I'm willing to bet Fuel Moto designed it that way to save the buyer money? Less materials to make the expensiver the part. There not a huge company like some of the big name brand exhausts. But the quality and proven numbers is why most go with there head pipe, not looks.

 

I added the Fuel Moto 2-1-2 when I did the cams on my 2010 RKC, so can't give an opinion on how it works with a stock or stage-1 set-up, but I can tell you it works very nicely with my Andrews 48 cams.

Nice deep sound and even flow out of both pipes. It provides much of the performance of a 2-1 pipe. Strong bottom end and mid range and very smooth. Performs well on the top end too.

I used the same cams in my 2005 Deluxe (TC88) and I could never match the low and mid range performance until I (finally) went to a 2-1 pipe. It was always soft off the bottom with stock headers and slip-ons.

I tried 3 different sets of slip-ons and just couldn't get the performance I knew that cam could deliver until I changed to a the 2-1.

So in my experience, the 2-1-2 pipes deliver very close to the same performance of a good 2-1 system. If you have a touring bike, it's nice to have the extra torque on the bottom end.

 

I just bought the fuel moto 2-1-2 header because performance and it has the stock look. Of course my last 2 bikes have been black. Everyone knows black is the fastest color.

 

Their are a lot of Black bikes on the road, I see a ton of them in my rear view mirrors. LOL
Seriously one other consideration, unless I missed it being posted, is tuning in the future, If you go cams, heads, down the road, you don't want to have to buy a new exhaust also. Most Tuners have a preference that they like that makes the over all riding experience work. Good low end, powerful midrange, and still makes HP on the big end.
Had a pair of V&H dresser duals, looked great, sounded wicked, when ever I took it too the tuner, he said you know those pipes are hurting you. I said, I know, not looking for every last HP, his response was not talking about that, the 02 sensors are in the wrong place on them and they make getting a good tune a struggle.
Fuel Moto, or Fulsac are both highly recommended for a 2-1-2 head pipe. Then the slip on battle begins, wont go into that. If you like the sound of a 2-1 system, then the argument starts all over again. D&D, Borzilla, Thunderheader.
Sound is such a subjective thing, what I like you may think sucks, so I wont go into slip ons, but some really do make more HP than others, maybe just a few, but their is a difference.