Custom Exhaust and Muffler Build

[Tyler9904]

I'm thinking about building a new exhaust system (Muffler and all) for my '97 250. I came here to ask some questions hoping somebody here has knowledge on the subject.
Questions:
-Single vs. Dual? Currently it has the stock dual system. What are the benefits of each, and would switching to a single system be too much hassle, and what would it effect?
-How can my design alter the sound? Specifically, how can I make it deeper, or near equal the current sound?
-Is power gain/loss and issue?
-I want it to be louder than stock, but not painfully loud. I know it's not a huge engine, but is there a way to control the sound level, why keeping the desired pitch?
-If anybody has done this themselves please share you experiences, and some tips if you have any

Thank you for viewing, all polite replies are appreciated!

[Motofool]

Welcome, Tyler !!!

Messing with the bike and trying to find people to ride with are natural first things that new riders attempt.
Nevertheless, the very first priority that you should have is working on your skills to survive the rides of the first weeks and month, avoiding falls or accidents that will do nothing good for your development as a motorcyclist.

Japanese riders say: "Work on the rider first, then work on the bike."

If the machine is working decently now, I would postpone mechanical changes.
Taking a MSF basic course first and practice the basic skills daily will put you in control of the machine and your vulnerability in normal traffic conditions.
You will need to master both, riding strategies and riding skills, and that takes a lot of effort and time.

If you insist on modifying the exhaust system, my recommendation is the little steps/experiment approach.
Keep it double: That will simplify the exhaust pipes section, welding, bending, etc.
Then, remove and relocate internal baffles of the mufflers.
Try changing one thing at a time, so you can clearly see what works and what not.

Service the whole bike and replace worn parts like chain, sprockets, tires, hand-grips, coolant, etc.
Be very careful in traffic and remain respectful regarding your bike, which is small, but could hurt you bad if you allow her to.

[Skippii]

I did a bunch of messing around with the exhausts on my 250. Went from double to a loud single carbon fiber straight-through, which saved about 23 pounds of weight (Those things are heavy) but then it fell off on the highway so I put a single stock one back on with baffles removed, and then because I was an idiot welding it the first time it cracked in the header, so I thought, screw it, and now I'm running stock headers and stock mufflers with all the weight than entails.
None of it made any difference to handling, and none of it made any difference to the jetting required, or the throttle response, or the gas mileage I got. So...it's a pretty safe thing to experiment on if you want, but there's not much to be gained. If you understand how mufflers and baffles works and how waves get reflected, you can work out how to tune it to filter out the higher noises and give you a deeper tone without being too loud.

Just make sure you weld it right. The header is stainless and needs to be welded with stainless filler material or it will rust and fall apart immediately due to the heat and moisture of the exhaust. And no, you can't fix it by brazing it, because the metals expand with heat at different rates and will just make the cracks much worse. And no, if you do all that, you can't fix it with exhaust wrap and aluminum foil and hose clamps. You'll soon be buying a used header and muffler on ebay and going back to stock. And when you're doing that and the exhaust studs break off in the engine, you can't just use an EZ Out to remove them, because they'll break off in the engine as well.

(it's not a bad idea to buy a used header to mess around with, first, and keep your current one as a backup...)

[Somchai]

Originally Posted by Motofool

Try changing one thing at a time, so you can clearly see what works and what not.

Hernan, thank you very much for bringing this to mind, since it is the most important recommendation and we have seen many here not following this way, so at the end there was no success.

[Motofool]

Originally Posted by Somchai

Hernan, thank you very much for bringing this to mind..........

You are welcome