The catalytic converter has been a part of stock exhaust systems since around 2009 ish and can be found in either the mufflers on the earlier models or the header system on later bikes. Eliminating the cat in the mufflers is easy - just bin them and buy decent mufflers. Those located in the header system are a little more tricky but the result is worth it. I remove them regularly so I thought others might be interested in doing the same. It's not a difficult job and the benefits are - much less heat retained in the exhaust system, a little more power and a little more of that sound that we all love. I've never dyno'd a bike before and after but you can feel a slight increase. Its definitely worth doing even just for the reduction in heat.
This is the header system with the cat area opened up. I use a slitting disc for this. The converter is now exposed and can be removed.
Its pretty tough stuff but it does come out. I've used a few tools over the years but have now settled on a pneumatic hammer with a chisel attachment. You can get it out with a manual hammer and chisel then a scraper to get the remainder off of the inner surface, but it's hard work.
Here's what the exhaust looks like once the cat is out.
Take the section that you cut out and the pipe to be welded.
There it is - job done!
Something else I do at the same time is to weld open the active exhaust valve. I break the spring then remove it completely, hold the valve wide open and weld it in position.
There you have it - a free flowing exhaust system with the cat gone and the valve wide open presenting much less resistance to flow.
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