Last summer, as Gene and I bombed across the San Joaquin Valley on Santa Fe Road toward Tranquility, the bumpy and patched pavement turned to dirt. Gene slowed as the dust billowed out from under my wheels, soon disappearing behind the growing cloud. Maybe ten miles later the pavement reasserted itself, though weakly, and there appeared in the middle of the road a large grader spreading new asphalt. We slowed and stopped, only to realize that the paving extended all the way across the road, with no way for us to proceed except through foot high piles of the stuff. That wasn't difficult, as after all we were on GSs, but as soon as the wheels hit the mound we could hear the crunching and grinding as it stuck to our tires and was thrown into the air and onto the undercarriage of our machines. Pulling onto the shoulder confirmed our worst fears that the stuff was coating everything: wheels, swing arm, luggage, and perhaps worst of all, the exhaust collector box, where it was smoking and stinking in a small pile. We used sticks to clear the worst of it away, but scrape and pry as hard as we might, the gunk on the collector box wasn't to be moved. Apparently that would have to await another day and better access and perhaps some strong solvent.

Gene finally took care of the problem by installing a Staintune collector box (part number 115B5), but even with a 10% discount offered by a local shop, the $549 ante was way too steep for me. Instead, I started looking for an alternate source, and found it in the form of Keihan, a British firm that specializes in the fabrication of stainless steel exhaust systems for BMW and other non-Japanese motorcycles. Their solution is called a BMW GS Paralever 'Y' Piece (Coll.Box Rep), and their price list calls out 108.94 pounds sterling as the cost. At today's rate ( 1 GBP = 1.78751 USD), that's about $195, a far better price than the vaunted Staintune, even with shipping thrown in. An email inquiry was quickly answered, and after placing a FAX order with my VISA charge number (they don't offer on line ordering), my 'Y' Piece was on the way. In less than two weeks the box was on my front step and my pocket was $270.82 lighter.

Keihan includes two stainless steel shims to size the 'Y' Piece down to the head pipes, but uses the BMW soft aluminum gasket at the muffler junction. Fit was very good, with only slight opening up of the sides of the bash plate needed to provide clearance. The dimples on the top of the 'Y' Piece are intended to clear the engine mounting stud nuts, but as you can see from the photo below, weren't really necessary.

Fit on both the head pipes and muffler were snug, but not unduly so. And at least on this GS, everything fell into line without undue bending or force. And after several thousand miles of use, the only change I've noticed is a straw colored tinting on the pipe from the hot exhaust gasses, similar to that found on the BMW headers. It could be just my imagination, but the exhaust note now has just a bit more bark on hard acceleration, and there's a slight popping sometimes on the over run. I don't find either objectionable, and the five pound weight saving over the BMW collector box is a nice bonus as well. And speaking of bonuses, it's now much easier to service the components at the rear and underneath of the transmission.