You definitely don't want to gut the CAT and drill out the baffles. They will more than likely sound like $hit and you will lose a considerable amount of torque with no back pressure.

 

I did this Mod about two weeks ago. The heat is gone, and the sound got a good deal deeper. I also wrapped the pipes with header wrap.

Got a takeoff headpipe from the dealer for $75, so I have an extra, once the bike is out of warranty, Ill gut this one and sell it.

 

I probably should have wrapped mine, but didn't... Who's wrap did you use and how much of it did you need to buy> Thanks!

 

I used some wrap leftover from a camaro build, I dont recall who it was made by, as the packaging has been missing for a number of years...

I called a buddy of mine, who works at Advance, you can pick up a roll for about $40

 

Thanks!!!

 

I've seen photos of this procedure on several occasions and wondered why people don't just use a long wood boring bit to "dig" the material out?
It seems that once you worked your way up to a 1 - 11/2" bit, the exhaust would simply blow past the remaing material.
It is obvious that you couldn't get all of the material out, but with the additional diameter of the cat "section", would that be necessary?
Just asking.

 

I just pulled the cat out of my 2011 limited 103. I found that the cat is made of platnim, or at least dipped. What this means is if you don't clean the inside of the pipe really good the weilding will tend to leave pitts, or holes in the bead. I tried to stick weild with low heat but had problems with very small pin holes. Next time will tig the weild. I cheated with JB weild to stop the leaks. The bike fired up no problem and performed great. I will take it to the dyno in about 2 weeks to find the gains. I have S/E race tuner and A/C plus Kurker slip on's. The sound is just right. Mr. turbo thank you for the info.

 

I only wish it was that easy. Cutting, grinding, buffing, and wielding was the easiest and quickest part of the whole project. "Gutting" the material out was the hardest and most time consuming. Two of us ended up using a large metal chisel and hammer to knock and dig the $h"t out. Trust me, it will not just "pop" out. If you don't remove all of the material, you would kind of be defeating the whole point of doing this.

If anyone figures out an easy way to do it, please let everyone else how before they tackle the project.

 

Me and a buddy have done 2 of these now and it makes a huge difference in the heat and the way the bike runs. We used an air chisel to get the cat removed from the head pipe and cut and welded it just like the pics show. He did pick up some high temp black spray paint and painted the welded section before reinstalling on the bike. This might help to prevent rusting.

 

I used a 1 1/2 inch hole saw I will see about getting a video. Personally I don't think any of them sound good on video but I will try to get one. This post is for what i did to a set of 2011 mufflers not the CAT.