Biker Education

Motorcycle Modifications

Summary: Here are a few modifications you can easily do on your motorcycle, whether you're handy or just a novice do it yourself'er. I recommend you always consult your motorcycle owners manual and motorcycle repair manual before you perform any work on your bike. If you need a top quality owners or repair manual, click here at Repair Manuals for Most Cars/BikesVisit RepairManual.com for all your repairmanual needs. They provide very quick shipping and seem to have most manuals online for you to order.

Exhaust Mods

This is one of the most searched for motorcycle modifications. Chances are if you have a Harley, your pipes have a decent sound to them (good rumble, very throaty). However, if you own a Honda or Yamaha or Kawasaki cruiser, chances are you still have the stock exhaust on the bike, and it sounds kinda like a sewing machine, especially while idling. So, you don't want to spend a fortune (upward of $500) on new and loud pipes. What do you do? Well, you can take a look at the below exhaust mod for these bikes.

   Hole Saw Mod - This is the term that is used most often, but it could be done with either a hole saw or a little more primitive by use of rebar. If you have a 2-in-2 exhaust, you're best bet is to use a hole saw and saw out the baffles at the end of the tail pipe. Take a look at these step by step instructions for the 2-in-2 exhaust modifications. These were posted on the Shadowriders website. If you have a 2-in-1 exhaust, it's probably easier to bang some sharpened rebar through the exhaust pipes sticking out through your single tail pipe. Then depending on how loud you want them, drill some additional holes into the baffle plate at the end of the tail pipe. Here's some step by step instructions (these were taken from http://whytlash.powweb.com website and I actually performed this mod on my Shadow Aero - go to website, click modifications, stock exhaust mod stage 1):

    Here's the gist of the 2-in-1 exhaust mod:
       1 - Cut a piece of either 1/2" or 1" rebar into a 3 foot length and sharpen the one end.
       2 - At the back of the exhaust, there's a plate with 2 tubes coming out (one at positions of 12 and 6 o'clock). Take the precut rebar and insert it into the top of the tailpipe as far as it will go. Hit the end of the rebar with a hammer until it pops a hole into the baffle plate. Pull out the rebar and now do the same to the bottom of the tailpipe.
       3 - Start up your bike and let it idle, and rev it a few times. You'll note that the sound is a little deeper than before you popped the holes. Take it for a spin if you want.
       4 - If you want it a little louder, take a 1/4" drill bit and drill a hole in the back plate of the exhaust in the positions of 3 and 6 o'clock. Start the bike again, rev it, listen. If you're happy with the sound, then stop here. If not, then...
       5 - Take a 1/2" drill bit and drill into the same 3 and 6 o'clock positions. This will increase the size of the previous holes in the back plate. Start your motorcycle, rev it, listen. If you're happey, stop here. If not, then...
       6 - continue increase the drill hole size until you are satisfied. The instructions show that the author stopped once he got to a full 1" hole, and then he adjusted the air mixture screw. Take a look at the directions and decide how far you want to go. I actually stopped at the 1/2" drill hole as I thought the steps through that point added about 25-30% more noise to my exhaust.

There are further exhaust mods you can do, and you can find decent step by step instructions on the above website.