[Rice]

Hi all.
I just got done gutting my exhaust.
Actually, mine is still intact. I used exhaust graciously donated by bluedragon. Thanks for a smooth transaction
I did not gut mine because I was not sure whether I would F it up (I did not ) or whether I would hate the sound once I'm done.
Having read all the related posts, I still did not have a clear picture of what exactly needs to be done and how to do it.
So, here is my definitive guide to gutting a 6th Gen. exhaust
I did it with out cutting it in the middle and with out a welding machine.
The whole job took me a little over 3 hours. This includes the time that I took to figure out what exactly needs to be done and what tools to use No beer brakes Hopefully, this write-up will save an hour for those of you who come in my "glorious" footsteps. (You can tell I'm pretty proud [read full] of myself).
The tools:

• Heavy duty work gloves. After reading prior posts
  
• Goggles (not pictured). Use your imagination.
  
• Wise Grip
  
• Hammer
  
• Channel Lock
  
• 12 inch chisel. A shorter one will not work
  
• File (rough grain)
  
• Large screwdriver
  
• Sawzal

The steps:

• Disassemble the tail section plastics, fender, all chrome heat shields, etc...
  
• Leave the exhaust on the bike. I looked in vein for something else sturdy enough to place the exhaust on for cutting, hammering and pulling. It turned out that the bike is the best platform for all the work, so I hooked it up and the rest happens while exhaust is installed on the bike.
  
• Cut the end caps off with a sawzal. This will take some time, but it is not too difficult. Use the edge of the file to start the cut in the middle of the weld and continue with the sawzal all the way through.
  
• Now, comes the fun part. Remove the outer baffle. Some explanation is in order here. Look at this diagram:

Now, that you've stopped laughing at my artistry... The picture shows the inside of the muffler.

• The most important thing to notice is what I refer to as the "middle pipe". This pipe connects the two baffles. It must be dislodged from the outer baffle by chiseling around it until it is free of the welds.
  
• Cave in the middle of the outer baffle with the chisel. This does two things: First, it makes the three tabs with the spot welds move away from the muffler wall, which makes it easy to insert chisel and knock the welds off. Second, it deforms the baffle and makes it easier to pull out.
  
• Attach Wise Grip to any pipe (other than the "middle pipe"), grab the end bolt of the Wise Grip with Channel Lock and hammer the s!@#$%t out of it until the outer baffle comes out.

• The inner baffle comes out by following the same procedure. No need to dislodge the middle pipe you will be using it to pull the baffle out.
  
• Repeat on the other side. Here is the picture of baffles out. I actually got the outer baffle up side down here. OOPS.
  
• Step away and admire the view. Now is a good time to take pictures. I love that totally naked look of the tail section with open exhaust:
  
• Now, remove the exhaust and turn it up side down to get rid of the metal shavings. I actually used my trusty shop vac. to get everything out.
  
• Use JB Weld to glue the end caps back on. This stuff hardens to become as durable as steel. No bull. I have not done this yet. It's on my to do list for tomorrow.

So, tomorrow I will weld the pipes back together and record the final picture and the sound clip.
Thanks to everyone who did it before me and took the time to share your experience. It saved me time and helped to avoid possible bodily injury :thumbsup:

[Kanadian Ken]

Damn - fine job if it went that well. I've now debaffled two exhausts - and they do not come out very easy - at all.

Glad that you had success..

:thumbsup:

[Rivcyko]

Sweet.

Not to rain on you,....seems one member did the J.B. weld, on the ends, and they fell off. :joystick: Very interseted to see further reports. (Yer gonna love the sound.) That, I am sure of. :thumbsup:

[uclajoebruin]

Thanks for the write up and cool drawing :thumbsup: I'm interested in hearing the sound clips since I'm thinking of gutting my exhausts instead of going the aftermarket route.

[Rivcyko]

uclajoebruin, on Jan 21 2007, 02:48 AM, said:

Thanks for the write up and cool drawing :thumbsup: I'm interested in hearing the sound clips since I'm thinking of gutting my exhausts instead of going the aftermarket route.

Here's Kkkkens!

http://media.putfile.com/kens-gutted

Any pinnage for this thread?

[klrtovfr]

I just gutted mine this fall right before i put it away for the winter. I am very pleased with the sound. After completely gutting it I ran it without the end caps on and it was a little too loud about the same as running the exhaust straight out of the catalytic converter.
I decided to take it to a local welder who tig welded it for me for $45 which looks very vice, it almost makes me want to leave the heat shields off so that I can look at the pretty welds.

It is a lot quieter after the endcaps are back on, and the sound makes me smile

It is noticably louder than stock but when not wearing earplugs anything above 50-55mph I cant hear it over the windnoise. It also seems to be quieter than an inline 4 with aftermarket exhaust. I have not heard any aftermarket exhaust on a vfr in person so I can not compare, but I would imagine that one from staintune or remus would have a more fine tuned note color. An example that I can think that most people could compare would be like a standard GM V8. If you like the sound of the V8 with a good aftermarket exhaust than go with a staintune, remus, micron, etc. If you like the sound of a straight piped v8 than dont waste your money, just gut your stock exhaust.

As far as the gutting process, make sure you have a friend that can help because it will tire you out from hammering on the chissel. Having a sawzall really helps a lot for taking end cap off.

[Rice]

Rivcyko, on Jan 21 2007, 12:53 AM, said:

Sweet.

Not to rain on you,....seems one member did the J.B. weld, on the ends, and they fell off. :joystick: Very interseted to see further reports. (Yer gonna love the sound.) That, I am sure of. :thumbsup:

Thanks for the warning.
I'm gona try it with JB Weld any way because I have nothing to lose here. If end caps fall off, I will rent a MIG welder at Home Depot and weld them.
Should be a fun experience, since I've never welded before and I have to try everything at least once

This post has been edited by Rice: 21 January 2007 - 10:40 AM

[Rice]

uclajoebruin, on Jan 21 2007, 02:48 AM, said:

Thanks for the write up and cool drawing :thumbsup: I'm interested in hearing the sound clips since I'm thinking of gutting my exhausts instead of going the aftermarket route.

My pleasure.
Love the fact that you liked the drawing

[cruzinaz]

Rice, on Jan 21 2007, 10:37 AM, said:

Rivcyko, on Jan 21 2007, 12:53 AM, said:

Sweet.

Not to rain on you,....seems one member did the J.B. weld, on the ends, and they fell off. :joystick: Very interseted to see further reports. (Yer gonna love the sound.) That, I am sure of. :thumbsup:

Thanks for the warning.
I'm gona try it with JB Weld any way because I have nothing to lose here. If end caps fall off, I will rent a MIG welder at Home Depot and weld them.
Should be a fun experience, since I've never welded before and I have to try everything at least once

Find someone to tig weld, if you don't have welding experience welding anything thin is a BIG challenge, the metal will dissapear very quickly, and after all that fine work inside you may not be very happy. One more thing, if you use jb weld and it doesn't work it will make the welders job alot harder, the 45 bucks it will cost is well worth it. :thumbsup: Nice job on the pipes :thumbsup:

[bluedragon]

awesome man! glad you got it done. Hope the JB weld holds up and cant wait to hear um :thumbsup:

[Rice]

767fixer, on Jan 22 2007, 04:12 AM, said:

cruzinaz, on Jan 21 2007, 10:53 AM, said:

Rice, on Jan 21 2007, 10:37 AM, said:

Rivcyko, on Jan 21 2007, 12:53 AM, said:

Sweet.

Not to rain on you,....seems one member did the J.B. weld, on the ends, and they fell off. :joystick: Very interseted to see further reports. (Yer gonna love the sound.) That, I am sure of. :thumbsup:

Thanks for the warning.
I'm gona try it with JB Weld any way because I have nothing to lose here. If end caps fall off, I will rent a MIG welder at Home Depot and weld them.
Should be a fun experience, since I've never welded before and I have to try everything at least once

Find someone to tig weld, if you don't have welding experience welding anything thin is a BIG challenge, the metal will dissapear very quickly, and after all that fine work inside you may not be very happy. One more thing, if you use jb weld and it doesn't work it will make the welders job alot harder, the 45 bucks it will cost is well worth it. :thumbsup: Nice job on the pipes :thumbsup:

i second the welding now. if, actually when because you will, weld the caps on all that jb weld will have to be scraped and sanded off for the welder. and the thin metal welding is a "JOY" if you havent done any welding (actually any welding is miserable if you havent done it before) you will learn the meaning of burn through and globbing.

Ok guys, you convinced me.
I definately will not try to weld myself.
Regarding JB Weld, I actually used something called Cold Weld. Probably the same thing.
I looked at the box and it says that its maximum operating temperature is 350F. I wonder how hot the exhaust tips get. I would imagine more than that in the summer - Does anyone know?
Now, I am not sure what to do.
The caps are held in place pretty well right now. It seems like nothing, short of sawzal would be able to pry them off. I guess I will ride like this until they do fall off. If they fall off, I will not lose them because they are held by the chrome covers. The cleanup for the welder should not be a problem at all, since this stuff is brittle - most of it can be chipped away pretty easily. The rest can by filed off.
Right now, I am awaiting delivery of Turbo City FPR before I put the bike back together. Hopefully I will be able to post a sound clip sometime next weekend.
Thanks for your advice!

This post has been edited by Rice: 22 January 2007 - 09:24 AM

[dutchinterceptor]

I noticed a product at Oreillys Auto Parts yesterday that claims to seal up gaps in an exhaust system. It claims that it gets stronger with heat. I'll try to swing back by to get the name.

Wouldn't it be best to put a safety wire or something like that so that when they fall off they don't smash into somebody riding with you?

Good job by the way and thanks for the drawing!! There was one that Trav? posted a while back that was helpful but it got lost I guess.

[tyrroneous]

When I gutted my exhaust, (I didn't do a 'complete' gut like the one detailed here. I just cut the end caps off.) I left the endcaps off and just re-attached the decorative endcaps using two of the three screws. I sealed up the gap using high temp. silicone and left a little gap at the bottom as a moisture drain. I was careful in applying the silicone and without looking closely for it, you won't notice its there. Its held together well for about 25,000 miles now with narry a problem.

[gll429]

hey!

get a drill and rivet gun.. rivet the caps back on .. it will cost you 10 bucks....

[roadpupp]

Kudos to you. I beat the piss out of my pipes trying to get the baffles out. I can't believe you were able to do such a clean job with the tools you had and still mounted!

I cut the pipes in the middle and used a torch as well as a big chisel. SS is some strong stuff.

I welded it back up, but have welded before and urge you to hire a pro if you don't have experience welding. It went smoothly for me, but I had my stepdad with 30 years of experience looking over my shoulder.

I loved my gutted pipes and depending on which used bike I end up buying will probably go back to them on my next bike.

[VFRiderGal]

Thanks for the post-up, Rice! I'm planning on doing this... I mean I plan on getting my hubby to do this for me in the spring. I'm sure he will appreciate the detail.

* Seriously, I'll be helping... helping hand him a beer and whatever tools he asks for. :D

[Rice]

Thanks to all for the kind words.
I'm glad you guys liked it :D

[Tori]

gll429, on Jan 22 2007, 08:54 AM, said:

hey!

get a drill and rivet gun.. rivet the caps back on .. it will cost you 10 bucks....

Cant do that very well,.....they are the same diameter.


Oh, and since nobody has pointed this out yet, your welding stainless steel. So its not "just rent a welder" and blast it back together. Take it to a pro, he'll do the rest.

[soichiro]

JB weld may work for a little while, but not lng. My welder charged me $40 to cut off the endcaps and weld them back on. The sound is awesome.

[BCsnowcat]

Y'know, this was so easy it should be done by everyone..took me a hr to dismember mine, just like your pics..

used my angle grinder to cut the welds, used a long "sharp"chisel and about 15 minutes a pop and they were empty..simply welded the ends back on with my cheapo 100 amp stick welder and regular 6013 rod, no big deal. put the shiny back on, bolted her up, sounds not bad..mind you the bike is in the basement and she wont let me really rev it up, so waiting to see what it sounds like under a load..

anyway, easy mod, recommend anyone try it...

and thanks for the pics as made me get around to doing it..

[Ride Your Line]

Rice, on Jan 22 2007, 06:25 PM, said:

Thanks to all for the kind words.
I'm glad you guys liked it :D

Hi There, I gotta ask - now that you have ridden your bike without baffles have you noticed less power in the low to midrange power band? I punched my baffles out last year and found this to be the case.

[sckego]

Great write-up, Rice! I just got done gutting mine, and it sounds great. It took me about 8 hours total, due to some tool differences and a bit of confusion...

I don't have a Sawzall and didn't feel like spending the money to buy one for this (if I wanted to spend money, I would have bought an exhaust!), so I went with a regular old hacksaw. Getting the first endcap off took forever, as I wasn't sure if I was supposed to cut through the pipes or not, so I went at it from all three sides. Finally I realized that I could have just straight through, so the second one went alot faster. Also, a note: I read elsewhere that it is not a good idea to cut too close to the endcap, due to the double-wall design of the muffler. I cut just forward of the endcap weld, and it worked great. Hammer, chisel, and vise-grips were employed to remove the baffles--I bought a channel lock as recommended above, but it was not necessary.

Once everything was off, I started it up to see how it sounded... DAMN. That sucker was LOUD. A bit of revving blew all the metal shavings out of the pipe. Now, to get it welded... I found a small garage about 3 miles away that would do it, but how to get my bike there? Guess I have to ride it. No tailsection, lights, fender, lic plate (put it in my tankbag, just in case), and a straight open exhaust. I'm praying, "please no cops, please no cops!" As I'm rolling down the street, I'm thinking to myself, God, I hope it quiets down a bit once the caps are welded back on. It was obnoxiously loud. Every person I passed--at gas stations, walking on the sidewalk, sitting in their cars--turned their head and stared at me as a rode by. I felt rather self-conscious. Made it to the garage without any problems, got it welded back together for $40, rode it home again, and reassembled.

It sounds nice... pleasantly loud, but not over the top. It has a really nice burble when engine braking from about 5K, as well. At higher RPM, I can't tell any difference... to me, on the bike, it sounds pretty much the same at redline as it used to. The noticable difference is from idle to about where VTEC engages.

Anyway, it was a great, cheap mod. I like the resulting sound, and I got to keep the kickass looks of the stock cans! Thanks again for the great write-up and diagramming, Rice.

[Rice]

Harley in Van, on May 2 2007, 01:45 AM, said:

Rice, on Jan 22 2007, 06:25 PM, said:

Thanks to all for the kind words.
I'm glad you guys liked it :D

Hi There, I gotta ask - now that you have ridden your bike without baffles have you noticed less power in the low to midrange power band? I punched my baffles out last year and found this to be the case.

Nope.
I haven't noticed it.
The only real way to measure power is on the dyno. My seat-of-pants-ometeer doesn't work very well because I know how subjective it can be. Plus, I've made a few other mods...

[gunracer]

I just posted about my new Kanadian Ken Gutted exhaust and i can discern no power loss, rather MAYBE a slight gain and possible increased smoothness at low rpm ie less surging.

And chicks dig me!

SA

[Rice]

gunracer, on May 26 2007, 07:50 AM, said:

And chicks dig me!

That's why we do it

[KrautBurner]

I think I'm gonna do this in the next few weeks.
but I'm probably gonna have a shop tig (weld) the caps back on for me


I really wish I could hear it in person first.
(same with any of the available exhausts)

I'm kind of afraid it will be too loud

[Rice]

KrautBurner, on Jul 14 2007, 08:45 AM, said:

I think I'm gonna do this in the next few weeks.
but I'm probably gonna have a shop tig (weld) the caps back on for me


I really wish I could hear it in person first.
(same with any of the available exhausts)

I'm kind of afraid it will be too loud

Don't worry.

You can always buy a stock one for cheap.

[Def-e-nition]

Gooday chaps .
AM I correct in saying then , that a cut must NOt be made on the End where it's been welded at Factory - It should be cut 3/4 Of an Inch deeper in ?

I've decided to have this modification done , and Before I repeat the Cat removal Bungle my local guy made , Im going to research as much as possible to try and be his eyes inside the Canister .

I dont want to completely gut the inside . Can anyone possibly give me some more advice as to whether I can simply Cut out/off some of the pipes , or would this be a waste of time ?????

Thank you in advance guys . Next week is D-Day .

[sckego]

Def-e-nition, on Aug 6 2007, 06:40 AM, said:

Gooday chaps .
AM I correct in saying then , that a cut must NOt be made on the End where it's been welded at Factory - It should be cut 3/4 Of an Inch deeper in ?

Correct. I did mine about 1/4" forward of the factory weld, and it worked fine. As long as you're forward of the weld, and aft of the rearmost baffle (several inches into the can), you'll be good to go.

Def-e-nition, on Aug 6 2007, 06:40 AM, said:

I've decided to have this modification done , and Before I repeat the Cat removal Bungle my local guy made , Im going to research as much as possible to try and be his eyes inside the Canister .

I dont want to completely gut the inside . Can anyone possibly give me some more advice as to whether I can simply Cut out/off some of the pipes , or would this be a waste of time ?????

Thank you in advance guys . Next week is D-Day .

Ehh... the two baffles in there are pretty well connected by the main center pipe. If you take the rear baffle out and leave the front one in, the pipe is going to be flapping around in there and causing a racket. If you're going to do it, I think you're going to have to do it all the way. If you're concerned about it being too loud, you can try just doing one side first and seeing how you like that. Make sure to get the endcap welded back on before you make any judgement calls on the sound, though... even just one side gutted, without the endcap, is obnoxiously loud. Once you get the cap back on it quiets down ALOT.