Blue headers

Hey guys. My pipes are blue. It's a 1981 kz1000 ltd with a Vance and Hines 4-1 with the baffle in. Aftermarket pod filters. The pipes are only blue right at the first bend on the headers. It's the same on all 4. What's my problem?

with pods it's probably running lean but most pipes turn blue at the corner eventually.

When I got my new V/H I forgot to coat the insides with grease so they turned blue as soon as I fired it up. My old crossovers were gold. Cheap chrome.
Steve

The stock Kawasaki pipes are dual wall, so they don't turn blue unless there is serious over heating. I think all aftermarket pipes eventually turn blue since they are single wall. Ed

Single wall pipes will turn blue. There are ceramic coatings that can be applied to the insides. you pour it in then rotate the pipes to spread it around. Eastwood sells an internal exhaust coating that comes with a long extension hose nozzle. I painted the insides of my muffler system with bar-b-que grill paint, but that was just to deter rust. I guess it may help to deter blueing, but the header pipes are double-walled, so they already resist that.

I've sprayed the inside of my new headers with header paint, seems to help with the discoloration

I like blueing on the downpipe tops. Looks almost multicolour , like irridescent anodising.

First thing I intend to do when I fire up my nos unused 1979 kerker pipe will let it idle on the choke fore a while and get some colour on it.

Excessive use of abrasive cleaners on micron thin chrome triple-plate is 'spending' the chrome layer, old pipes always go at the tops where the top plate has rusted / been polished away.

Plating thickness ranges from 0.005 to 0.05 mils (0.13 to 1.27 µm).[1]

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrome_plating

I

The plugs are black on all cylinders so its running rich. Im just curious if blue headers is a bad thing

Thank you for all the feedback my fellow kz enthusiasts! I appreciate it a lot

It could be rich at one RPM and lean at another. I'd do plug chops to check it. Too ean can damage the engine.
Steve

The plugs are black on all cylinders so its running rich. I'm just curious if blue headers is a bad thing


I think the blueing is heat reaction with something in the air. Only the header tops blue as that is the hottest part.
Your plugs will tell you more than the header colour imo.

Tyrell Corp wrote: I like blueing on the downpipe tops. Looks almost multicolour , like irridescent anodising.

Blued finish on chrome headers is indicative of excessive heat and/or a low-quality chrome finish. Neither condition is desirable so I'm not sure why you would like such a thing, but it's your bike.