Blimey Triumph, could you test a bike before launching it please. I test rode my Scrambler XC on a chilli old day, and had no issues. Well yesterday I had to go to the shops only 3 miles, nice and sunny around 20 degrees. Popped right leg down (bad habit, but stronger leg) being a short arse my leg was firmly on the exhaust, ey kurumba, hot, I could have seared a steak on the heat shield, heat shield my arse, the entire pipe and shields were on fire. Now I knew they got warm, not roasting. So after another £400 for two foot of decat pipe purchase we'll see if that makes a difference, by the time it wings its way from sunny Tasmania will be end of May, I'll report back for those interested, in the meantime if I need to use bike I'll be sure to hang a few bagels on the pipe shields for a toasted treat on arrival. I'm also going to explore installing some heat reflective wrap on the pipes when installing decat, thoughts????
Repooh Don't forget to carry some water aswel sometimes you jump of but don't need a wee. Regards Joe.
Yes keep us informed with how you go with decat, I personally would try the wrap now so you’ve something to compare it too heat wise, I know dealers say a decat will reduce heat but I read somewhere we’re they said it made no difference to heat but sounded better.
I've managed a little over 600 miles on my new XE over the last couple of weeks here in the South East of the US. We've had temps bumping up against 78 f (or 25 c) so not hot but certainly not chili. 2/3 of those miles have been around urban areas but some rural driving to check in on my elderly parents out in the country and the remaining 1/3 have been highway miles. Over those miles I had one stop for gas that I really noticed the pipes being uncomfortably hot and forced me to shift my seating position. Not sure if I was perched oddly or just happened to hit a particularly hot gap between seat and heat shield. I do wear thick denim riding jeans and I'm also 6'2" with a 42" inseam so I do have a lot of leg to angle out off the seat. With our local temps creeping into the very hot range over the next 30+ days I'm going to go into heat mitigation options very slowly. I'm not one to keep any car/bike for extended periods of time so am a bit leery of making difficult to reverse modifications such as a decat as those sort of changes can impact resale value. If I find the exhaust to be too hot then I'll certainly consider something like that. I'll be curious to see what your results are for excessive heat resolution.
As DD said the inside of the shield could be lagged with heat matting like used on fairings, exhausts, and under fuel tanks, on the Buell XB's the whole under tank/seat was layered in this stuff instead of it roasting your leg's and nuts.
Yes send pics of mounting hardware, it may just be a matter of adding some fiber washers, or even polishing the backside of the shield until it's really shiny
Thanks for your suggestions chaps I’m going to fit the decat and assess again, if still too toasty will explore your suggestions of reflective insulation
I've order something like this to apply to the heat shields, I was wondering though if I reflect heat back am I likely to cause any issues elsewhere
Airflow will push it to the rear and away it being on the exhaust it is away from any electrics, this material is used a lot on vehicles and as I mentioned it was used extensively on the Buell XD12 as that Buell built Sportster type engine and its location threw some serious heat out. Assemble it and take a look to see if you are satisfied.
Thank you sir, I figured whilst I've got it in bits fitting decat I may as well line the heat shields.
Repooh, do you happen to have an infrared thermometer or other means of clocking temps pre and post modification? It would be awesome to have some data behind the differences. I hit that hot spot yesterday while stoping at an ATM that caused me to quickly shift my seating position. I think I'll have to start looking for some options sooner or later myself.
Lined the rearmost heat shield with a 1200 degree reflective sheet. No noticeable difference with stock config Hoping decat does the trick
that’s a shame, I’ve read the exhaust wrap works at reducing heat but it looks a twat I think but with the 1200 scrambler you could wrap behind the heat shields,if heat becomes a problem for me I’ll try the wrap behind the shields, I think you’ve done right trying the heat insulation now so you’ll definitely know if the decat works.
I lined all 3 of the heat shields with a self adhesive heat matting. Can leave bare hands on the rear and centre heat shields for as long as you want while engine is running and straight after a ride. No burning skin or discomfort. Can touch the front cat heat shield while riding without getting burnt or too much discomfort, but it does get hot when stationary. Having the cat removed dropped the heat more and it doesn't stay hot for as long when stationary.
Had the headers ceramic coated inside and out to reduce the heat some more. Heatshield Wrap - $50 Decat - $50 Ceramic Coating - $150 All up cost $250.
Has anyone viewed a diagram or seen the insides of the OEM mufflers fitted to the 1200 XE? Interested to know what goes on behind these 2 pipes. Is the smaller inner pipe able to be removed?
