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New R1200RT- discolored exhaust pipe

2011 R1200RT Ceramic Coated Exhaust Pipes

First things first. If you like, gold, brown, blue pipes this is not for you.
Move along there is nothing here for you to see.

However, if you do not like gold, brown, blue pipes there is an alternative
to buying chrome pipes that will turn blue at the cylinders.
I have just had my pipes ceramic coated by Nitroplating, Nashville, TN. They
look great and will not turn gold, brown or blue.

I do not work for nor am I in association with anyone at Nitroplate I just hate
gold, brown, blue pipes. It cost $135.00 plus shipping each way.

Remember, ÔÇ£Beauty is in the eye of the BeholderÔÇØ. I happen to think that gold, brown, blue pipes are not very pretty. :bliss
 

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Ceramic coatings will work though I note no one has yet showed a high mileage bike to prove durability.
Skill of the shop doing the work matters- especially decent prep.

Nothing wrong with the std BMW pipe look that most of us have- it eventually becomes a fairly uniforn deep blue/purple or brown depending on whether you have chrome or stainless. Heck, the J-brand guys and some Ducs copy it- look at the recent sport bikes from those guys...
 
I stopped worrying about discolored pipes after my Triumph Thruxton, at this point I don't give them a second thought. When I had Harleys I wanted them shiney and looking new and boy did they shine. I guess I never thought of a BMW as a bike that the look of the exhaust really mattered. I think it's cool folks can do something about it though.
 
FWIW, I love my RT because there is no chrome or other stuff to polish. Been there, got that T-shirt from the U.S. Army. I NEVER want to polish anything again, ever.
 
This is pretty much what I expected when I posted about Nitroplate.
Everyone talking about the great ÔÇ£BROWN PIPEÔÇØ and lambasting change.

For your information:

Item #1 Nitroplate Warranty:
Our warranty is very simple and straightforward. As a retail customer, if you are unhappy with one of our high performance coatings within 3 years of original purchase date, Nitroplate will recoat your part at no charge. You simply pay for shipping and we take care of the rest.
Simply put, whether you choose NitroPlate Bright, or one of our other finishes, we promise you will be impressed. If for any reason you are not completely satisfied, give us a call. You will not get the run around. We will gladly do what it takes to take care of the problem.

Item #2 Their Customers.
a. They are subcontracted by Ford to use their bright finish on FordÔÇÖs diesel truck exhaust tips.
b. Dragsters, NASCAR, checkout their web site. http://nitroplate.com/

But why bother, you are happy with brown and my comments were for those of us that think brown pipes look like something else that is brown.
I apologize for coming to the conclusion that this forum was for the exchanging of ideas and the passing on of new ideas and products.

I will stay on the Word Association Thread from now on.
 
The pipes on my 2012 RT are deep blue and the pipes on my 2011 GS are a light golden brown. I'd expect the pipes on these two bikes to look the same since they have the same engine. Is it possible that the GS pipes are stainless, not chrome?
 
Far as I know, ALL header pipes on all Oilheads, Hexheads, Camheads have always been stainless steel. Some models offered chromed stainless steel, but all the header pipe are stainless steel to begin with. The plain stainless discolor to a more brownish color, the chromed stainless discolor to a blueish hue (which, actually, I like).

My 76 R100RS still has the original chromed header pipes and mufflers. The headers have that distinctive blueish hue showing under the stainless steel heat guards, and I always liked it for the reference of it being a bike that is actually ridden.


With a little diligent cleaning and rub-down with Nevrdull wadding, I've been able to keep the headers on my 94RS looking like this at 170K miles.
 

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I apologize for coming to the conclusion that this forum was for the exchanging of ideas and the passing on of new ideas and products.

Here's an idea for exchange ...

I have a friend who once explored becoming service manager (service, not parts) for the local Harley dealer. He was told he'd be working partially on commission based on the amount of "chrome" he sold to service customers to be installed in conjunction with service work.

This is NOT the BMW culture.
 
I have 3 cars. I looked underneath them all. The pipes are all brown. I looked at my RT. They're brown, as well. I'm not bothered a bit.
 
First things first. If you like, gold, brown, blue pipes this is not for you.
Move along there is nothing here for you to see.

However, if you do not like gold, brown, blue pipes there is an alternative
to buying chrome pipes that will turn blue at the cylinders.
I have just had my pipes ceramic coated by Nitroplating, Nashville, TN. They
look great and will not turn gold, brown or blue.

I do not work for nor am I in association with anyone at Nitroplate I just hate
gold, brown, blue pipes. It cost $135.00 plus shipping each way.

Remember, ÔÇ£Beauty is in the eye of the BeholderÔÇØ. I happen to think that gold, brown, blue pipes are not very pretty. :bliss

Those pipes look great. What was the turn around on getting the job done?
 
good call....

I'll do the NICE pipes.... I can not own a bike with the brownish "hue" .... the blue'e purple'ish on stainless I can live with!
 
Here's an idea for exchange ...

I have a friend who once explored becoming service manager (service, not parts) for the local Harley dealer. He was told he'd be working partially on commission based on the amount of "chrome" he sold to service customers to be installed in conjunction with service work.

This is NOT the BMW culture.

Many HD shops have "Chrome Consultants" to push that stuff. :lurk
 
Another way to go: Remus header with a few thousand km of burn time:


072-L.jpg
 
I like that Remus header, but I more like that wounded valve cover. My RT has a nasty scraped section from a low side. Is that where you got yours? Marks like that have stories, and that's why I wouldn't change my valve cover. Brown/blue pipes and road rash, THAT's what a bike should look like.
 
Nice look scooter trash...My long gone 05RT had the coating as well...worked for ME


Some of our bikes have a nice blue/gold look...the others had poop brown that just didn't look good.

Plain and simple it's a individual preference to have a better look...if you don't care you don't care. There is no BMW "culture" to uphold. If that was the case, we would ALL still be riding a pre 70's Airhead only.:stick

With that said the worse offender we had was the R12S with it's oversized pipes that were a major focal point. I had more comments on how ugly the dark brown look was...and this was from non V-twin riders. On this bike I went with a silver to match the rest of color on engine.

We do have an 11S that had the polished coating when we bought it and it still looks nice after several years.

Both Helen's Roadsters have the black coating and one set is 5 years old and still looks great.

I will leave the Vintage and Airheads in the garage as is...but on some bikes w/out fairings, the pipes just look better ...and that's OUR preference.
 

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I had seen your post with the black pipes and was torn between the black and aluminum but went with the aluminum coating.
Here they are fresh from the nitroplate.
 

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Those pipes all look GREAT! I'm just too lazy to polish. How much are we talking to have this done? That black is jumping out to me.
 
The R1200rt pipes in Bright polished $135.00, plus shipping to and from Nashville, TN.
http://nitroplate.com/ Call Cody Jones @ Nitroplate, WK (615)826-4914 EXT#23 Cell (615)525-8484
I did several times before I commited to having my pipes coated.
 
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