LCGB Forums

So that we don't hijack the quattrini thread, I thought it better to discuss this separately.

Fast and furious said....

"
My plating has gone from the stub up to the baffle area.
Admittedly, it could be down to the quality of the plating in the first place.
Heat, Road salts and water are very destructive in this area."

Just checking, are you talking about nickel plating? And how was it applied? Electro plating or chemical?

Electro Dickie.
Through the corrosion there is no evidence that it was copper plated first.(6K miles)
Could just be down to the quality like I said.
I did some research years ago as to the standard that should apply to exhaust header plating and got some very conflicting advice to which i'm still non the wiser today really.
A pal of mine from the old 2 stroke sidecar days used to use nickel plated expansions on his Krauser but to the satin finish and not the high gloss and they looked ok after a season, but then, they got meticulously cleaned after every outing and never got covered in our salty road shite, which is what I think my problem is.
When I did the buil, it did concern me that the header pipe was only millimeters away from the rear tyre.
Here's the sickener:-
I did design and make a fibreglass hugger to attach under the crankcase to provide a barrier between the two and never got around to fitting it. Doh!
One chip in the plating and the ferrous underneath soon starts blebbing and then it spreads like a desease.
The parts you see on the right side of the scooter are fine. Still shiny n'all.
When i do the winter service, I plan to clean up the corroded header best possible and finish with a VHT paint before applying the insulation wrap in an attempt to stave off the inevitable.
And if I'm feeling really sensible I'll fit the bloody hugger.

Mine was electroless so obviously a different process to yours f&f also idbe warry of wrapping your pipe in case it makes it store more heat which may become a problem plus the fact that you wont be able to notice any cracks until its to late.

I've had u bends galvanised in the past and it's worked well

My pipe takes some time to "come on song" because it doesn't get or stay hot enough. I'm actually looking to take advantage of the retained heat in the header section.
It'll be next year now before I can report any difference.

Electroless gets much better coverage and conformality, is better in that respect, but maybe not all?

Regardless of how it's applied though it won't protect the steel if it's chipped off. However, I'm very much a fair weather rider and low miles at that so I can't really comment on winter durability on downpipes. My bgm lasted 2000 miles so far though, but 0 winter miles.

I'm surprised that galv has lasted on a down pipe. My tino ancillotti was electro plated zinc (no idea why as it's stainless). That burned off in under 30 minutes!

I agree.
Zinc plating an exhaust is a bad idea. Gives off toxic fumes when it burns as well.

Now I’m thinking what other plating process could we use. I paid £80 for electoless nickel but I only paid £40 to have all the little bits, brackets and everything zink plated. Black chrome would be nice wouldn’t it? Hmm...

Black chrome was one I was considering

Solid Air wrote:Black chrome was one I was considering

I wonder how the cost compares to normal chrome?

If you can find someone who can black chrome let us know. One of the best coatings I've had, was on an MSC Micron

Allegedly, black chrome has a higher resistance to corrosion. Kawasaki used it a lot back on their 80s bikes.

Years back, I wanted an exhaust black chromed. The chrome platers warned me off saying it was too porous.

Storkfoot, did they mean the coating was too porous or the exhaust?

Had an email reply from Leicester Plating advising against electroless nickel as not very corrosion resistant. Going off ceramic coat, so black chrome possibly? All very frustrating

Mark

Guys. Lets just all go out and buy a stainless pipe, problem solved. Lol.

Yes Leicester plating is were i had my zink and electroless nickel done, both worked for me.

Haha yep if only everything was in SS

Seriously though if the CST3 etc came in a stainless option like the TSR evo it would be super fantastic.

I don't really understand this, but I've been told by a tuner I respect that stainless doesn't resonate as well as mild and therefore doesn't give as good performance.

It definitely doesn't cool as well as mild, especially black painted mild.

That's what I've heard too. But, like a lot of things, I suppose it's a compromise with SS exhausts, performance versus longevity?

Ive had the stainless vs mild resonance chat with Harry Barlow, he told me we wouldn’t notice any difference on a Lambretta.

Im sorely tempted to just snap up a stainless tsr evo for £239 but in my heart of hearts I know it won’t perform as i want on the RT reed I briefly tried the taylor tuning version i had on it and it wasn’t great to be honest, kind of all or nothing.