BMW R1200RT/R1250RT Forum

See pics is this normal to have color already on the right side and nothing on the left side exhaust pipes, sorry about the left side pic is a little dark, I can post another in better daylight tomorrow

I don't remember when my '14 RT pipes changed color, but at 12,000 miles I can tell you they are not quite the same color, but are equally discolored. The bike runs great!

I agree perfectly normal.  Probably something to do with two into one.  It's possible to clean them up a bit with Autosol, but not much.

Each header pipe has an oxygen sensor which measures the exhaust gas oxygen content and relays this information to the ECU. The ECU compares exhaust gas oxygen content with the oxygen content in the ambient air and, depending on whether the engine is running rich or lean, adjusts the fuel/air mixture accordingly.

The discolouration is caused by temperature, perhaps one cylinder is running slightly hotter than the other.
A simple spark plug colour check may indicate any difference.
More accurately, exhaust gas analysis on each cylinder would be better.

It would be interesting to know from anyone who has had their RT set up/remapped on a dyno with exhaust gas analysis whether or not they noticed any difference in the discolouration of the exhaust header pipes.

Pope wrote:Had my RTLC Remapped.

The fuelling is now spot-on, as it was running lean before.

As practically every LC in the world discolours the same would not think its anything to do with the fueling being slightly out. Unless of course they are all out.

Stevecccc wrote:Is this normal to have color already on the right side and nothing on the left side exhaust pipes.

Double walled exhaust header pipes don't discolour.

"When motorcycles are distributed throughout the world, manufacturers adopt a one map fits all policy. This one map has to take into account many different factors that are necessary for each export country. Areas such as climate, emissions, fuel quality etc. all have to be considered by the manufacturer. What this means is that a ECU is never optimised for one individual situation."

"The fuel trim on fuel injected up-to-date vehicles is controlled by the Electronic Engine Management, also referred to as ECU, or ECM. Most factory ECU's are set to maintain a 14.7:1 air/fuel ratio. This is known as a stoichiometric fuel mix however this is a lean mix as well because of rigorous emission standards the manufacturers have to comply with."

Stevecccc wrote:Is this normal to have color already on the exhaust pipes.

This was my 2007 RT with 35 miles on the clock, only ridden it home from the dealers.

After only 35 miles from new that looks like serious blueing.  Were they chromed or just stainless.  I had a 2007 and they didn't look that bad after 12K.

RTman10 wrote:After only 35 miles from new that looks like serious blueing. Were they chromed or just stainless.

The exhaust system was Stainless Steel, Chrome was an option at the time.

Having said that, the S/S polished up a treat, a lot easier & with better results than the Chrome systems on my last two TC RT's.