Since you're riding a retro Classic, why not put fishtails pipes on it to continue the retro theme. While looking around, I discovered limited availability of fishtail pipes for our model. There is a two-into-one system that can be had with a fishtail from Roadhouse, otherwise I'm not familiar with any others.

Building fishtails for your Star is not all that hard; if you happen to weld, or you can follow these instructions or have someone else fabricate them for you. Being that I sit at a desk all day, you can imagine how well I can weld; but supervising is NOT a problem.

One can obtain fishtail pipes from a couple of sources, JC Whitney is one and another is Bills Custom Cycles. It my opinion that they both sell the same product, nevertheless their pricing is about the same. The pipes I bought are the 32 inch ones for around $30 a piece. The tails are pre-welded to straight tubing, which is an inch and three quarters in diameter and then chromed. I noticed that the pipes were made in China (cheap labor) but the chroming was excellent.

The Yamaha stock exhaust system separates into basically three groups; the front header pipe, the rear header pipe with crossover and bottom muffler, and the rear cylinder muffler. Begin disassembly by removing the top muffler, then the rear header pipe and the bottom muffler. There is nothing required of the front header pipe.

After separating the mufflers from any exhaust piping you will see the inlet nipple that has to be cut from the old mufflers to be welded on to the new pipes. Also at this point the bypass tube connector must be cutoff from the rear header pipe and the opening welded close. Because the metal of the new pipes is thin wall tubing and to prevent the chrome from greatly discoloring, my welder cut a piece of one and a half inch length of exhausts pipe to be welded inside of the fishtail pipe. Doing this gave him thicker metal for the welding of the inlet connection and extra strength at a stress point.

After tack welding the connection and the inlet, we test fitted the tailpipe. Your fabed fishtail pipe will slide in under the existing heat shield on the Star. Make sure of its orientation and alignment of the inlet nipple, then final welding takes place. The process was repeated for the second tail pipe. After final welding of the exhaust connection, you must fab two brackets for added stability. These brackets are welded to the side of the new fishtail pipes. From a skill perspective, the welding of the mounting brackets to the side of the pipes is the where talent and experience come into play. Since one is welding to the side of the pipe it is very easy for a burn through to occur.

Essentially you new tails are now complete, however before starting the engine, one last thing should be accomplished. Using rubbing alcohol clean the pipes of any dirt or oily skin residue that might have been deposited during the fab. It's easier to clean them good than to explain the funny discoloration caused by the heat, if you don't. Enjoy the sound, you'll be noticed.