DennisK_ID
New member
I’ve gone round and round on this and still don’t know squat.
I have a 2005 R1200GS. About a year ago a Rawhyde instructor told me replacing the stock header with an aftermarket exhaust would “really open up the bike”. When I asked what brand, he mentioned Remus and said the muffler wasn’t as important. It was the header that I should change. He seemed to know a lot about R1200GS bikes.
I asked a mechanic at the local dealer who also said that I would notice a difference and it would help throughout the range, including low end torque. He said it does no good unless you also provide more air intake through a different air filter. He said replacing the header and leaving the stock, more restricting, muffler wouldn’t make any sense.
A local guy who rides a lot of dirt on his R12 was pretty high on Remus. He runs a Remus and uses it with a stock paper air filter plus has added an oiled foam sock over the snorkel input (he doesn't want dust in the intake). He said I would save about 17 pounds. Pounds are important to him. Also most local riders I’ve talked to seem to think eliminating the catalytic converter is a big plus.
OD on stock is about 1.76”, the Remus pipes are 1.86”. That’s 11% more volume. From what I can find on line, going to bigger pipes doesn’t give better performance in all ranges. Eliminating the cat and getting a better flowing muffler may be what you are buying. However, the bike will read the different set-up and make adjustments. So info on car forums is probably not relevant. Performance gains could be because of how the bike's brain changes other things after you make the changes. Anybody know?
I’m torn (and confused) about the cat issue. OK it is a heat radiator right under the tranny but I like to think I’m about as enviro-friendly as a guy can get who likes motor sports. Removing the cat and adding one near the muffler is about a $400 change. Just removing it (and keeping the stock exhaust without the ceramic disks) is an option several people seem to prefer. Does the cat change the exhaust gas flow? What happens on removal?
So I have a Remus complete system that I bought used. It was from a newer bike so I had to fabricate a connection piece to go where the flapper valve would go. After getting it on and realizing I wasn’t going to get all leaks eliminated without some tweaking of the header by a muffler shop, I noticed my HB crash bars and my aftermarket bash plate have fitment issues. The out-to-out of the Remus header is way over the same dimension on the stock. If I had the Remus actually made for my bike, would that be as much of a problem? Anybody have hard info on that?
Edit: The only locally listed muffler shop doesn't have mandrels and can't even try to make the header fit closer to the bike. I did get it to seal better so fit with other after market parts is the main issue. I have it for sale in the flea market.
I have a 2005 R1200GS. About a year ago a Rawhyde instructor told me replacing the stock header with an aftermarket exhaust would “really open up the bike”. When I asked what brand, he mentioned Remus and said the muffler wasn’t as important. It was the header that I should change. He seemed to know a lot about R1200GS bikes.
I asked a mechanic at the local dealer who also said that I would notice a difference and it would help throughout the range, including low end torque. He said it does no good unless you also provide more air intake through a different air filter. He said replacing the header and leaving the stock, more restricting, muffler wouldn’t make any sense.
A local guy who rides a lot of dirt on his R12 was pretty high on Remus. He runs a Remus and uses it with a stock paper air filter plus has added an oiled foam sock over the snorkel input (he doesn't want dust in the intake). He said I would save about 17 pounds. Pounds are important to him. Also most local riders I’ve talked to seem to think eliminating the catalytic converter is a big plus.
OD on stock is about 1.76”, the Remus pipes are 1.86”. That’s 11% more volume. From what I can find on line, going to bigger pipes doesn’t give better performance in all ranges. Eliminating the cat and getting a better flowing muffler may be what you are buying. However, the bike will read the different set-up and make adjustments. So info on car forums is probably not relevant. Performance gains could be because of how the bike's brain changes other things after you make the changes. Anybody know?
I’m torn (and confused) about the cat issue. OK it is a heat radiator right under the tranny but I like to think I’m about as enviro-friendly as a guy can get who likes motor sports. Removing the cat and adding one near the muffler is about a $400 change. Just removing it (and keeping the stock exhaust without the ceramic disks) is an option several people seem to prefer. Does the cat change the exhaust gas flow? What happens on removal?
So I have a Remus complete system that I bought used. It was from a newer bike so I had to fabricate a connection piece to go where the flapper valve would go. After getting it on and realizing I wasn’t going to get all leaks eliminated without some tweaking of the header by a muffler shop, I noticed my HB crash bars and my aftermarket bash plate have fitment issues. The out-to-out of the Remus header is way over the same dimension on the stock. If I had the Remus actually made for my bike, would that be as much of a problem? Anybody have hard info on that?
Edit: The only locally listed muffler shop doesn't have mandrels and can't even try to make the header fit closer to the bike. I did get it to seal better so fit with other after market parts is the main issue. I have it for sale in the flea market.
Last edited:
