Rusting exhaust pipes

[ismunday]

My 7 month old Honda CBF500 is showing signs of rust on the exhaust pipes, especially behind the front wheel.

I'm a tad disappointed that it's showing this kind of corrosion so early on in it's life. However, I've been using it pretty much every day throughout winter and accept a degree of wear and tear is inevitable.

I don't think it's been seriously neglected; it's always garaged and, whilst not cleaned on a weekly basis, is cleaned every few weeks. (Clearly not enough though!?!)

A number of bolt heads are beginning to show signs of corrosion too - rather than orange/red rust, more a powdery white.

I'm hoping all this is only really on the surface and can be cleaned up somewhat...

I've attached a picture (not my bike) which shows the area affected - I'll put photos of mine up tomorrow.

Anybody have an idea of how I can go about cleaning this up properly?

Thanks,

Ian

[romperstomper...]

I guess this is what happens to most standard exhausts pretty quick ,I changed mine to stainless steel after I brought my new bike (2 months old ).
You could clean them up but would be a waste of time ,they would only rust again !
Covering the bike may slow it down !
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Yeah I know !

[mchaggis]

CB500 exhausts are notorious for this, aftermarket stainless systems are a big bonus for this reason, but if it is almost new it won't have had a chance to get one. Most mild steel systems don't last five minutes before they go tits up, which is why they normally end up being regularly slathered in very high temperature black paint. I have tried some specialist vht engine paint in a can and was singularly unimpressed when it flaked off in a few weeks. B&Q barbeque black paint (in an aerosol?) might work better.

If they are kept dry (not difficult considering how hot they get) and are regularly cleaned (Autosol is the polish I'd recommend) and garaged then it will slow it down, but it is only a matter of time until they will get holey and eventually need replacing (exhaust bandages etc not withstanding). I am disappointed that a single winter has brought the rust on though, even taking into account the salt. Chromed, titanium and stainless systems are very nice for preventing/ reducing corrosion.
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Mmmm, Guinness
Discovering the delights of Hammerite and a 3/4" brush.

[stinkwheel]

They are bad for rust. It is not the header pipes so much that you need to worry about but the collector box/balance pipe. If it is a new bike and under warranty, bounce it back to the dealer, you might get a new exhaust system out of them (a mate of mine did with his CB500).
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“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[camby]

I would recomend some High heat paint from halfords, just clean it up best you can then paint it with this think they do matt black and silver should slow down the corrosion pretty well
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VFR400 NC24 & YBR 125

[JMH]

Some auto parts stores over here have brush-on high-temperature manifold paint which works good at cleaning that up. But if it's white, it sounds like mild oxidation. Do they have a product called "Classic Cloth" out that way? It's a towel treated with a special substance that removes rust and polishes metal. I used it on an old bicycle that was left out in the sprinklers for weeks, and it removed all the rust!

--JMH

[finpos]

High temperature paint works just fine - as long as the surface you apply it to is immaculate. ANY traces of rust, dirt or grease and it'll be coming off in lumps within a few months. Unfortunately, that is most people's experience of high temp paint. I think the back of the tin goes as far as to suggest to bead-blast anything you intend to use it on. But I never read the back of the tin.

Also, the wife doesn't like it when you put the exhaust off your two-stroke in the oven to cure the paint.

Regular coatings of barbaque paint is another option, but only if you have a REAL matt black bike...

finpos.

[ismunday]

Photos of the main areas affect are attached.

From what people are saying though, I think the first step is to question the dealer about it. Hardly seems worth the effort of trying to clean it when the pasts themselve are so vulnerable to corrosion anyway. Ideally get dealership to replace under warranty, else use better quality after-market parts.

Just occured to me that I paid extra for a "SupaGuard" coating to be applied to the whole bike when purchase. So armed with that and the warranty, I might press the dealer on why the problem is so apparent so early on in it's life.

I also intend to part-ex it in a few months with the same dealer I bought it off. I wonder if they'll try and beat down the part-ex value based on the condition - saying I've neglected it etc. Interesting to hear this is pretty much the "norm".

[Superlight]