I have a friend with an '01 GS who removed his muffler and had about a 6-inch nipple welded on to the end of the catalytic converter. He then added a chrome muffler extension to it. The bike is still remarkably quiet and he is saving about 35 pounds or so. I was wondering if he might suffer any ill effects from leaving the muffler off. If not, why shouldn't I do this on my '04 GS. Do you think it will affect my warranty? What do you all think are the pros and cons of doing this. Seems like a good idea to me.
CoolCarbon over at UKGSers did it to his GS. Check it out: More info at http://www.coolcarbon.net/mike's_bikes.htm
I did it and rode the bike 54,000 miles on my 04 GS before pawning it off on a poor unsuspecting Advrider who shall remain nameless Meathead. Asside from falling all the time, he has experienced no ill effects. BTW, I think 35lbs savings is a stretch. But it does allow you to run the full sized left system case and making it almost useable.
Walrond & Steverino, Thanks for the info. My bike is now mufferless though I agree 35lbs was way more than the muffler weighs. But it still saves 10lbs or so and now I can put my Jesses back on. I'm printing out a pic of coolcarbon's bike and am heading to the muffler shop tomorrow to have them do something similar. My only question now is, why aren't we all doing this?
Steverino's bike was the inspiration for my no pipe choice. Now have over 50,000 miles on it too. Only drawbacks are minor. 1) My BMW dealer told me they would fail me on a safety inspection because Virginia State law "requires a muffler" (yeah right, how many harleys have straight pipes and fail the state inspection?) 2) The bike runs much leaner now and I have to use Premium. But the full left Jesse Bag more than makes up for those tiny hassles. Mine was done for $5 at a local Meinecke Muffler shop out of left-over pipe ends. The guy custom bent it too. Took all of 10 minutes. Hell, I tipped him more than the pipe cost for his time and effort.
Did mine the same time as CC did his but my pipe it more stubby.... Was running lean so did the Steptoe CCP mod... Just DON'T stall in deep water! :eek1
Make that 66,000. Don't listen to the naysayers, chicks dig guys with a big left sack . . . err, bag.
Who is the left bag loving chick? Keep up the good work Meat, remember rubber side down. The Strada is not going to be the mile muncher the GS was, that is for sure, but damn it is fun to ride.
I was having trouble getting past that lowside in my head . . . spent the last couple of weekends in the twisties tryin' to work through it. I think I got it sorted out yesterday. I don't doubt it, and I don't doubt you'll pile the miles on faster than you first (now) think.
Ah! One thing I hadn't thought about, but I'm still going ahead with it. Seems like the pros far outweigh the cons. I've got a 9am appointment at the muffler shop tomorrow. Thanks for everyone's input.
Would not the catalytic converter serve as the same? If not, I've been violating all sorts of off-road restrictions in the last couple of years.
I know of no secret. That's the first time I've touched hard parts on this bike (without wrecking it). It was a relatively long, tight right hander, just touched down for a second when I hit a little dip in the turn. I dunno.
