Honda exhaust mod

I drilled holes in the outer ring of the muffler first. I started with two and worked my way up to 8 holes, before I had the rear baffle removed. It improved the sound somewhat but did not give me the deep throated rumble I was looking for.

My initial fear of removing the rear baffle was based on the thought that everything else inside the muffler might collapse or rattle around after its removal. Fortunately, Honda did a modification friendly design. The removal of the rear baffle leaves two other internal baffles that are welded in place. The sound now is incredible, as good as any aftermarket pipe I've heard on a Ducati, (it looks good top) so good I've diverted the money I had planned to spend on pipes to buy a Radar Detector and an Cobra alarm system.

I now have almost 4500 mi on my bike and over 3000 mi since the pipes were modified. I checked the spark plugs last night and their color is perfect, a light brown with no significant carbon buildup. I did not rejet the bike and I have canceled the idea of rejetting. If it ain't broke don't fix it. Gas milage continues to be a suprising 41.5 MPG.

My suggestion is go for it, (when you ain't got nuttin', you ain't got nuttin' to lose) it's either modify, or spend $500 for Two Brothers slip ons that don't look any better than the stock pipes.

It took me awhile to visualize what Chris was saying, but I realized he was talking about the ring of metal that can be seen from the back of the bike that surrounds the exhaust pipe exiting the mufflers. It is this ring of metal that he had first drilled holes through by accessing from the back, then deciding later to cut it out completely. Later this week, I will also try drilling holes into the back ring ( probably 4-8 x 1/4" holes near the perimeter of the rear ring of metal.

1. The inner pipe goes through the entire canister. It stays put when you make this mod.
2. There is no packing inside the can and the plate that gets removed is not attached to anything but the inner pipe and the outer wall.
3. The whole process took me less than 5 mins.
4. I think it sounds great, not to loud, not cracky, just a really mellow roar, throaty, something you can feel!
5. I think my carburation is better now. I don't notice the surging during constant med-low rpm cruising that I did before. I'm checking my milage this weekend with a big ride.
6. No, I haven't tested the bike and I'm not a pro so this is at your own risk, I'm not sure of the warranty implications either, I'm sure my pipes aren't warrantied anymore but I think my dealer would still cover the rest of the bike.
7. My mirrors are not quite as clear as they were before due to vibration.

Bottom line. I'm, 110% happy with the change and the sound is exactly what I wanted. Probably better than aftermarkets because its not to loud. Sorry pipe guys..... I'll still probably go for a complete exhaust and jet setup once more testing has been done and we see some numbers. Until then, my VTR now has some teeth. Good for the ego too!

I drilled a 1/4" hole in the baffle that can be seen directly down the back exhaust pipe earlier this week. I can't say I was very happy with this mod. I increased the sound abit, but made a higher pitched sputtering noise instead of the low bass of a V-twin. I proceeded to drill the rear ring of metal seen from the rear of the muffler with an electric drill and a dremel drill using 11/64" bit. After about 3 hours of sweat I finished. I was trying to avoid the blueing of the mufflers from the heat of a torch: I advise anyone who wants to work hard for their new muffler sound to try what I did, otherwise go get it torched out in a couple of minutes work.

I have to say, the modification is exactly what I was looking for. It produces a very mellow bellow of baratone in a very V-twin manner. I was very happy with the result. Sounds very boom-boom upto about 3500 rpm. At speeds greater than 100km (60mph) there is more wind noise than exhaust boom. So around town, at intersections, at the burger joint... you can enjoy the true V-twin sound and be proud to show it off. Before, I have to say...you had to listen pretty carefully to enjoy the heavily muffled bass of the engine. The volume after the mod is just loud enough to enjoy and is not offensive. It is pretty mellow. Everyone I meet has given the thumbs up. So I suggest forget drilling directly down the exhaust pipe with a drill bit extender, cut the rear ring of metal that surrounds the 1" exhaust pipe at the back of the muffler instead. It is definately worth it!!!!

Oh, by the way, the tips of my mufflers turned bluish after riding for a day, so my hard work drilling out all of the rear plate was not worth it if you are trying to avoid the heat of an acetylene/oxygen torch. (But if you want to replicate what I did, I drilled small holes very close together around the 1" exiting pipe and also where the ring of metal meets the outside of the cans. Then I used the dremel drill to connect the holes together to remove the rear ring of metal entirely. DRILLING HOLES IN THE REAR RING DOES NOT PRODUCE THE MELLOW NOTE! Go all the way, remove all of it for the full effect.

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