Dented headers, seems to have no negative effect?

Problem? (The bike is running great, and I'm not looking for an excuse to spend hundreds of dollars on new headers.) Both headers are dented, but the dents are not aligned with each other and one dent is larger than the other.

The short version is that I don't know when this happened; my best guess is an incident about 7 years ago. I haven't had my own garage in that time, and just discovered this during my recent carb-off/cleaning. There is no sign of impact or contact, so I think it's stress-related damage although that seems a strange spot for it. Anyway, I've ridden a lot less in the last 7 years, but still probably 5,000 miles or so. I think this is on my list of things I want to fix but will put on the bottom half of the sheet.

 

I don't think that dent will really cause any noticeable issue for every day riding. Looks smooth and minimal in depth. Not a bike, but the aftermarket headers on my car has a similar looking dent from the manufacturer to clear the steering rod.

 

I wouldn't worry a bit about that, it won't make a difference at all. Save your money for tires.

 

Should be fine. I'd worry more about corrosion. For a cheap dress up, pull them and media blast them bare. Recoat with some VHT flameproof

 

If you aren't interested in getting every bit of horsepower from each $4.00 gallon of gas you buy, then all is well.

 

I think you should fix it, dents are unslightly and you lose .001%HP -yes it should be fix!

 

I put a couple dents like that on my front bank headers as well. Never noticed a difference. Although thinking I could clear that curb and being immediately corrected was awfully embarrassing.

 

that counts as a drop.

 

Yea.... It only counts as a drop when you drop the bike. I put both feet down and kept her upright. I was going down the curb by the way, not up. Cat-like reflexes I think is what people say. Something I would expect lonely old cat ladies to know a little bit about. Back to topic.

 

Yeah, they're on the list to be fixed. Eventually. And yeah, I do want them coated. A long time ago I really wanted to go with http://www.jet-hot.com/ Gotta admit, I still like the look and protection. But yeah, $$...

 

denting the pipes should count for something-maybe half a drop!