Glowing Headers !

[Steve Bird]

Hi Guys,

Having purchased an 2005 R3 a couple of weeks ago, I started the engine to keep the battery charged. I held the revs at about 2000 to top up the battery with a reasonable charge and noticed that the three headers and the 3 into 1 pipe were glowing 'cherry red'. Is this normal or do I have an issue that needs to be sorted with the dealer.
Hope you can help.

Regards,

Steve Bird

 

[Pig9r]

Welcome Steve.

No it's not unusual. I have noticed the same on mine. Other Rocket owners have reported the same. It seems these bike run on the lean side too which probably adds to the heat factor.

 

[Steve Bird]

Many thanks, that's a relief. I come from an auto background and this is usually seen as the first signs of a blocked cat.

Great forum, thanks again,

Take care,
Steve

 

[Sidecar Flip]

red away--blue away

I'd agree with Pig9r. It seems all the Triumphs run lean. My T100 roasted the head pipes right away. They'd turn red too. That's why I jet hot coated them. Of course they are exposed whereas the R3's aren't.

 

[raymond braswell]

Woah, I am not sure, changing color slightly is ok, but glowing cherry red? Pig9r would know, but doesn't sound right to me.

 

[Pig9r]

I have had them orange after riding and red after doing the 10 minute tune. Of course only visible at night. If they are cherry red in daylight, may be a problem.:flame:

 

[Sidecar Flip]

Hot, Hot, too hot to handle.......

Raymond:

You could roast hot dogs on 'em. I believe that if you removed the heat shield you'd see that the pipes themselves when cool are deep purple which is distinctive evidence of heating to the excess of 900 degrees.

That's one reason I'm not keen on putting the Rivco flange covers on. I prefer to let the exhaust system get all the cooling air it can.

My T100 stock, with the AI installed, blued the head pipes halfway down the front in 50 miles and if I was parked at night and revved the motor, you could produce a faint red glow. This was all explained to me as the after burning of exhaust gases in the head pipes due to the enrichment by induced oxygen from the AI system. Of course the AI's gone as well as a re-jet and the Jet Hot coating. Whether the R3's emission system is oxygen rich like the T100 on the exhaust side, I'm not sure. I presume it is as it has and O2 sensor in the lower head pipe runner and a palladium catalyst which relies on O2 for catalyzing of C0.

Normal HR steel will tolerate 1300 degrees for some time before degradation and crystallization starts to occur. Jet Hot is capable of withstanding better than 1300 degrees and has an exceptional thermal transfer ability. That's why I chose it for my headers, not just for looks.

I believe that quite a few R3 have glowing headers, it's just that most of the time you are going down the road and not stationary so the air flow negates the glow. I think the internal temperature is there however. Remember, the heat shields cover 95% of the headers. All you can really see are the flanges and a little bit of the tubes.

Of course you could fit a pyrometer to accurately monitor head pipe temperature or use an infrared thermometer. More gages on the handlebar.

 

[raymond braswell]

Sidecar, if I said phrases like "palladium catalyst" and " fit a pyrometer to accurately monitor head pipe temperature" my moron Harley riding buddies would stab me!

 

[Sidecar Flip]

In simpler terms....

Raymond:

But, if you told your Harley buddies that they could strain their Sterno Juice through a Palladium honeycomb catalyst and then drink it without any ill effects and that a pyrometer was like a rectal thermometer as it measures internal temperatures......they'd understand that perfectly. Especially the rectal part. I've always been told that Harley types were anally retentive.

The more I thought about my post last night, the more I thought I should have probably said that the "firing off" of the Palladium substrate in the cat box is depended on temperature just like, if you will, a Coleman catalytic heater which I'm sure everybody (I think) has seen in operation. If you retain the loaded cat box (see stamped "C" on the side, may be upside down), it's important that the exhaust is hot, hot enough to start the catalyzing process and drive the H2O out of the substrate. That's why when you start your bike even in the summer, it "smokes" a little.

Triumph refers to their O2 sensor as a Lambda sensor. I prefer O2 sensor. Lambda sounds too European to me.

I'm sure you remember in the late 60's and 70's before the advent of multi port FI and TBI, carbureted cars still had cat's and more than once I've seen the cats glow from too much fuel and too little oxygen. EFI took care of that along with more sophisticated computer control of the fueling. I believe the only place you can find a choke plate these days is on your lawn mower.

There is one more IMPORTANT point to add and it refers directly to the first post in this thread and that is:

If the charging system on the R3 is anything like the system on the T100 and comparing alternators in both workshop manuals other than output and physical size, they look like brothers, you don't need to hold your engine at any rpm more than just above an idle to produce the maximum charging amps from the alternator. In all actuality, the amperage actually falls as the rpm is advanced above just over an idle. Both bikes have a solid state regulator and probably from the same supplier so I assume that the charge curve of the R3 is similar to the T100. You don't need to whack on it to charge it up. Better yet, get a battery tender for 40 bucks and save the wear and tear on the engine and quit stink'in up your garage.

 

[Toystoretom]

I ain't sayin' a word......