Here is a link to the photos I took today.
http://s158.photobucket.com/albums/t113/ryanbarrphotography/CB550%20Exhaust/
I tried to be very thorough, and circled any significant scratches or dents. The left side cleaned up very well. I used a bit of Superclean, and some Never Dull. I didn't put a tremendous amount of effort into cleaning them up, so if someone is familiar with cleaning or restoring chrome, there may still be some potential. The right side didn't clean up as well. It appears that the bike may have been down on that side. Mind you, I bough this bike in November for $100, and have not had it running yet, and I know nothing of its history. This is the first I have had the exhaust off. There is some baked on grease and gunk, and appears to have had something spilled on one can, and is stained. Again, it may clean off, I have no idea what it is. There are some decent dents on the underneath side of the lower can, and some scrapes on the head pipe. All of the pipes have some heat cracking, and some bluing. Some head pipes more than others. I shook the pipes and got some carbon and rust to come out. There is a little in them still that you can hear if you shake it. One pipe has some rust cancer in the area where the can is welded to the head pipe. There are several pictures. It does not seem to be flaky. I picked at it a little, but it is pretty solid. It is also not rusted all the way through. There is still some superficial rust on the exhausts, and some light pitting that might not show up in the pictures.
So what is this system really worth? Well, that's up to you. I don't want to make any false claims about the condition of the exhaust. The last thing I want is for someone to trade me and feel like they got screwed. This system is by no means new, but I don't think it is thrashed either. If you want an original look and are not restoring a concourse winner, this may work fine for you. If you want any more pictures of particular areas let me know. I will try to light them to minimize highlights, and I have a true macro lens for extreme detail.
Hope everyone had a good weekend.
Later,
Ryan
