glowing exhaust at head, yikes!

[jacintheis]

I am sure this has beeen covered but the only info i could find was on airheads in a search, thought the oiler might be differant. I road from Rapid City To Sturgis BMW today for a part (about 35 miles of interstate one way), when i got back stopped for a couple of errands, then home. When i got in the garage i noticed a slight glow on the exhaust at the head left side.:scratch I didnt think to check the right side.
It was only about 35 degrees outside and the oil temp gauge was normal. Is this normal and i have never noticed it? or is there a valve or timing issue possibly.
I have only owned this bike for about three months and have done minimal fluids services. Havent gotten up the nerve to tear into a valve adjust yet. This is a 96 r1100Rt with about 51,000 miles. Thanks for any advice/input. I have found a lot of helpful advice around here, cant wait to meet some of you at Gillette.

[PGlaves]

Probably normal. Do it again and see if both sides are the same. One glowing and the other not is significant. Both glowing is much less so.

The O2 sensor and Motronic will keep mixture "in range" where it won't be lean enough to harm the engine - but the O2 sensor is sensing blended exhaust from both cylinders so one could be leaner and one richer, and that could be a problem on the lean side.

This is most likely to ocur if the throttle bodies are not synchronized or if one injector is slightly clogged.

So, go take a run and see if both sides seem the same. A good test instrument is a remote sensing infrared thermometer/pyrometer. Checking pipe temperatures and head temperatures next to the exhaust would give you a good handle on whether both sides are the same. You need to be careful to test the same spot oth sides. An inch or two on the header pipes makes a big temperature difference.

[jacintheis]

thanks paul, i have been researching the surging issues as i have experianced much of that. this makes me woneder if i do have a balance issue with the carbs. I will measure the tempurature on both side though and go from there. I appreciate your help.

[bikerfish1100]

if you're experiencing pronounced surging, that is almost always indicative of a TB synching issue. fwiw- the RT was probably the model most prone to surging. I
'd begin with a valve check/adjustment (can also cause a disparity in heat production one side to the other), and then finish up with a TBS.
A valve adjust is stone cold simple- if you can do fluid changes, you have the skills to do a valve adjustment. and if you have a TwinMax, a TBS is also amazingly simple. there's info all over the place explaining how to do- this is one excellent resource:
http://www.ibmwr.org/r-tech/oilheads/index.shtml

[breyfogle]

....When i got in the garage i noticed a slight glow on the exhaust at the head left side..... Is this normal and i have never noticed it?.

Boxer BMW's have been doing that for as long as there have been boxer BMW's. Single wall exhaust headers show their heat quickly and on a BMW, the hottest part of the header is very easy to see while sitting on the bike.

Like PG said, of the left and right sides as similar, don't worry, TADT.