Exhaust question (yes another one)

[drinmotoracer]

So... I did a search for what I'm looking for, and couldn't find squat. I literally typed in "exhaust" in the search option and went though about 100 of the 278 threads.
My question: Does anyone know if you can take apart the stock exhaust, remove the packing (if there is any) to make the exhaust louder without losing power or having to rejet?
I know the baffle can be removed and that will make it loud, but will that also pretty much force you to have to rejet as well? I read that topic "keeping the original exhaust appearance" and someone alluded to removing the baffle to make the exhaust loud but that "poor man's jetting" might be necessary. Has anyone experienced this? Or can I just simply remove the baffle or drill holes in it to make my exhaust louder.
Thank you for any suggestions or pointers.

[Doc]

I would think having a more "free flowing" exhaust would need some type of rejet/filter to get the full use out of it.

[SkinnE]

I would think having a more "free flowing" exhaust would need some type of rejet/filter to get the full use out of it.

+1 on that. Stock jetting on most bikes tends toward the lean side for emissions/noise regulations anyway (even back in 198. Any modification that either lets more air in or out (airbox mod/pod filters or louder/free breathing exhaust) will cause excessively lean combustion. This is bad for engines as the combustion chamber will run hotter than intended and should be corrected by rejetting.

How bad is it for your engine you may ask, well, how lean is it running? A plug chop, or an exhaust gas analysis will tell you. Otherwise it's just conjecture.

Besides, you won't hear much of your own exhaust at speed, what you hear most as a rider is actually intake noise. Hawks do well with a little jetting and intake mods, so why not? There is plenty of documentation on how to do it, and if you're skint, you don't need to spend much to do it. You end up with a better running bike, and it sounds better too.

E

[drinmotoracer]

sweet!
thank you both for the input!

[lars]

for what it's worth, I just re-jetted for the first time and it's really easy. I'm on my first hawk, and I'd never worked on carbs on any of my other bikes, but it was obvious that the carbs on my new hawk needed attention. I had always been intimidated by carb work, what with all those tiny parts, but forced myself to overcome this. The result was well worth the one afternoon it took me. As long as you can follow the simple instructions in the kit you get, or the bike manual, you'll be very happy. BTW, it's true about the intake noise. Having just ditched my stock airbox in favor of Uni pods, I noticed a pleasing change in the sound as I was riding, even before I removed the baffle, which I did yesterday. Good luck.

[drinmotoracer]

for what it's worth, I just re-jetted for the first time and it's really easy. I'm on my first hawk, and I'd never worked on carbs on any of my other bikes, but it was obvious that the carbs on my new hawk needed attention. I had always been intimidated by carb work, what with all those tiny parts, but forced myself to overcome this. The result was well worth the one afternoon it took me. As long as you can follow the simple instructions in the kit you get, or the bike manual, you'll be very happy. BTW, it's true about the intake noise. Having just ditched my stock airbox in favor of Uni pods, I noticed a pleasing change in the sound as I was riding, even before I removed the baffle, which I did yesterday. Good luck.

Hey,
Thanks for the input, I was wondering what jet kit you used (i.e. dynojet, etc.), and what the main and pilot jet sizes were included.
Thx,

[4g63mightymax]

I hollowed out the area inside my stock exhaust (the part under the center of the bike) and it was a giant hassle. It did make my bike louder, but I don't think I gained or lost any power. I think it was a lot of work for very little gain. I would not recommend it.
-Jeremy