| Author | Message | ||
     Black |
Eagle1, I'm going to talk to some of the mechanics I know (Buell) about this. It will take me a while to get back though, but I won't forget. I noticed today a similar thread from the XB Board Archive Through May 12 2008 called "Red Headers". Happy Holidays! | ||
| Slypiranna |
Does anyone with this condition have access to a leakdown tester/test to further narrow down the list of possibilities? Not a compression test but a true, dual gauge leakdown tester? Also, anyone with a very late 08 build or an 09 glowing? | ||
| Nxtr |
I think this may be causing too much undue stress amongst some. So it glows a little, I am sure if there was a problem, actions would have been taken, (Trust BMC)... Now if it were to glow like this, it may be more cause for concern... V/R, Nick | ||
| Slypiranna |
Is this a joke? Looks like a good intentional meltdown, above idle? I for one don't read anyone in major stress but maybe I'm missing something? Back to the IDLE/NO LOAD GLOW thread! Perhaps we all will learn something.  | ||
| Nxtr |
Okay you win. I retract my stress statement, and call it undue concern as evidence from the amount of photos, and running out to the garage to check the exhaust pipes in the dark... Closely confined thin wall stainless headers have a habit of doing this, (at idle no load) with a little air flow it goes away. I posted the video for (Glow reference) not the fact that it is beautiful sounding Cosworth V10 running at 4K low idle and 18+-K RPM). V/R, Nick | ||
| Easyrider |
when the exhaust gas is getting too hot this is what happends. bring the bike to a dealer please, something is really wrong here. there could be a lot of reasons why this is happening, If you love your bike, take care of here she is very sick. (this is not a joke) | ||
| Slypiranna |
Nxtr, Not trying to win or be right friend, just trying to help find a credible answer. | ||
| Slypiranna |
Easyrider, Thank you for your professional input! | ||
| Dentguy |
If anyone is concerned about their glowing pipes (I'm not) why not take it to the dealer or call Buell and get their response? That way if there is a problem they can get on it and make it right. If they say it's normal then those concerned can feel better about it. | ||
| Dentguy |
when the exhaust gas is getting too hot this is what happends. First, let me say I'm not trying to argue so please don't take it that way. This is for anyone who thinks it is a problem. What is too hot? What temp. does it start to glow (in a dark area) with its thickness and material? Why do you think that is too hot? I ask these not to argue with anyone. I've seen many do this without problems, that ran great including my last 3 bikes. One of them was a 4 stroke mx bike that would glow in the dark after a few minutes of idle. Two seasons of hard mx and it was torn down for a trans problem. The top end still looked great except for a little piston skirt wear. Valves were still in spec. If you think it is a problem because it looks like that in the dark, Why? Anyone have their 1125R fail (or any other stock bike) that looked like that. I'm not trying to prove a right or wrong, I've just never had it be a problem. (Message edited by dentguy on December 16, 2008) | ||
| Chevycummins |
My wr450 pipe glows when it idles for a while. I tried going up on the pilot jet and adjustment and it helped it a little. I really don't like the idea of the exhaust being that hot but I think that the thickness of the pipe is why we notice the glowing. These pipes are so thin and that might be why we notice the glowing. If I remember right I think the rear pipe on my 1125R was about 500 degrees when idled for an extended period of time. | ||
| Hootowl |
My X1 headers (both stock and aftermarket) glow a bit at that first bend. I don't see it as an issue. It isn't like they're cherry red in broad daylight. | ||
| Black |
Slypiranna, I'm still looking at the header heat issue as I told Eagle1 I would. You earlier mentioned header tube thicknesses in one of your responses. Do you know what the thickness of the header is? Would save me a lot of leg work. Thanks in advance. | ||
| Slypiranna |
Black, My bike is all back together again so I can't help you with wall thickness at this moment. For the record, I don't recall ever stating that primary tube thickness had anything at all to do with the egt's that cause this condition...I was merely stating fact of having used 16 & 18ga sizes in the past and have never seen any exibit glowing at idle, unless something was off. Sorry I can't you help further. Keep us posted on what you discover whether popular or not, it'd be nice to know. ...To add to the mix, I was just told that too rich of a condition can cause the same condition at idle. (Message edited by slypiranna on December 16, 2008) | ||
| Black |
No big deal, I thought that when you were going through the tube sizes, you were making a comparison with the Buell header. My mistake. | ||
| Eagle1 |
Easyrider, I'd definitely take the bike to the dealership if I didn't just retire her. I'm not riding her anymore right now, anyway. I'm sure whatever is potentially wrong will still be that way in the spring  And thanks again for all the continued attention we're getting on this!!! | ||
| Easyrider |
Eagle1, very smart, I Dyno a lot of Buell's day in and day out, still do. And the only reason to get this on the dyno is a big air leak or very, very poor fuel. Smart choice. | ||
| Tijuanajack |
My 2005 XB12R did this when left idling about 5 mins by itself without moving. My cars which have been heavily modified have done the same by glowing at dusk without shining a light on the headers. Just my 100 won ($.08) Toby | ||
| Rfischer |
I concur - absolutely normal if air is not circulating around the header when the motor is running. CF. any water-cooled motor being run on an engine dyno. Which is not to say there isn't a potential problem in this particular instance; only that the glowing header is not determinative of anything. | ||
| Black |
Well, As promised, I did a lot of checking. I checked out hot headers in other makes of bikes and in autos. I also started my bike in the dark and crawled around on the ground looking for hot spots. I even got a color-to-temp chart to try to see how hot Eagle1's bike had gotten. I thought maybe it was due to thin tubing. (Not). Hot headers can happen for a lot of reasons and under a lot of conditions that may or may not be obvious. All of this makes fodder for great arguments, but great arguments won't fix the problem. So, to re-focus, the issue at hand is a cold machine (fairly new) that has just been started and is at idle, and the condition (hot glowing headers) occurs fairly rapidly. It was time to call in the experts, so I made the first call to a friend who is a professional engineer and a motorcyclist, and who wrote a book on motorcycle maintenance and repair a few years back. (No, I am not lying.) My next call was to a group of Buell technicians that I know well. I described the conditions above to both groups. My engineer friend told me instantly that the condition was caused by a lean condition. He basically said to look at this as you would an acetylene torch. When you add oxygen, it gets hot fast....lean. He told me that the condition Eagle1 described was not normal and unless the mapping had been changed, that the sensors should be checked. He rides and maintains both a Harley and a Yamaha sport bike these days. The Buell technicians told me that they also believed that the condition was not normal and was also the result of a lean condition. None of them had ever seen it before either. So I asked them to explain how this could be since I believe Eagle1's machine is fully stock. They told me that the machine should be taken to a dealership and that all the sensors should be checked, including the throttle position and oxygen sensors. (I think there are about ten sensors). They said that as they recalled, the first production 1125Rs were mapped very lean and that this was changed in a subsequent reflash. The point here was to also make sure that the machine had all the required reflashes. Hope this helps. Commence flaming!!!! | ||
| Slypiranna |
No flaming on that post. In fact, I for one, appreciate your work and input. Perhaps sooner than later, Anony might chime in... Thanks Black! | ||
| Eagle1 |
Yeah, that's a lot of legwork you did. Thanks a lot, Black! I don't know how many flashes are out there, but I definitely had the most recent one (the late August/early September one). | ||
| Slypiranna |
Another FWIW post... I remembered seeing this for some time but just did find it again while doing research on another project and no, this link is not an advertisement, just useful info; http://www.fi2000r.com/page.php?page=41 Look at the chart to the left where is says, "what you see"...under the 18:1 A/F table...= Headpipes Glow Red | ||
| Fresnobuell |
Nice read Sly. So what is our ODIS AFV telling us? Is it an AVERAGE AFV as it can't be a single value since it is constantly changing.... | ||
| Slypiranna |
Not bitin' Fres but nice try!  p.s...when are you going to finally take your 11 in for diagnosis? mm | ||
| Fresnobuell |
Dunno...I haven't seen a AFV reading under 90 for quite some time, although I haven't been doing much street riding lately (bike has seen the track much more) and it has been cold. I don't know if those could be contributing factors to the higher readings. Shes been running strong too. The only real reason I could justify taking it in is that I rec'd another "Front O2 sensor" error a couple weeks ago. I am not convinced all is totally well, but she is not too sick either. Not sure what to do right now. | ||
| Slypiranna |
Fres, You know I love you like a brother but I still ain't bitin'! PM me to continue if needed...as this might be seen as thread drift on a very important topic for other owners...mm | ||
| Fresnobuell |
+1 | ||
| Xb9 |
Wonder if the O2 sensors are fried from all the heat. And maybe that's why they are moved down the primaries on the '09's Pure speculation but 1+1=2 Be interesting to replace the O2 sensors and see if it still glows. Bad O2 sensors could very well be the cause. Could also be the cause of skewed AFV's (Message edited by xb9 on December 17, 2008) | ||
| Fresnobuell |
I got resistance in checking the front o2 sensor from my dealer last time I had her in for the last reflash. He said that they are working or go totally bad--there isn't an in between. I didn't know what to believe. Is there a way to test without just dropping in a new O2 sensor? Could multiple O2 sensor errors qualify my for a warranty replacement? |
