New Member with a jet question

[davecycleman]

Hello,
I just joined the forum after snooping around here a while. A friend of mine has a 05 GS500F that I've been helping him with. He's not much for the wrenching part of motorcycling and I enjoy working on motorcycles, especially someone else's. He bought the GS last year and has been riding it quite a bit. This spring he stared talking about getting something bigger and more suited to some touring. He's a smaller guy with limited experience and I didn't think a bigger, heavier motorcycle would be the best idea. We discussed what he thought was lacking with the 500 and he listed his personal wants. He didn't like the lack of seat comfort, the bars were too low, the lack of luggage and the lack of sound.
I searched the internet and found this great forum. In the last couple of weeks we've had the seat modified by Spencer, added the Givi topcase rack with an E460 case and installed bar risers. Now we've come to the exhaust. He is thrilled with the improvements so far. Now he'd like the Vance & Hines exhaust system and I'd like some advice.
With the V&H exhaust and the stock airbox, do we need to rejet the carbs? If so, what are the recommend jets? I've searched the forum and find conflicting answers. Some say no jet changes are necessary. Others say to up the sizes. If we need to rejet, is it just the mains or what? Do we have to remove the carbs or can we just drop the bowls? Are they standard Mikuni jets? I have a box full of jets from my RD350 project.
My friend lives in Ohio and I'm in Michigan so I don't always have a lot of time to work on his bike when he's here so I'm trying gather parts and information before he comes up this weekend.

Thanks for any help you can offer,
Dave

[Big Rich]

Have you checked the Wiki yet? The link is usually found on the "Home" screen.

While it's definitely possible to rejet with the carbs mounted, it will certainly easier with them off. Pilot jets can be especially tricky if they haven't been moved for a while...... Most people recommend changing the pilots anyway, evenwith a stock intake / exhaust. And with the carbs off, yyou'll be able to drill out the caps covering the air / fuel mixture screws.