things I noticed immediately (after watching the pipes turn from silver to a gold color - it's interesting to see that happen) was that the pipe wasn't heating my right leg very much. It was so much less, it let me remove my M2 heat shield and still not be too uncomfortable even in the summer. I couldn't run without the heatshield in the winter when I tried it before with the unpolished stock header. It really did cut the heat down... I was amazed. I'd try getting the header polished (or just do it yourself) before I wrapped the header. Wrapping the header will probably be more effective, but you have to like the look. | ||
| Guell |
wrapped stock steel headers on my 97 cyclone. Ive learned to live with my right leg on fire. If its burning me, it means im not going fast enough. | ||
| Hughlysses |
+1 on polishing significantly helping the heat; I found that out on my S3. Obviously wrapping the headers with header wrap works too. The best fix is to get your headers Jet Hot coated. | ||
| Captdi |
Thanks everyone. I really wouldn't have thought of polishing it. We plan to polish the tail. So I guess we will do the header too.  | ||
| Raceautobody |
Polishing the header also helped on mine. Also if your X1 has an aftermarket exhaust and a high flow air filter but still has the stock ECM it will run very hot. The buell race ecm will help with that setup greatly. And check the static timing, most are not set right and that can cause it to run hotter. Al | ||
| Brokeneck |
I used to bitch about Buell Leg -- and then I bought a new FJR -- believe me at least the heat was only on your leg on the Buell -- You can have low horsepower and low heat or High horsepower and high heat -- ride faster airflow helps -- and hooligan bikes do run better after dark -- | ||
| Unix |
buy motorcycle gear and wear it, or wrap the heads in heat wrap. | ||
| Kyrocket |
I had my headers jet hot coated soon after I got mine in early 2000. It helped for awhile but I wrapped them over the winter and it helped more but it NEVER disappears completely. I'm very envious also of your daily rides in the keys. My buddy and I want to trailer down to somewhere around Tampa sometime in the winter and ride to the southern most point. I've been there but not on a bike. Good Luck! | ||
| Torquemonster |
"Any suggestions?" I cant believe noone has posted up with a hearty HTFU! | ||
| Dragonwing |
When in doubt, wear pants! DW | ||
| Scott_in_nh |
I polished my header, looks great and may cut down on the heat, but a pair of overpants is much more effective at keeping my legs cool. It sounds counter-intuitive to wear more clothes to be cooler, but that is the way it works! Even mesh pants should have solid panels on the insides of the legs just for this purpose. Otherwise - move north! It is only an issue for 2 months tops here in NH..... | ||
| Dave_02_1200 |
Michael, I live in Sarasota. When I read that you plan to ride down here during tourist season I felt the need to warn you that Florida, in the winter tourist season, has the most dangerous riding I have ever experienced. I came to SW Florida from Southern California and have lived in Chicago and this is far worse than either. Think fast, straight, roads with too much traffic and a bad mix of traffic types: (Mr. McGoo meets 18 wheelers, drunks, and frustrated locals) The local bumper sticker that says "I Stop On Red" might give you an idea of what I mean. It has gotten so bad in the last few years that I do not ride much during tourist season any more except on Sunday mornings. If you still want to do it, be very careful and watch your back, especially if you stop for a stop sign. Good luck, Dave | ||
| Dave_02_1200 |
To all, sorry about hijacking the thread. To Michael, consider a visit between Labor Day and Thanksgiving when traffic is at a minimum and the water in the Gulf is warm. To Captdi, I removed the heat shield on my M2 and it didn't seem to make much difference. The big temp reduction came when I jetted it rich and installed a Buell Race header and muffler. I think much of the heat is a result of lean jetting or, in the case of an X1, mapping of the stock ECM. A race ECM will fix that. Regards, Dave | ||
| Wile_ecoyote |
I know from my experience that the Jet-hot coating isnt enough. Looks great but does little to stop Buell-leg. Best wishes. | ||
| Buellistic |
Been riding with this heat problem since 1997 ... Then the rear exhaust was changed after 1998, that also helped some ... (Message edited by buellistic on July 26, 2008) | ||
| Robr |
richening up the mixture and a good high capacity oil cooler helped me.  | ||
| Kyrocket |
Thanks for all the advice but our plans are in the infancy stage at best. With three kids seven and under I'd be dead when I got back if I took a week off to ride the keys. I had to drive Chicago last month and if it's worse than that FUGIT AABOUT IT! On the other hand if anyone is ever passing this way and are in the mood for some back road riding with hardly any traffic drop me a line. Did the Black Mountain (highest point in Ky) ride last month and only passed two cars on either side. Here's the reason I can't go right away.  | ||
| Oldog |
The 3 Musketieers ! Ride again did you pick up some of those chromed logos off of e-bay. | ||
| Torquemonster |
Great pic! Theyve all got "The Grin"!!! | ||
| Kyrocket |
Oldog, the logos are bone stock and still shine up pretty good. TM they always get the grin when they get to sit on daddy's "bicycle", which is what the baby still calls it. | ||
| Psycrow |
noob question maybe but what the best method to polish the header. method and materials please and do I have to remove them from the bike.. I have this fear of snapping an header pin/nut. | ||
| Buellistic |
Got to ride with Kyrocket on the 12 of July ... He is good people and be sure to take him up on a ride in his area if you can ... Plan to ride with him the next time "i" get to KENTUCKY ... | ||
| Kyrocket |
 You're too kind Buellistic. I wish I could have ridden more with you guys and gals that day but this summer has been very hectic to say the least but I have a great wife and she lets me out more than she should. We here in God's country have been blessed with the lion's share of curvy back roads and up to this point not a whole lot of traffic. But I digress, back to topic. You'll want to take those headers off no matter what you do to them; polish, wrap or paint. It can be done while still attached, and your clothes can we washed while still wearing them; but why? | ||
| Skntpig |
Psycrow, You can search online metal polishing techniques but here are the basics that work for me. The best way to polish would be to take the header off. Use some "Pb Blaster" found online or at your local autoparts store. This is like WD 40 to spray on a day in advance and keep spraying to loosen the header nuts/rust. I recommend a lock washer under the nut when putting back on. Get 3 of the finest sandpaper you can find. Try to get wetsand paper and sand it when dunking the paper in a bucket. Don't use too coarse. Work to the finest last. If you can't find paper you can use those green or red scrubby pads wet too. This will give you a pretty good shine quickly. After that use a metal polish and rag. I like Mother's polish. Simply rub with the rag until it shines and the rag turns black. Final buff with clean rag. A little elbow grease is required unless you want to get a metal polishing kit with various cotton buffs, compounds, and a drill. Enjoy. | ||
| Djkaplan |
I used a Dremel tool with polishing pads on my pipe, but it was like trying to wash your car with a tooth brush. Mother's works good. After you go through the process once, it's always easier to get the shine back and get rid of blueing in just a few minutes. I ride with jeans on most of the year, and the heat from the pipe doesn't bother my leg at all, not even in a hot Georgia summer. My bike doesn't have the stock jetting, of course, so that probably helps, but simply rejetting the bike didn't make a noticeable difference in heat like polishing the pipe did. | ||
| Malott442 |
I polished the header on my X1, but I think I got too obsessed with smoothing it out, and made it too thin. It ended up cracking on the rear cylinder. One thing to keep in mind about the reduction in heat given off, the pipe is significantly hotter when touched. YOUCH!!!!!!! I have a scar from it, and it caught my pants on fire once....... If anyone wants to polish their header, then they need to remember that the bend lines are going to stay, and that thickness of the pipe is critical to it's longetivity. A little trick I learned about the gold, if you want to quickly restore the silver of a polished buell header, simply spray some greased lightning on the cold header and immediately work it with a rag. It works like MAGIC, if you do it more than once a week.... I MISS MY polished header.... It took me 25 hours to polish it, but then again like 15-18 hours of that was "fine tuning" that lead to a premature failure..... | ||
| Dave_02_1200 |
What is greased lightning? | ||
| Kyrocket |
It's systematic, it's hydromatic, why, it's greased lightning!  |
