The Yamaha Vstar is styled to look like a perfectly preserved classic American motorcycle from the postwar era. For the most part, Yamaha succeeded with the Vstar’s styling, and the few bits that don't belong can be easily replaced with something from the aftermarket. And nothing completes that vintage look like a 2 into 1 exhaust system with serrated head pipe covers.

There are currently 2 manufacturers offering this type of exhaust system in North America. The first is Daytona (Japan) and the second is Roadhouse (USA).

I own a modified Daytona exhaust and have what I consider to be the ideal set-up for the way my bike is dressed. The Daytona exhaust is made up of high quality chrome plated heavy gauge tubing that should last as long as my bike. It looks like it was stolen off of an old Harley knucklehead and adapted to fit the vstar from the serrated covers mentioned earlier to the way the pipes curve and join together. You can’t buy a more retro-looking exhaust than this.

Unfortunately, the vintage looking cigar-shaped muffler Daytona includes with this system doesn’t provide the rumble you’d expect after paying $470 to replace the too quiet stock exhaust. So, with my trusty parts catalog in hand I did some creative parts swapping and replaced the cigar muffler with a single drag pipe crafted from an automotive exhaust pipe ($12). After getting my new tailpipe chrome plated ($50) I slipped in an HP-plus performance baffle ($20) and got the sound I was looking for. Does it sound good? Well, I’ve been told by a few people that I have the best sounding Vstar they’ve heard. It’s quiet out idle but gets nastier the more gas you give it. Click here to listen to it.

While in Kinston I got to look at the Roadhouse system ($570) on Dave (Netx) Barber’s Vstar. Roadhouse states they designed their exhaust for a meaty sound. Well I can say that they succeeded. The Roadhouse exhaust is a notch better than the Daytona in fit and finish as well. The inclusion of stainless steel serrated covers makes clean-up less of a hassle than the chrome plated covers on the Daytona exhaust. And the pipe bends are more flowing than the 90 degree bends found on the Daytona. While not as vintage looking, the Roadhouse should have less of a problem with pipe bluing than the Daytona. To achieve these more gradual bends the Roadhouse system requires you to relocate your right footpeg and brake pedal about 2-1/2 inches outboard with the included spacers and hardware. This is the Roadhouse’s only fault on an otherwise great system.

Which pipe do I recommend? Well that depends on what trade-offs bother you less. If sound is important to you, and you want to bolt it on and be done with it, go with the Roadhouse. However if you want a more vintage looking system but want it quiet, you’ll be happiest with the Daytona. And lastly if you want the best vintage look and meaty sound, do what I did and trash the Daytona’s cigar muffler and replace it with an HP+ baffled straight pipe.