Header temperature for tuning diagnostics

Does, anyone know what the operating temp of the pipes should be for aftermarket (assuming single wall) header would be. I'm pretty sure I'm lean on one or rich on another? 700's on #1, #2 & #3 cold so not firing, and #4 550's. I have checked online and got both 550 and 700's as normal temperatures but from different pages. I know that material and design will change this buy not on the same bike. I do know cooler is richer, lean is hotter but I don't know what's normal. Anyone know what it should be? 

That's not a reliable method of tuning. Get yourself a colourtune plug and do it accurately. 

This doesn't sound like a "tuning" matter, it's about doing maintenance.  

Perform a proper carb rebuild, not an open the bowls spritz out.  Then adjust the valves.  Clean/change air filter, do what it takes to assure a proper spark.  Etc.  My signature contains a link of things to take care of, to assure your bike is ready to run properly.  It will help...

Ya, it sounds like no one knows the answer to the header temp question. I searchedcand did find two articles. One stating it should be in the mid 500's and another that said 700's. 

On average the header temps will between 1000 f  to 1600 f but can be higher.
This all depends on A/F ratio, rpm's, header material, thickness , single skin/double skin, gas flow rate/ silencer restriction etc etc.
Using exhaust temps as a tuning aid is only useful as an indicator that all the cylinders are running the same or consistantly but then again you are not guaranteed to get exact matching figures on all cylinders even with identical fueling as the middle cylinders may run hotter than the outers due to issues with heat retention and air flow restrictions etc. 
For whatever machine or exhaust you are refering to there will be no exhaust temp figures published or recommended so all you can do is use the individual cylinder temps for comparison purposes to determine if all cylinders are firing.
I have to say that in 50 years of building and racing i've never found reading exhaust temps as much of a usefull tool except for quickly flicking a wet finger tip across them to find which pipes sizzle and which don't in a quick test to find a duff cylinder. 


 

I was header temp check to determine quickly if all cylinders were firing. 2 and 3 were cold with the wet finger test. Grabbed my temp readers and got the 700 plus one cylinder #1 and 550 on cylinder #4, 2 and 3 were less than 170 degrees. Confirmed 2 and 3 weren't firing, which was the goal but the 200 degrees difference between 1 and 4 had my attention. This obviously because of the lean or rich possibility. Not knowing what's "normal" is caused the query and post. Thank you for taking the time to answer 

wrote:

I was header temp check to determine quickly if all cylinders were firing. 2 and 3 were cold with the wet finger test. Grabbed my temp readers and got the 700 plus one cylinder #1 and 550 on cylinder #4, 2 and 3 were less than 170 degrees. Confirmed 2 and 3 weren't firing, which was the goal but the 200 degrees difference between 1 and 4 had my attention. This obviously because of the lean or rich possibility. Not knowing what's "normal" is caused the query and post. Thank you for taking the time to answer 

More likely intermittent spark,incomplete combustion etc.
2-3 are common coil so both not firing is likely faulty coil, connection or pickup etc unless both plugs are kaput.
1-4 both firing so coil likely good but faulty plug, lead on 4 or valve not seating . low comp etc. 

Agreed. Was looking up on testing the coils and was checking the ignition yesterday (friday) as yes 2 and 3 are the same coil. I have a new dynatek coil kit on it and their pointless/electronic ignition set up swapped over from another bike. 

Dyna coils have a know issue with grounding out to the mounting post. This could be your problem with 2-3 coil. Several methods of repair are acceptable. Replacing the metal standoff will hard plastic tube. Shrink wrapping the metal stand off or a minimal would be to wrap the metal stand off with good 3m black tape. 

I saw that on installation and shrunk wrapped and placed a chunk of fuel line between mount and contacts. I just did a static timing and had to move the pickup on one side to get better line up. I did this and checked connections and plugs. Cylinder 1 looks lean but I'll investigate further with a picture of expectations. It's running on all four now. Temp on one and four are within a 50 degrees although one is lower now? Same with 2 and 3, within a few degrees. 

You have exceeded the usefulness of testing header temp. They are all firing. Best is to now tune for best idle using the pilot screws. Readjust idle speed as you find best idle, the tune by reading plugs.