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Took a whole awfully long week, but finally chopped the shovel and installed the 2bros exhaust. I can't believe that all this while I actually thought the fender looked ok. What was I thinking 
The fender chop was really simple. I used a dremel tool to chop the shovel a cm above the tail fairing. With a little bit of care, the tail fairings didn't have to come off at all. To mount the license plate and turn-signals, I left a 1 inch section of the original shovel protruding below the tail-light, and drilled 2 holes in it (or more like punched 2 holes in it using a screwdriver heated with a cigarette lighter coz I didn't have a drill). The license plate was mounted using its original bracket, and the turn signals went onto two L-shaped 80/20 aluminum pieces. The bracket and L-shaped pieces went into the 2 holes in the little plastic protrusion. I had to extend the turn-signals a little bit using washers, coz otherwise they were hitting the sides of the license plate bracket and didn't look very comfortable. The assembly seems fairly rigid, as long as the little plastic protrusion holds up well.
The kat in its cozy home...
Close-up of the chop, and turn-signal bracket
The 2 bros pipe is the high-mount pipe which attaches to the frame under the tail section instead of attaching to the OEM exhaust mount hole in the passenger peg. As luck would have it, my exhaust (from ebay) came without the 6 inch bracket that connects the canister clamp to the frame. I didn't even know that it needed something like that until Teddy told me about it (thanks Teddy). Anyway, so since I was NOT going to pay 2bros $20 for a 6 inch piece of steel. I decided to fabricate something on my own.
Aim : To remove tail section in order to make measurements for custom designed high-mount exhaust bracket.
Methods : Remove seat, unscrew tail fairing screws, disconnect tail light, remove tail.
Result : Removed seat, unscrewing tail fairing screws... kablam. One finger gash and a stripped screw
Since the tail was not going to come off anymore, I had to go in another direction and make a piece that mounted onto the luggage tie-down bar. That's the 2 bolt piece you can see in the close up. Took me about a week to make but in the end, it turned out pretty stable. The exhaust can is happy now. How's the sound ? I LOVE it so far. It has a deep rumble/growl at idle, which gradually becomes a smooth baritone at higher revs. Haven't had a chance to take her up to the high revs, but I'll post an update when I do.
The exhaust and the home-made high-mount bracket
All in all, a good week so far. Now to get some riding done finally. Goodbye Mr. Shovel and hello Mr. T.B.Exhaust
The fender chop was really simple. I used a dremel tool to chop the shovel a cm above the tail fairing. With a little bit of care, the tail fairings didn't have to come off at all. To mount the license plate and turn-signals, I left a 1 inch section of the original shovel protruding below the tail-light, and drilled 2 holes in it (or more like punched 2 holes in it using a screwdriver heated with a cigarette lighter coz I didn't have a drill). The license plate was mounted using its original bracket, and the turn signals went onto two L-shaped 80/20 aluminum pieces. The bracket and L-shaped pieces went into the 2 holes in the little plastic protrusion. I had to extend the turn-signals a little bit using washers, coz otherwise they were hitting the sides of the license plate bracket and didn't look very comfortable. The assembly seems fairly rigid, as long as the little plastic protrusion holds up well.
The kat in its cozy home...
Close-up of the chop, and turn-signal bracket
The 2 bros pipe is the high-mount pipe which attaches to the frame under the tail section instead of attaching to the OEM exhaust mount hole in the passenger peg. As luck would have it, my exhaust (from ebay) came without the 6 inch bracket that connects the canister clamp to the frame. I didn't even know that it needed something like that until Teddy told me about it (thanks Teddy). Anyway, so since I was NOT going to pay 2bros $20 for a 6 inch piece of steel. I decided to fabricate something on my own.
Aim : To remove tail section in order to make measurements for custom designed high-mount exhaust bracket.
Methods : Remove seat, unscrew tail fairing screws, disconnect tail light, remove tail.
Result : Removed seat, unscrewing tail fairing screws... kablam. One finger gash and a stripped screw
Since the tail was not going to come off anymore, I had to go in another direction and make a piece that mounted onto the luggage tie-down bar. That's the 2 bolt piece you can see in the close up. Took me about a week to make but in the end, it turned out pretty stable. The exhaust can is happy now. How's the sound ? I LOVE it so far. It has a deep rumble/growl at idle, which gradually becomes a smooth baritone at higher revs. Haven't had a chance to take her up to the high revs, but I'll post an update when I do.
The exhaust and the home-made high-mount bracket
All in all, a good week so far. Now to get some riding done finally. Goodbye Mr. Shovel and hello Mr. T.B.Exhaust
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It is off of a Kat. This is the older version of the 2bros exhaust, which they made for the Kats before introducing the VALE. Don't think they sell it anymore. I got it off of ebay (killer deal). It actually looks much better in the pic than it really is. There are a few scuffs in places and a very noticeable dent on the underside. Luckily it isn't visible when the pipe is mounted.
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