New exhaust???

[Craig]

Just trying to get a few opinions - I am contemplating putting on a new exhaust on my 98 GS500, which would you recomend???

I know an exhaust can improve the sound and possibly add a little power. I just want to get the most bang for the buck.

[96gs]

well i have a Cobra F1R slip-on and it sounds great. looked on the net and it was around $150-$170

[dmp221]

www.mawonline.com
Motorcycle Accessory Warehouse

Cobra F1R 138.95
Cobra F1S 135.95

I have the F1R...on the "R" the can ends flush, and on the "S" there's a short snout.  Both sound great and give a slight power boost.  Easy installation.  Good luck.

[The Antibody]

I would really have t o suggest a V&H. I don't know why, maybe because I have one and love it. It's more money, but it's a full system opposed to a slip-on. I can't say anything good or bad about the Cobra though. Exept that I think they look horrid.

 -Anti

[Rashad]

I would really have t o suggest a V&H. I don't know why, maybe because I have one and love it. It's more money, but it's a full system opposed to a slip-on. I can't say anything good or bad about the Cobra though. Exept that I think they look horrid.

 -Anti

ANTI, ill have to agree with you.. i dont know why, maybe because i have and love one as well.

BUT.. has yours started to rust? my header is all rust.. and its really aggravating. Especially since ive sanded and painted it already.

[Black Snowman]

My rusty Yosh is starting to lose it's high-temp paint. Ironicly only in the places where the paint was still good before. The rusty spots seem fine. Go figure.

When i replace the head (mine has some broken fins and a broken bolt stuck in it) this winter I'm going to repaint the whole bike, including the frame and exhaust. Gonna strip it completely down. It's going to be a nightmare

[The Antibody]

No Rashad, It hasn't rusted at all yet. Although mine is not even a year old. I don't drive in the rain if I don't have to either. I have been told that the paint will definately start to chip and peel because the headers are thinner, thus get hotter quicker.

 -Anti

[JohNLA]

Painted my stock pipes today. Took all of three hours if that. I was starting to spot tan spots.

[pantablo]

Painted my stock pipes today. Took all of three hours if that. I was starting to spot tan spots.

Hope you have better luck than I did. I painted mine with 1200* paint but bike runs so hot at the headpipes that they've turned white and started to rust badly. Rejetting will cure the running hot issue but I'll have to repaint it after rejetting. It hasnt been that long either-they turned white pretty quickly.

you can check them out in a couple weeks when we do Crest on OCt. 4.

[Craig]

I am most likely looking more so for a slip on system as I have heard you can readily install those yourself. Putting on a whole new exhaust in my garage, myself, is probably not feasable. How hard is it to install a slip on and which slip on would you recomend?

[500rider]

The stock can connot be replaced.  The whole head, pipe and can are all welded together.  

Some people have gone to a custom shop and had the stock pipe modified to accept a slip-on.  This would give you a wide variety of exhaust cans to choose from.  Most exhaust system makers don't really offer a system for the GS500.   To save money you could buy a can from a scrap yard and put it on your modified pipe.  I've heard a couple of opinions here that the stock pipe is just as good as aftermarket.  (I haven't done this myself).

The cobra pipes/exhaust are not really for performance enhancement.  Vance and Hines I think makes a good system (according to previous posts).  Yoshimura used to make a pipe/exhaust for the GS500 but you can only buy a used one now.  

If you want simplicity, just buy the whole V&H system.  The exhaust system comes off the bike in about 10 minutes.  There's only like 5 bolts to undo.  Make sure you replace the gaskets at the exaust port when you put on the new system.  

Rob

[danci1973]

I have http://www.wings-silencers.com/ and I love it - it eliminates some flat spots that my bike had with the stock exhaust, the bike accelerates better and top speed increased ~20km/h (a bit over 180km/h - 112mph).

When I bought the bike it was stock and the carbs were supposed to be set as such. However there was a bad flat spot from ~5500-7500 RPM and it didn't like to go over 9500RPM. The top speed was ~160km/h in 5th gear.

When I installed the Wings exhaust, it was running much better without any jetting done...

Note that the Wings is loud and makes the GS sound quite aggressive.

  D.

[Rema1000]

The exhaust system comes off the bike in about 10 minutes.  There's only like 5 bolts to undo.  Make sure you replace the gaskets at the exaust port when you put on the new system

I recently repainted my exhaust, and it wasn't too hard:

First, I supported the "Y" in the center of the exaust using a rolling floor jack, with a board on top (to not scratch the pipe).  Then I tried loosening the header bolts.  After trying to use various ratchet attachments, I found that a simple 4" allen key (hex wrench) was the best tool.  No whacking or WD40 was necessary: all 4 bolts came loose with just a little pressure on the allen key.

After removing the 4 header bolts, I removed the silencer bracket bolt at the back, then held the exhaust steady while I lowered the hydraulic jack a few inches, until I could pull the exhaust out.  But an extra pair of hands would have done just as well--it's not heavy at all.

I "sanded" the pipe just using a wire brush from the hardware store. Yes, I know some of you sandblast the pipe, wash it, then bake it in a tandoor, but I just wanted to give the Krylon a surface to bond to.  I think the brushing took about 2 hours. I painted it using Krylon barbecue grill paint, which is a really flat black.  That stuff wouldn't run if you sprayed the whole can's worth in one spot!  On the other hand, it scratches easily: try to keep the header flanges from sliding around too much.  I hung the pipe by sticking the end of a broom handle up one of the open exhaust ports.  The broom was pointed up at a 45-degree angle, and held to the side of the workbench with wood clamps. The painting took maybe 20 minutes.

Before putting the painted exhaust on, I pulled out the old gaskets with my fingertip, and vacuumed-out the exhaust ports.  Putting the painted exhaust on was just as easy: I only tightened the header bolts until they were a little snug, and didn't really push on the allen key very much it at all.  I haven't noticed any leaks, so I guess it worked.

I would rate the amount of work doing the replacement itself to be a bit more than checking the air in the tires, but a bit less than changing the oil.  Pretty much all of my work was done in brushing the rust off the pipe, which is tedious but not complicated.  If you're putting a V&H exhaust on, then you can skip the sanding .

Tools needed: two adjustable spanners and an allen key.
Total cost: $5 gaskets + $5 paint + $5 brush = $15.
...but expect to pay a tad more if you get a V&H instead.

[JohNLA]

Good description.
I used a skateboard instead of a jack stand.
After 130 miles today. I see no problems withh the 1200 degree.
paint