Help, what have I done???

[dande]

I need some help after being stupid this morning. I had added some throw over saddle bags a week ago and thought that after reading on a incident of a bag being too low and it getting burned on the exhaust pipe that I had them high enough.

Well I did have them high enough if the were empty or well balanced as far as weight, but then there's this morning. I put a heavier item in the bag over the pipes and guess what, when I checked them about 10 miles down the road the damage was already done, burned synthetic bag on the top of the pipe. Now as if that isn't bad enough, it's dark and I have to get out my rain suit to try and stay dry and re-balance the load.

Suit is on and the bags are all closed up and away I go until I need gas about 20 miles later. I get off the bike, I fill up and then pay the cashier. On my way back I see something Blue/Green on the pipe, near the burnt bag stain, so I get a paper windshield rag wet to try to clean some of the new stain off of the pipe wondering what it is, as I bend and start to wipe in the gas station light, I see my rain suit leg touch the hot pipe and leave yet another mark :rolleyes: .

This is where I really need your advise/help, how do I remove the cr@p from the pipe without ruining the finish?

[chazb458]

Haven't done that but my passenger put her foot on the pipe leaving some rubber behind. Crome polish and lots of elbow greese took it off for me.

[VorTeX]

Try easy-off oven cleaner. I had the same thing happen and that got it off.

[dande]

Thanks for the suggestions so far.

Do I need to warm up the pipes 1st for the EZ-Off to work?

By the way there is a small patch of synth. stuck on the pipe which I'll try to remove with a tonge depressor 1st., does that sound right?

[Big-X]

Try it cold first the warm them if needed. I'm not sure about those type bags, on a recent ride I was behind a guy and his was on his pipes.

[dande]

Thanks for all of your suggestions.

I warmed up the pipes and then used a tongue depressor to lift one little end piece of the burned on plastic from the bag. As the pipe got warmer I peeled the chunk up and off, just about like when you heat a bumper sticker and remove it, it worked.

That left the green marks from the rain suit, which smeared as I rubbed it with the piece of wood. When I got back to the hotel with the Acetone I let the pipes cool off for quite a while before trying to remove the smeared mess. While the acetone took off some of the surface haze, it didn't do much for the heaver accumulations. The acetone seemed to make the mass brittle which allowed me to scrape it away with my thumb nail and then follow it up with the acetone. Tomorrow I'll look at it in the sunlight and then see if I need to use a chrome polish, which I'm sure I'll need to do, so at this point all is well.

Thanks to all with your suggestions, until next time, and there will be a next time, knowing me.

Dale