im in southern california where the weather tends to be pretty dry so im not too worried about the rain and whatnots. granted, i have had to ride in the rain before, but i dont leave it out for too long.  i was thinking of lightly sanding and spraying a layer of the grill coating on the pipes right out of the box too, just in case.
the 50 dollars would also put me over the amount i actually have to spend, so that's why the VH seems to be a suitable choice. another 50 for exhaust would leave me without money for the lunchbox filter. and that'd be no fun xD haha

Just spray like 15 coats of paint on it. Make the rain work for it.

Quote from: tt_four on May 10, 2010, 05:06:38 AM
Just spray like 15 coats of paint on it. Make the rain work for it.

that's pretty much the plan. lightly sand the pipe right out of the box and spray a layer. heatgun it then spray another layer. probly unload the whole can just for kicks

After I installed my battery I noticed a couple days later that a little battery acid had dripped on it and ate through the paint a bit. I just wire brushed it clean and sprayed it with normal black spray paint, and it hasn't even given me a hard time.

Rain + steel = rust

Maybe you got a real good V&H though 

The V&H is an older design - I bet the Jardine has a strap.

The jardine does have a strap

It's not just the rain that rusts mild steel exhausts too...it's condensed water and corrosive gasses from the inside.   The low spots are also where the welds are, which adds to the galvanic mix, and if you do short trips and ride in rain and and and...
When i buy an exhaust for my project, its going to be the stainless Jardine.  Sounds better than the Vance and Crimes too (bigger can = lower tones).

Paint???.... oh behave!.... rub the surface rust off and cover the pipe in black grate polish. Same result for a fraction of the effort and cost, touch it up in seconds as and when required.

i am grateful for everyone's opinions.

this is basically the issue. i have a set amount of money that i am allowing myself to spend considering any money spent on UPGRADES are not actually a complete necessity since my bike runs better than most other gs5's i've come to contact with.
the jardine, with its pros, would be great, but overshoots the monetary limit i set upon myself arbitrarily.
my reasons for (possibly) picking the vance&hines would be (in no particular order):
PROS:
1. black finish on the piping matches my black motor 
2. brand new, after taxes, it's about 60 dollars cheaper than the jardine (the 60 dollars go on to cover the full cost of new airfilter, jets, and high-heat coating)
3. i live in sunny southern california and ride daily, then park it with a cover. (may be foolish but i dont believe rust will be that big an issue with the environmental conditions at hand.)
4. i WILL be using the grill or grate paint, whichever the high heat black paint is to coat the pipes. and maybe even coat inside of the pipes too haha
CONS:
1. drop down pipes for oil filter
2. chances of rust (though low)

Jardine
Pros:
1. aesthetics- the can is bigger and looks to fit the bike's frame better
2. sound- (not verified but logical) with the larger can, the "lower tones" would definitely be more desirable than a high pitched buzz
3. stainless steel- no risk of rust?
4. no need to move it when changing the oil filter

Cons:
1. stainless steel doesnt match the rest of my bike 
2. PRICE

i guess, in all honesty, im still debating. i KNOW i wont be able to clean up my frame any time soon and my bike just isnt shiny. i feel like putting the jardine system, shiny and new,  on my bike would look like putting 20inch chromes on a rusted out jalopy =P that's just not my style

im gonna give it another few nights before i finally purchase

browse some of the videos on youtube while you're at it. To be honest I barely even hear a difference. My V&H definitely sounds a lot deeper/louder than what's in all the videos, so obviously the sound is muffled a bit in all of them, but if the V&H videos sound just like the Jardine videos, I assume they'd sound the same in person too. I'll admit the Jardine is much prettier though.

You will probably find that most of the power to be gained will be from the lunchbox and/or rejetting, rather than the exhaust. If you are really on a budget why not start with that first ?

Quote from: SAFE-T on May 10, 2010, 08:06:30 PM
You will probably find that most of the power to be gained will be from the lunchbox and/or rejetting, rather than the exhaust. If you are really on a budget why not start with that first ?

the sound, and not the power is actually my main focus. like i originally said, the 91freeway in southern california is unforgiving to drivers of any vehicle, especially during traffic hours. it's even worse on my motorcycle though because no one sees me. i have an HID headlight and even at night people still dont see me. this upgrade is primarily for the sound of the bike to increase a bit to get people to look twice when they hear the buzz of a bike come up.

i will be doing everything at once though to avoid having to buy more jets and rejet again and again.  my budget is based on priorities. i've been thousands in debt and have been pretty good about dropping that amount down quickly, at the cost of not doing anything for myself.  recently i came up on some cash, and thought maybe i could do something for fun for myself since i'm still covering as much of my debt as i've been for the past few months. i just wanna get the most bang for my buck

i'm dealing with a few local shops right now and if i can heckle myself a good deal i will probly go with the jardine (for the sake of easy oil changes) but that's if i get, lets say, to within 20 dollars of the price for the V&H. bikebandit has the V&H system shipped for a bit over 300. and the cheapest i've found the jardine for (list price) is about 370ish.

just gotta keep shoppin i guess

so im gonna get the jardine and k&N lunchbox filter from a local warehouse place for only about 25 dollars more than if i ordered the V&H and lunchbox from bike bandit.

i'll take before and after pictures of my bike the day i start working on it! =]

 

I personally like to hold onto stock parts, especially if you want to sell the bike later on down the line, but just a side note in case you hadn't thought of it, you can sell the stock exhaust and make back some of that money so you're not going over your budget.

Here's my thoughts on the Vance and Hines. i am riding the GS regularly with a VH in preparation for willing the bike to a novice rider. 

PROS:

Noticeable performance improvement when coupled with a jet job (thanks Buddha) and K&N filter in the stock airbox.

CON:

The exhaust up to the head bolts will rust while looking at it especially if you live in an area like i do and rain is a reality. I bought mine new in 2007 and have fought rust from installation
The exhaust is loud but really not as loud as it seems (this from a BMW and Goldwing owner).  If you keep the revs between 2-3K the exhaust is tolerable in city use.   

The muffler can be loud, like HD loud pipe loud, (I sometimes feel like Che Guevara riding the Norton Atlas in SA when out on mine) . 

So, either buy the Jardin, accept the rust, and/or go to Summit Racing and wrap the pipes with race wrap so you don't have to look at it. I have other bikes and the race wrap is not a bad addition because it increases the scavenge of the exhaust (no BS my CB 1000 really spools up faster) and looks cool.

Joe

yeah no one even thought to mention wrapping them. I think that take is like $25 a roll though, and you'd need at least 2.

2-3k is respectably quiet, that's where I try to keep it when I'm around people. When my bike hits 4k it feels like a turbo kicked in and the bike instantly takes off, and along with that comes that noise. It's kinda hard to ride a bike with only 45 hp at 3k rpm all the time though.

Quote from: tt_four on May 11, 2010, 03:35:02 PM
I personally like to hold onto stock parts, especially if you want to sell the bike later on down the line, but just a side note in case you hadn't thought of it, you can sell the stock exhaust and make back some of that money so you're not going over your budget.

every part i've taken off my bike is still stored. im a stickler about such things as well. i have the stock springs and spaces stored, stock rear shock, one-piece headlight bulb, even the tubes i took off and replaced for my clip-ons. i figure, it worked fine before i took it all off, it can definitely work fine for someone eventually.

now im just playing the waiting game, hoping the parts come sooner, not later haha.

in no particular order:
current set-up
- progressive springs in front, no spacers, stock fork oil.
- kat rear shock

"will do" list:
- drop forks, replace fork seals, put back together with 15w fork oil and 3/4inch spacers on the same progressive springs
- drop exhaust, install Jardine RT-1 system
- replace stripped studs for oil filter cap, with oil and filter change
- valve adjustment with new valve cover gasket
- clean/rebuild/rejet carbs
- install K&N lunchbox filter
- DIY timing advance

not sure what else i may do.. i might switch all my lines to the clear 1/4inch tubing that i've seen in another thread, and throw on an inline filter.  might do the petcock rotation mod too.

im really excited! parts are taking a bit longer than i'd like, but that lets me prepare for everything so i can do it all at once. also gives me time to find a decent camera so i can take pictures/videos of the before and after.  i hope everything works out.

come to think of it, i dont know where i put the fork seals and havent bought the new fork oil yet.. uh oh.

quick question: how many people have stripped the studs and found it easier just to pull those studs out and use bolts instead?  im thinking if the studs dont come in by tomorrow, i'll just get some allen-head bolts and replace all 3 studs.  what size bolts should i be lookin to get?

decided i'll wait on the studs. so hopefully they'll come in soon.
and im still gonna have to look for my fork seals..

but, i DID get most of my parts in!

received:
- jardine RT-1 full exhaust system
- K&N lunchbox air filter
- 40 pilot jets/150 mains
- carb rebuild kit
- K&N oil filter
- 10w50 synthetic oil (testing it out. it was on super sale and was highly recommended. also havent found any negatives to using 10w50 instead of 40. feel free to give input)

need to get:
- valve cover gasket
- filter cap studs
- oil plug crusher washer
- shims (awaiting valve clearance check and the dealership on these first 4 things)
- 15w fork oil

need to find:
- those leakproof brand fork seals i bought a while back.. -___-
(dont you love when your family says things like "you'll always have a place at home" but when you get there all your shizzle is gone?)

and i've found a friend who wants to record everything i do on the bike so he can practice his video editing. so maybe i'll have a video to put up within the next few weeks of my bike before and after.
i'll also try to get pictures of step by step that might help some people?  especially on the fork seal replacement as im still not sure but will follow the write-up to the best of my ability.