I have been doing a lot of research on head pipes. I see where some people are cutting open their cat and grinding it all out, then tig weld the exhaust back together. Will this run and sound better with a proper tune? Any advise is appreciated

 

Donnie, call in the Touring section, where you will find plenty of help on that subject, as it is a Touring specific question. There are several ways around doing that: DIY if you have the skills; buy an after-market set-up; I believe there are exchange stock ones available, that have been gutted.

 

Another consideration/option is to be cautious on US EPA rules for m/c exhaust (i.e. noise-levels). Some owners elect to retain stock header & purchase replacement from after-market vendor(s) (i.e. Fuel Moto, Rinehart, V&H, etc.). This way you get the non-restricted exhaust and option to return motor back to stock, if necessary. Good luck!

 

I removed the cat today, not a tough job at all. Cost me $30.00. So far only 30 miles on it. Sounds and feels much better. My reasoning is, I spent all of my $$$ on the bike, looking for an inexpensive way to gain a little power and gain a much better sound. So far so good

 

donnie can you post some pics

 

Sorry, I didn't take too many pics. Basically I cut a window in the pipe and ground the catalyst out and had my local exhaust shop mig weld it back together. Not much time or money in this

 

20k motorcycle with a Ducktape fix lol.......

 

You are gonna have to explain what is wrong with this ???? You can't see the repair at all. It runs better, cooler and sounds great. Wtf??? This upgrade is not a duct tape fix, I'm confident it will last as long as the bike. Lol lol lol

 

Yes clearly he should have spent $2000 for a custom exhaust.. what was he thinking?

 

With a catless head pipe, your bike will sound a bit louder and run a bit cooler, with no tuning required.

Unless you're capable of doing the job yourself, my suggestion is that you look for a catless header on Ebay. I bought mine for $135/delivered.

I like this option because you keep your original header; you can easily reverse the process if you decide that you don't like the results.