Just got my first yamaha (V Star)

I just traded my Vulcan 500 in for a shiny new V Star 650 Classic. I plan on having some fun with customizing it, so i come to you with my first question:

I plan on eventually getting some cobra pipes for it. But in the meantime, I am thinking about just taking the baffles out of the stock pipes. I've never done this before, and am curious if there's any side effects to doing so. Also, any tips on the best way to go about doing it would be appreciated as well.

Thanks!

You should probably be better off to wait and rejet the carb at the same time you put the new pipes on. Opening the tubes while burning lean ain't good on the motor. My Hard Crome pipes and new jets on my Roadstar added one hell of a lot of power! Looking at the original pipes, opening them up won't be simple nor easy!

I'm not familiar with your particular bike. If it's carbed, you'll definitely need to re-jet. If it's fuel injected, you'll need to re-map. Ripping the baffles out of stock pipes is always an exercise in frustration.

The first time I did it I took a 1-1/2 hole saw on a long extension shaft with an electric drill and just reamed the pipes out. It sounded great, but ran like shit when I got finished. Took me months to finally figure out how to correct the back pressure problem. Usually custom pipes will come with specifications for how to re-jet or re-map your fuel system. Toying around with drills and hole saws is not for the faint of heart.

excellent, thanks for the tips. i'll just wait on the pipes until i can get some good ones to put on it, and just rejet everything then.

Ebruck, There are several mods you can do on your pipes that sound good, with varying levels of loudness. Check out www.650ccnd.com for the details. I did the 3 hole on my 99 and it sounded nice. Still quiet enough not to wake up the neighbors, but a nice bark when you hit it. They talk about drilling baffles, removing them and when you hit the point you need to rejet. They even have a section that walks you through that step by step too.