Well here's the latest project. I took my inspiration from a fellow KZ400 builder. A good buddy had the exhaust ready to be scrapped so I figured I couldn't justify not trying this out considering the cost.
Materials used:
-worn out stock exhaust from an '81 KZ440D
-cocktail shakers (x2, purchased at ROSS for $6/ea)
-1200 deg header paint
-heat wrap (grabbed from last exhaust)
-Duplicolor 500 deg Ceramic low gloss black (same as frame and engine)
Now the 440 system uses plate baffles rather then stuffing/fiberglass to muffle the sound. It gives the bike a throatier sound then the early bikes, but it's still very quiet.
crappy MSPaint pic to show basic idea:
Basically we cut down below both of the upper plates leaving only the lowest in the pipe. There is now only a plate with an off-center hole baffling the sounds and it's loud...but good loud..."f-ing angry gonna eat your babies" loud, but not quite "open pipe, gonna rupture your ear drum" loud
First cut (quickly moved to power tools...)
Then cut the strainers off of the cock tail shaker caps and slip them into position:
Painted the head pipes with header paint (had some decent surface rust and pitting), wrapped em up, shot the "mufflers" in ceramic black, tossed the caps and chrome shields on and.......
As soon as the new gaskets arrive I'll post installed pics with a real camera and maybe shoot a quick video. For about $42 I'm super happy with the results. The ride I took after a simple test fit felt much more open, sounds great, and and really got the neighbors lookin