My headers

Gentlemen,

So I've only put about 200 miles on my 850 since the rebuild. During the rebuild I put a whole new exhaust system on. The PO had a 2-1 system with some crappy muffler almost falling off so that had to go. I have absolutely no issues with how the bike is running. The engine was not rebuilt when I restored the bike. It has a single mikuni. Starts, idles and runs very well. No complaints.

The question: The new head pipes have just started to discolor. The right side is quite golden all the way through the bend. The left side is just barely starting to turn gold. Why would one side be more discolored than the other if it's a single carb? I think I read that gold headers mean rich running, is that correct? Should I expect them to blue at some point if I don't change anything?

Thanks guys,
Ben

could be metalurgy of the tubes, thickness tolerences of the tubes, plating differences i.e. thickness, how much time in the different chemical baths in the plating process(maybe the tubes were not plated in the same batch). Maybe the muffles have slightly different back pressures, Perhaps one cylinder for some reason or another is running cooler / hotter than the other.

.02


JD

Discolouration is from a lean condition or an advanced timing issue. Just one side with a single carb may indicate an inconsistency in materials during fabrication. Or perhaps a slight air leak or some blow by at the valve seat or guide. This is something that I would not be overly concerned about.

Although there are "ideal" conditions and circumstances, normal is quite fleeting and intangible with these dinosaur bikes.

Some people think a relaxing Sunday afternoon is sitting around and lapping the valve seats. While you are there, change the guide to valve seals on the intakes.