glowing red header exhausts
 

Hi there, I was hoping you can give me your thoughts on something if you
can.
I have an xt660r. I have had it for a while but I only have 300 km on
it..due to work etc it sometimes gets left for a few months in the garage
until I get a chance to get on it. I started it up the other night and in 1
or 2 minutes the exhaust header pipes coming out of the head were cherry
red! I noticed it 'coz it was in a dark environment that I started it but I
am 99% sure it wasn't like that the last time I was on it. Yeah, I shut it
down and thought it just needed a "blow out" on the road which I did today,
but at idle it still gets red after a few minutes. The rubber water hose
that is next to the right hand side header pipe gets pretty hot too....I
think too hot for the rubber. Do you have any ideas what could be up here.
I have searched and found that some people say it is ok, some say its good
to light your smokes, and some say it is no where near right. I tend to
agree with the last one. Anyway......I am thinking .....that somehow it is
running too lean and getting to much air, or a stuck valve. But it runs
well and started first try.
I plan to register and be an active accessor of your forum now that I have
found it.
I live in Cape York Peninsular Qld, Australia. I am looking forward to more
opportunity to ride the book soon since work commitments are going to
change for the better.
Yeah, like I say it just ticked over to 300 km today! Not much huh? So
hoping you have seen this problem before with similar indicators...eg the
bike has sat for a few months before I started it recently.
Regards Mick.




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The first one is right! It is perfectly normal. All XTs do the same (and most bikes and cars with thin wall headers). Nothing to worry about.

Most of the time you won't notice it, either because your sitting on the bike when it's idling so you can't see the pipes, or it's daylight.

The headers glow at idle because of a few things; the tube wall is not very thick, there is no airflow to cool them, the AIS is bleeding air into the exhaust ports to ignite unburnt fuel (especially when idling from a cold start)... and yes, in stock trim the XT motor does run a tad lean (but nothing that would cause a problem).

BTW - :welcome: to XT660.com! ;)

Cheers for the prompt reply ....it is a relief to know it is normal. Still, it is hard for me to fathom that something getting red hot like that, so close to a rubber hose is normal. I guess I will just not look at it in the dark, only daylight and try to get air running around it asap. I will keep monitoring to make sure the fan is kicking in when it should . Thanks again....I am glad I found this site.
Mick

You would want to be a bit careful if you find yourself riding through long dry grass up there, you don't want to be starting bush fires !!!

Welcome & enjoy mate.

We all get a little hot under the 'collar ' sometimes! ! Welcome to the world's best forum! Steve

Hi All

Sorry for hijacking this thread but I thought there is no need for another one with the same topic.

I got home from work today (first time in dark) and when I stopped I noticed smoke around the bike and could also smell something burning. Took me a minute or 2 to notice that the headers were glowing red. I thought this can't be right, I did not ride that hard!

Over the weekend I changed oil and also removed the snorkel. Could these cause the glowing? I never noticed it before.

The bike has Kev's fuel and O2 controller and LeoVince X3 cans fitted. Should I adjust the mixture a bit to see if it makes any difference?

http://i57.tinypic.com/2w2hemc.jpg

So you rode up and shut down and the exhaust was glowing like this?? Your picture suggests to me its still running when you took the photo which is normal but I personally dont feel is necessary and I would shut it down unless you have airflow over the headers.

All my 4strokes will glow like this if I idle them stationary for more than a few minutes and if there is any crud on the headers I will get a burning smell. Awesome in winter after being through the wet pine forests as I love the smell!

Mine will not do this if I just come off a ride and shutdown though...only after extended idle while stationary ie 2-3 minutes plus!! Which is totally normal.

Matt.

Thanks Matt

Apologise for the delay, I left for holiday the next day. I took the picture while the engine was still running, I even revved it once or twice. I've just never seen it before and kinda got me worried.

Now I'm more worried about the smoke coming from it. I even see it sometimes when I stop at the red light. I cleaned the exhaust pipes and headers recently with Autosol, I may have left some on the pipes and that's what's smoking.

Could excess oil in the engine cause the smoking? I checked before leaving for the airport and it was slightly over the max.

S.

It could be remnants of Autosol.

What is probably more likely, and often happens, is that when topping up the oil some trickled down the side of the filler hole. If it does it almost always ends up dripping down the radiator and on to the headers and can drip for absolutely ages after the event, even if you think you've cleaned it all up.

If it's filled over the max excess oil tends to get blown through into the airbox via the crankcase breather and fills the airbox drain tube. Have a look and see if there's much in there.

I'll probably give it a good wash once I'm back.

I've seen oil in the airbox last time after a shop did the service for me. That's when I decided that I'm only paying for the things I can't do myself!

Thanks for the advice guys!