Cleaning expansion chambers?

[explode64]

I’m looking at cleaning the crap out of the expansion chambers on my RGV250, I know that there are 3 main ways of doing this. Heating the hell out of them with a blow torch and burning the oil and carbon out, putting them in a caustic hot tank for a few days or filling them with a caustic solution for a week or so.

As I don’t have a blow torch or a hot tank I’m looking at filling them with a caustic solution. Has anyone done this before? Where do I get the caustic from?

[DrunkenMistake]

Ride the bike like you stole it?
Might burn out all the carbon

[cave weta]

Caustic soda from any plumbing,swimming pool or hardware shop. use a potato to block the end up. use hot water and mix it in a metal (heatproof) container as it gets hotter when mixed. wear all the safety gear.remove all alloy heatsheilds, stand overnight.
if all this sounds too much... try lpg or acetylene gas filled chamber then ignite gas by passing flame across open end. resulting shock wave will loosen carbon deposits......

[Grumph]

if all this sounds too much... try lpg or acetylene gas filled chamber then ignite gas by passing flame across open end. resulting shock wave will loosen carbon deposits......[/QUOTE]

And your teeth...

Mix your caustic in a stainless pot for preference if you ever want to use the pot again....add caustic to the water as there's less splash.

The absolute best way is heat one end till red with oxy acetylene, then turn off the acetylene and keep feeding it oxy up the guts...a red ring will work it's way along the chamber which is the carbon burning. The neighbours may however come after you with a rope as this method produces copious amounts of smutty smoke....it also fucks chrome.

[Kickaha]

The neighbours may however come after you with a rope as this method produces copious amounts of smutty smoke....it also fucks chrome.

Yes, we had one come running to check what was on fire, luckily before he called the fire brigade

Felt like it was a couple of kg lighter after we'd done it though

[george formby]

Caustic soda from any plumbing,swimming pool or hardware shop. use a potato to block the end up. use hot water and mix it in a metal (heatproof) container as it gets hotter when mixed. wear all the safety gear.remove all alloy heatsheilds, stand overnight.
if all this sounds too much... try lpg or acetylene gas filled chamber then ignite gas by passing flame across open end. resulting shock wave will loosen carbon deposits......

I'm in the same predicament & was advised to sloosh a bit of petrol around, pour it out & do the same thing, light it... Thought it was tongue in cheek

Think I would rather give it a good thrashing now the silencer is cleaned out.

[husaberg]

Yes, we had one come running to check what was on fire, luckily before he called the fire brigade

Felt like it was a couple of kg lighter after we'd done it though

I was also recommend the agitation with a bit of light gauge chain. Like a dog chain.
I also note do not do this (the burning decoking) when your lady has washing on the line, esp white sheets
We used to do the nifty fifty's (these and Farm bikes were bread and butter in the 90's) by heating the outside of the pipe to cherry red and then alternating with the flame down the pipe to catch the loose deposits and agitating with the chain to further loosen deposits. If they were really bad they were cut open to access all the pipe I have also tried the Caustic Soda method on chromed pipes it did work but probably not as well needing further treatment again but it did work.The cautic solution was placed in the bunged up end pipe and then boiling water was added.Beware of splash back. Full PPE is required as it is nasty stuff, real nasty.