hard bags on ebay

[dubwise]

The whole luggage thing would be a lot easier if the GZ250 pipe didn't rake up.
The Hensim , that Chinese Marauder/Rebel clone, has a pipe that goes back level.
Looks great. I wonder if we could get something like that?

[Orpheus]

Funny, I was just looking around the forums for some of the muffler mods that people have done around here. I'm looking for something more in the way of improving the aesthetics and getting more clearance for bags, rather than the usual "loud" or "faster" mods, but I can't really find exactly what I'm looking for here.

Since this is my daily driver, I also don't want to do anything that's going to damage the engine or make it run much hotter (my ride to work is about 1/2 hour each way on the highway in Phoenix). I guess I'll keep looking.

[dubwise]

Yah, loud and faster aren't really words I can pair with my GZ.

Looks to me like you could just cut it right behind where the merge is,
weld it back at the level angle, and bolt a bit of strap onto the bracket.
I'm neither a welder nor a muffler engineer, of course. Someone is, though.

[Orpheus]

This thread: viewtopic.php?f=9&t=2303&hilit=exhaust
shows how one of the posters here did an exhaust mod for the same reasons that we're talking about. Just sent a PM to him. His most recent post was from November, so I don't know if he's still around.

[dubwise]

The way I'm reading that post, and Dupo's excellent muffler-swapping tutorial at viewtopic.php?f=8&t=566&view=next
if you swap the muffler you have to rejet. Should be OK just altering this muffler.
Burkbuilds was looking for more sound, and later recanted on his claim of increased mileage.

[Water Warrior 2]

[quote="dubwise"]Yah, loud and faster aren't really words I can pair with my GZ.

Cut off the muffler, find a tailwind and ride downhill. The GZ is what it is. What it does it does well.

[burkbuilds]

I eventually had mixed feelings about my exhaust mod. I did like the louder sound, for a while, then I started wishing it wasn't so loud when I cranked it up in my neighborhood at 6 AM. My neighbor's houses are all close together and I know I'd be ticked off if someone was waking me up with a loud bike at 6 in the morning. I also decided that my mileage increase was simply due to a different driving scenario for about two weeks after I installed the new exhaust as WW pointed out. Once I went back to my old routine, the mileage pretty much went back to how it was before. I did notice an increase in power when climbing hills at about 55 mph. I was able to hold my speed on some hills that previously I lost about 5 mph going over. I was glad that the new pipes kept the exhaust away from my saddle bags, which was my original goal anyway, but I had already resolved the problem with some checker plate aluminum I riveted to the bag above the exhaust pipe so it wasn't really necessary.

[dubwise]

Thanks for checking in with your update.
We should be able to use the same cuts and welding to just re-angle the existing muffler, right?

[Orpheus]

Originally Posted by burkbuilds

I did notice an increase in power when climbing hills at about 55 mph. I was able to hold my speed on some hills that previously I lost about 5 mph going over. I was glad that the new pipes kept the exhaust away from my saddle bags, which was my original goal anyway

These are the main two reasons that this sounds attractive to me.

[burkbuilds]

"We should be able to use the same cuts and welding to just re-angle the existing muffler, right?"

dubwise, I think that may be a good solution. I wish I had thought of it before I went to all the expense and trouble of buying a different exhaust.