2008 KFX450R extreme exhaust heat

[nineoniner]

Anyone ride this bike and have problems with how hot the exhaust gets? Mine glows red when I ride and the radiant heat is bad. Kawasaki says it's normal and the bike runs with the head pipe glowing? I don't but that. Any responses would be helpful.

[GEARHEAD01]

all internal combustion engines exaust will glow. the brightness of the pipe depends on what time of day you look at it. mine glows as well and it radiates alot of heat. my truck exhaust manifolds glow orange at night after extended driving. average heat from any exhaust on an engine is around 350 degrees celsius. not sure of the imperial conversion. so to answer your question they are right about the pipes glowing.

your friendly neighbourhood mechanic

[nineoniner]

Thanks for the tip. FYI 350 degrees celsius is about 662 degrees far. Just seems to hot. You cant ride it for more than about 10-15 minutes before your leg starts burnning. This is the only bike I have ever owned in 35 years that has ever had an exhaust pipe that glows red all the time, no matter day or night?

[superchief]

try checkin and makin sure theres nothin restricting the air flow make sure the valve is opening all the way

[GEARHEAD01]

clean out the spark arrestor on the muffler and richen the fuel air mixture a little bit. you can also run 1or 2 stages cooler of a plug. that will help quite a bit. you should not see it glowing red during the day. when i start to notice mine is when it is dusk and after.

[DirtDemon]

The header is heated mostly by unburnt fuel burning off in the exhuast. The Honda 450's do the same thing, and it is normal. I would not change the heat rating on the plug, but a most machines are tuned a bit on the lean side for emission purposes. However, I have heard that the Kawasaki's EFI system is pretty comprehensive, you can even add a pipe and remove the airbox lid without adjusting the fuel map. If you were to richen the air/fuel mix a bit, it would run cooler. Unfortunately, on a fuel injected machine, the only way to adjust the air fuel mix is to have a technician adjust the fuel map, or buy an aftermarket fuel controller. But if the people at Kawasaki say it is normal, then it probably is.

[Jonny450R]

Anyone ride this bike and have problems with how hot the exhaust gets? Mine glows red when I ride and the radiant heat is bad. Kawasaki says it's normal and the bike runs with the head pipe glowing? I don't but that. Any responses would be helpful.

Are you running the stock pipe still or an aftermarket one? With my dasa the head pipe did glow red when I was running lean I also ended up heat wrapping my pipe to help cure some of this issue, but it never glowed red with the stock. If you're running an aftermarket pipe you do need to get a fuel controller to richen the fuel map the stock controller can't compensate that much for a pipe and especially if you add an intake to the quad as well.

[WillyPoP]

does wrappin' the header cool it off any? significantly?

[Jonny450R]

does wrappin' the header cool it off any? significantly?

It acts more as a shield but it does help and helps you create more power I can't remember why though I think mike said why one time, you might wanna ask him. Plus if you wann spend some money forget heat wrapping your head pipe get it ceramic coated that works 10 times better and once the engine stops the pipe is cold to the touch.

[Stoopidbot1]

Wrapping increases the thermal retention within pipes and subsequently expedites exhaust flow at a higher velocity. This characteristic increases horsepower. Wrapping the pipes when using a pipe design that would ordinarily burn your leg reduces the chances of that. Wrapping the exhaust can also protect surrounding wiring and hoses from premature failure

[Stoopidbot1]

The Honda 450's do the same thing, and it is normal...

I have never seen my head pipe glow during the day. In the evening or in the dark i can see it glow, not the day/light

[DirtDemon]

Original poster did not say weather he was seeing it in the daylight or if it was dark. I would agree, if you could see the glow in the daylight, I would say there was a problem. I guess I just assumed he was seeing this in the dark. My '04 TRX 450 didn't glow, but my friends '08 did when it was stock. He has done a few things and keeps it jetted just a bit on the rich side. Haven't noticed it since.