After vacillating for over a year between keeping the overly quiet stock exhaust system or installing an overly loud (to me) set of Termis on my GT I decided to see what I could do to modify the originals so as to get bit more sound out of them. What I did was simple but amazingly effective. In fact I’m more than a bit surprised by how well it worked.

Understanding that the stock cans consist of a series of chambers I drilled two holes in the rear of each can, one above, one below the exhaust outlet. The holes went through the chrome cover and then through the rearmost chamber which is about 1 1/2 inches further in.

I first created a starter hole with a 5/32″ bit and then progressively enlarged it to 5/16th.

I started with one hole and moved ahead progressively after listening to the effect on the bike’s voice. Each added hole, and the enlargement thereof, increased the sound level and slightly changed the timbre. Two 5/16 holes in each system created just the sound level I was looking for.

Following the drilling of the baffles I took two additional steps for the sake of appearance: First I smoothed out the holes with a Dremmel tool, then I painted the entire recessed area in the end of the exhaust canister with flat black wood stove paint. This gives the appearance of a single large outlet instead of the small appearing aperture in the stock pipe.

Of course the key question is: How does it sound?

In a few words: Very unique and very good.

The prime difference, apart from the added volume level, is the inclusion of “bark” and added complexity to the exhaust note. If I had to compare the overall sound of the bike at idle to something it’d be a `50s era open-motored V8 hot rod. Very busy, complex, and mechanical. Underway, from the rider’s seat, however, it’s pure Ducati, with an especially nice growl on over run.

I’m at work now. I can’t wait to get home and start ‘er up. But it will be especially hard not to take her out for a ride if I do. Fun. Fun. Fun!