Exhaust system issues

[Guest ReinyRooster]

My exhaust on the '87 VR is starting to get loud. It's hard to describes because it's not just a loud muffler type noise....it sort of comes and goes throughout the acceleration. Is quiter when cruising and off the accelerator. Seems to get a little quieter after it has warmed up, but not as quiet as it should. I have visually inspected the system and can't see any obvious rust through holes or anything that would appear to be the problem. As a result, I can't pinpoint it with my ear either.

I am hoping the issue is gaskets between the exhaust and the cylinder head. To get to the front cylinder heads where the exhaust ports are, do I need to remove the rad? It looks that way. How do I get to the rear cylinder exhaust ports?

[cycleguy]

might be baffle in the collector cracked and broke-common problem. you may end up with pieces of baffle in the mufflers, a b--ch to get em out. thiers several threads on how to cut,gut & reweld the collector. new are $350+ with gutted collector it will be alittle louder, not bad tho. belive you can remove bat. and lay bike on its side CAREFUL!! and cut,gut - reweld without removing it. I went with the tublar stainless aftermarket one. good luck

[Schlepporello]

Check the exhaust gaskets on your rear manifolds were the exhaust hooks up with the manifold. I had lots of exhaust escaping through mine. The bike sure is quieter now since I fixed it.

[Guest ReinyRooster]

Schlepporello....how do you get to the rear cylinder head exhaust ports? I am currently assuming that's where my problem is.

[Schlepporello]

You've got to pull off the big plastic side panels first. Then towards the bottom there are small black plastic panels that need to be removed. You should easily be able to access where the exhaust hooks up to the rear manifolds at that point. The clamps securing the flanges have Allen bolts running through them so you'll need to get a set of Allen key sockets to tighten them.