As far as gettin the burnt crust off of the pipes, Easy Off Oven Cleaner works great. I don't know what to say about stopping it from happening in the future.
These V&H Big Radius Pipes are really close to my legwhen I'm driving. I could easily see some rain gear melting on the pipes.
Good thing I don't own any rain gear.......yet! [:@]
The Easy Off trick really works, I had to do it yesterday. I used a heat gun to get the melted fabric hot and then rubbed it off with a clean 100% cotton t-shirt. Took several applications but worked great.