[argchoff]

Its been 10 years owning this wonderful bike. However post covid i have had very little chance to ride as frequently as before due to nature of my profession and being more into cars than bike due to owning two lovely pets that like to travel.

Last 3 years i have only used the bike to go to and from the service center and regularly serviced the bike at authorised Triumph service centre in Pune. Main problem i have faced is having to change the battery. I am on my 4th battery now.

The day I have to leave home for joining ship, i start both my bikes (Triumph Bonneville and RE classic 500) for 5 mins whilst parked and rev the engine to about 4000rpm to charge the battery then disconnect the battery, put insulation tape on the terminal and store till i come back to India. I have been doing this for all these years without any issues. However today when I revved the Bonneville for just 5 minutes both the exhaust pipes just after the exhaust manifold turned red hot.

There was no white /black smoke, no misfiring, everything else was normal except this overheating of the exhausts on both cylinders.

What could have possibly gone wrong??? Is it safe to ride the bike??

[GTE]

I wonder if your mufflers are choked with something.

[Nilesh5417]

Originally Posted by argchoff

However today when I revved the Bonneville for just 5 minutes both the exhaust pipes just after the exhaust manifold turned red hot.

There was no white /black smoke, no misfiring, everything else was normal except this overheating of the exhausts on both cylinders.

What could have possibly gone wrong??? Is it safe to ride the bike??

Bike is running too rich is what i think. A bit of googling says that it could also be coupled with a valve issue causing the unburnt / partially burnt fuel escaping and burning in the exhaust.

To me, it is absolutely unsafe to ride the bike - you could get hurt accidently touching those bend pipes on your legs. For the bike, at the least, it could seize the engine and worst could blow it off! Rebuilds are a pain and darn expensive so please get this looked at some competent FNG or A.S.S.

[WhiteBlu]

I've seen a similar situation and the problem was in deed the bike running too rich. So I second what Nilesh said. There could be some other problem as well, but nonetheless the exhaust is coming out too hot and I recommend you not drive the bike for sure. So even if you don't have RSA, call up the showroom/ RSA and ask them to come pick up the bike. That's a much better thing to do than possibly hurting yourself/ motorcycle more. Hopefully it's nothing and you get back on the road soon!

[JayPrashanth]

Rich generally means cooler exhaust, not red hot exhaust. Even if a lot of fuel is unburnt (very rich), you're going to get pops and bangs.

This may be a super lean condition caused by probably an air leak somewhere. Check all hoses.

PS: If it's popping, you probably have a rich mixture. But usually, this shouldn't happen in fuel injected motorcycles. If you want a really competent guy to handle this aside of the Triumph A.S.S, contact Kunal Bhaskaran. He's got a shop in Viman Nagar called Slipstream Performance.

Cheers,

Jay

[Otto]

The pipes will get hot if you're only going to idle the bike and there's no wind flow.

BS6 bikes (or at least Triumphs) come with a warning that the catalytic converter can ignite dry grass.

What you need is a good old Italian tune up or at least a long ride to burn off that unburnt fuel.
You should be fine after.

[bikertillidie]

Originally Posted by argchoff

However today when I revved the Bonneville for just 5 minutes both the exhaust pipes just after the exhaust manifold turned red hot.

There was no white /black smoke, no misfiring, everything else was normal except this overheating of the exhausts on both cylinders.

What could have possibly gone wrong??? Is it safe to ride the bike??

Two possibilities come to mind

(a) retarded ignition timing
(b) excessively lean air fuel mixture

Both AFR and timing advance can be checked with a good OBD scanner...

Leaky valves wouldn't seal the combustion chamber well, the engine would suffer from erratic idle.

[r_nairtvm]

Originally Posted by argchoff

What could have possibly gone wrong??? Is it safe to ride the bike??

Nothing wrong. The photo is taken while its being idled in a basement parking. Basically as there's no wind circulation (put table or pedestal fan in front if you want to test it out). Once you start ridding it disappears.

I own a Bonnie since 2009. It's a common sight for me, when I take out the bike from the parking tent and start it and let idle, while I get ready for the ride.
Once I start riding out of basement it disappears.

A well "blued" exhaust is the only result that happens from this process.

Enjoy your ride, and don't fiddle with it unless it becomes totally uncomfortable to ride

"Don't try to repair anything unless its broken" - old mechanic's dictum

Best Regards & Ride Safe

[b16h22]

Originally Posted by argchoff

There was no white /black smoke, no misfiring, everything else was normal except this overheating of the exhausts on both cylinders.

What could have possibly gone wrong??? Is it safe to ride the bike??

Looks like it is quite common on that gen Bonnevilles.

https://www.triumphrat.net/threads/b...ng-red.128882/

[t3rm1n80r]

If it's indeed related to fuel:air mixture, I think checking the PUC values against baseline ones might give you some idea, not enough to complete debug any problem but can be something to start with.

[true_sedan]

Originally Posted by JayPrashanth

Rich generally means cooler exhaust, not red hot exhaust. Even if a lot of fuel is unburnt (very rich), you're going to get pops and bangs.

This may be a super lean condition caused by probably an air leak somewhere. Check all hoses.

PS: If it's popping, you probably have a rich mixture. But usually, this shouldn't happen in fuel injected motorcycles. If you want a really competent guy to handle this aside of the Triumph A.S.S, contact Kunal Bhaskaran. He's got a shop in Viman Nagar called Slipstream Performance.

Cheers,

Jay

If there is an airleak, lesser air gets to the combustion chamber. Which means more fuel and hence richer condition. Not lean.

I feel one or multiple engine valves are stuck leading to the combustion chambers explosive combustion going straight to the exhaust. Or it could be the case that rodents decided to enter both the exhausts and choke them with something. One thing we can all agree on is the bike shouldn't be driven. It should be towed to a competent ASS to get it diagnosed and fixed.

[ironclad9798]

Stumbled upon this thread and what an amazing journey all through!
Thanks for all the shares and details OP, quite detailed and very much appreciated. Based on all the threads, discussions and TD, I am ready for my own Bonnie too and eagerly waiting for it.

Based on my experience with these bigger bikes, the main reason for the heated exhausts would be lack of air circulation. But there are other reasons as well that can contribute, so best would be to ride it to service station and notice if the issue subsides. Good to get a general check anyway. Keep us posted on the outcome please.

[argchoff]

Originally Posted by r_nairtvm

Nothing wrong. The photo is taken while its being idled in a basement parking. Basically as there's no wind circulation (put table or pedestal fan in front if you want to test it out). Once you start ridding it disappears.

I own a Bonnie since 2009. It's a common sight for me, when I take out the bike from the parking tent and start it and let idle, while I get ready for the ride.
Once I start riding out of basement it disappears.

Thanks. I used to follow your posts of your silver Bonneville way back in 2014. Those posts along with mobike008's bonnie thread played a big part in my choosing the Bonneville and buying/owning the bike has been the best decision for me.

Good to know that this red discoloration is normal while idling. Planning to take her for a short ride for a couple of kilometers once I return to India, hopefully the pipes won't turn red.

The bike scheduled service is due in September, hopefully anything amiss during the checks will be addressed by the service guys.

[r_nairtvm]

Originally Posted by argchoff

Thanks. I used to follow your posts of your silver Bonneville way back in 2014. Those posts along with mobike008's bonnie thread played a big part in my choosing the Bonneville and buying/owning the bike has been the best decision for me.

Thanks for the kind comments.

Originally Posted by argchoff

Good to know that this red discoloration is normal while idling. Planning to take her for a short ride for a couple of kilometers once I return to India, hopefully the pipes won't turn red.

Correct - please make sure that you ride on less congested roads, where the traffic keeps moving. Best would be take it on a ride on open roads/highways. Even on those rides if it turns red then it needs further investigation, I will say.

Originally Posted by argchoff

The bike scheduled service is due in September, hopefully anything amiss during the checks will be addressed by the service guys.

Again, it depends on the mechanics at the service Centre. Triumph dealerships in some places (like in Bangalore) can be a hit or miss.

Another thing I am noticing, increasingly of late, in conversations with many new dealers (post Bajaj era) is that they don't have Mechanics who have been given training on "higher cc multicylinder bikes". Sincere ones would advise you to take the bike to one of the older dealers.

Ask them to stick to the tune specific to your VIN

I am attaching a picture of my bike, showing the results of the pipe turning red hot. Its visible at the bend and at the place where exhaust joins the silencer.



Best Regards & Ride Safe