Dipstick temperature gauge
 

Has anyone tried one? I have ordered one ($27). It will be interesting to see the engine temperature...

I don't think I want to know. 8O

I have never understood the deal with wanting a temp gauge dipstick.

If you think you are running hot, why not spend your money on something to correct the problem?

For not much more than $27, you can do this

http://img164.imageshack.us/img164/285/bikedone2pf1.jpg
{XR200 with Lifan power}

See the wrapped header? Ceramic header wrap, 1in width X 50ft, about $30, and a couple stainless steel hose clamps, available at many local auto parts stores. I run it on all my bikes. Do not get 2in width, doesnt wrap well on small diameter pipes.

No sense in allowing heat already exhausted to radiate back into the engine through the right side "cooling" fins... Wrap the pipe past the carb, hot fuel reduces performance.

Can you touch your header after an aggressive ride? Dont try it! I can, and my bike is a 400

I dont think it runs hot, i just want to see wich temperature the oil is.
I can use it on my scoot and atv as well. If the engines would run hot I think they would have fixed the problem with larger cooling fins already.
Are u sure that wrapping the exhaust makes the bike run cooler? I think (but i can be wrong) the exhaust draw heat from the cylinder and should also have air cooling it, at least on small displacement bikes. Some bikes even have cooling fins on the nut that holds the exhaust. Wrapping the exhaust so you don´t burn yourself or melt plastic is another story..

Why header wrap sucks?:
http://www.centuryperformance.com/heatwraps.asp

Header wrap is not good for titanium headers. Plain steel wrapped headers need to be stored dry, so run it after you wash it.

My XR400 has stainless headers. I have been running wrap for over 7 years now. My XR100, 4 years. My TRX250, 6 years. The XR200/Lifan, a few months. No failures...

Ever notice how a motor is really snappy when it is warming up, only to drop off some after it's hot? Mine runs snappy regardless of engine temps, because they are lower. My engine temps are lower, my oil temps are lower. I have no idea about any added performance, other than the bike runs snappy like it does at the beginning of a ride, all day.

I have a quad that I use for trail maintenance. Miles and miles, under 5 mph, pulling a 100lb grading sled through sand. Before wrapping the header, I would have to put my foot on the fender, the heat radiating from the header would burn my leg, even through long pants. after wrapping, feet on the pegs and no burns, even when wearing shorts. There is no way that kind of heat can be good for a motor or it's lubrication. The same heat that burned my leg 8 inches away was only 1 inch away from the cylinder cooling fins and oil transfer lines and passages...

That website want to sell you a coating, and tries to give reasons not to buy something else. The coating is good stuff, no doubt. But the reasons they give for wrap being bad simply dont apply. Small bore motorcycles are not NASCAR machines, and dont subject their parts to the same conditions.

Dipstick Temp.
 

My girlfriend won't let me get a thermometer for my dipstick... :( .

But she would prefer it to run in the hot range. lol :wink:

I'm betting you wouldnt like where the thermometer would be installed!

I don't see how a wrap is going to improve the performance if it is holding in the heat?
I can see if you wrapped the pipe just on the side where it passes the engine fins and the carb helping.
But that first piece of pipe coming out of the engine really transfers away a WHOLE lot of heat. If it is wrapped it needs to transfer that heat somewhere. Maybe the gasket keeps it from conducting back to the engine.

Hmm...
OB1, I might give it a try since you seem to like it.

The heat leaves the system away from the cooling fins, in the muffler.

Remember, if your header is plain steel, dont store it wet. Also, when you first run the bike with the wrap, the wrap will smoke like no tomorrow. It is just the oil used in making the wrap that is burning away. Take pix, it's a sight to see!

I cant speak for the materials that the chinese headers are made of, but my hondas have fared just fine.

Even if I had a header failure at some point, I figure it is much better than a heat-induced failure [short or long term], I'll buy another header. You might check to see if a replacement header is available, and it's cost, just in case.

As I said earlier, wrapping so you don´t burn yourself or melt plastic is one thing, but I (me personally) don´t believe that wrapping would make a motorcycle engine cooler. If so every performance motorbike or car would have it from the factory.
The only reason I can figure why it would run cooler is if water splashes up and keep the wrap wet (and smelly and make the exhaust rust)

The companies that sell/make wrap tend to say your exhaust gases get hotter, not that your engine gets cooler. Hotter gasses suposedly passes the exhaust faster? But the higher temperature give the exhaust gases larger volume, so...?
In that case wouldn´t it be best to run the engine without the exhaust? (Don´t try it, or you will see a engine run hot)
Running a motorcycle engine without exhaust will almost certainly burn/melt the exhaust valve, thats why i think the exhaust is a part of the cooling system.

Noticeable performance increase can only be achieved by burning more fuel/air.

You are a believer so I can´t argue with that, we just have different opinions :wink:

dlunt; I´m sure that the Hondas have higher quality headers, watch for rust if u use wrap.

Well Cat, evidently insulating the header in some fashion will give performance increases, the wrap guys and coating guys sure have the graphs to show you. But those are on big V-8s

Now, on a small bore bike, it would be tough to get anything noticeable. I never claimed any great performance gain on my 400, just that it maintains it's "warm-up crispness". And that is quite noticeable!

I will maintain that the engine heat, once it has left the engine in the form of exhaust gasses, is best kept from reentering the engine. That is the sole reason I wrap my headers. I race my bikes, in the tight technical woods 15 mph can be hard to achieve, and you're still on the gas hard, tons of heat. The wrap is so effective, I nicknamed it "artificial airspeed".

Cooling fins just inches away from a 600deg header are not cooling fins.

I think I see the logic behind the wrap, takes the exhaust further away from engine before it disipates the heat. thus keeping engine cooler. but I also see that holding in that heat can be very hard on the exhaust pipe it self. I wouldnt use it on a china bike the pipe is probably a little thin ....just guessing..Hey if someone got that temp gauge and used the wrap we could prove the theory. get some baseline #s without the wrap install the wrap and compare #s.

Regards Ray

All I know is that in my situation, I have never had a problem from wrapping my headers. But my situation is different from most of yours, since the chinese connection is only the engine.

I can say that the oldest pipe I have wrapped is on my '87 TRX250 quad. It was well rusted before I wrapped it years ago, and still no problems.

I have to think there would be no problem on a chinese header, but I do think it would be smart to consider price and availability of a replacement header in the decision to wrap your headers.

I have no doubt of the serious heat reduction, and that cannot help but extend the life of the engine and lubricants.

All this talk of engine wraps, If you want a thermometer for your bike just get one of the stick-on ones. They are ugly but cheap and effective. Here is one I found, comes in a three pack from one of my favorite bike accesory shops.

http://pitposse.stores.yahoo.net/raenth.html