83 cb550 exhaust ideas

[Denley]

Ok I got an 83 cb550 nighthawk, it's my first bike and I'm ready to do some customizing. I've tried searching and haven't came up with anything on a 550 exhaust. No video clips of straight pipes or nothing. Does anyone have any suggestions on the best exhaust setup on these bikes? Is it possible to gut the stock pipes for more sound? Any help is appreciated!!

[Option13]

First off, welcome to the forum.

Ok I got an 83 cb550 nighthawk, it's my first bike and I'm ready to do some customizing.

Second, why don't you get to know your bike for a few thousand miles before you go cutting and gutting? Better yet, why don't you get to know how to ride a motorcycle before you do that? I guarantee once you've actually ridden it for a while you'll be less eager to cut a perfectly good exhaust. You'll also find Soichiro Honda's gang made a pretty good, well rounded bike right off the showroom floor.

Does anyone have any suggestions on the best exhaust setup on these bikes? Is it possible to gut the stock pipes for more sound?

The best exhaust you will ever find for a 550 Nighthawk is the stock one. Yes, you can gut and destroy the stock pipes to be obnoxiously loud. Why bother? So you can rejet the now lean fuel/air ratio?

You're learning to ride. There is no need to learn how to tune a fuel/air ratio at the same time, or that hacking away at a bike often has more effects than you ever intended. Focus on why you bought the bike - to ride it.

[Denley]

Ok first off yes it is my first bike but you assume I just got it yesterday lol yes I'm new to this forum but I've learned to ride and know my bike for over a year. I do agree the best exhaust would be the factory one, but that doesn't mean I am satisfied with the sound. I fully understand what I'll be getting into,i live in TN and don't have emissions to pass so I was just getting curious about starting to modify my bike and get it the way I want it.

[Option13]

Short answer: There is no good, clean way to get more sound out of the 550/650 style spot welded mufflers. Unless you want to drill the welds and find out what's on the other side, or buy a junk exhaust to experiment with. What you could do is try to modify some slip ons from a different bike to fit, but that might not meet your end goal.

I think I once saw someone just drill the blacked out sheetmetal at the exit, but the holes weren't even and didn't look clean because there wasn't any obvious, good spot to drill.

[Denley]

I was just wondering since I've only found 1 exhaust system for the 550 and it was a mac exhaust. I didn't want to spend $300 on something I couldn't even find a video on. Do the 550s sound that bad? Lol