Nikko Strada exhaust modification

I've allways had a love-hate relationship with my Nikko Strada exhaust system.
I loved the way it smooths out the powerband, but I hated the droopy look that doesn't follow the lines of the bike. Because I think performance is more important than looks I decided to live with it.
Untill one day in an unguarded moment Tinie from BikePenR was snooping around my bike and started looking at the exhaust. I asked him what he was thinking about and he said well if we cut it *here*, rotate it a bit and weld it up again it should point more upwards.
We looked at it some more and damn he was right! An appointment was made and two days later I turned up at his workshop with the bike.

This is what the standard exhaust looks like, it doesn't follow the lines of the bike at all...
...and this is what it should look like after the modification (computer-edited image).
The can and intermediate pipe removed from the bike.
This is the intermediate pipe with an internal muffler.
The pipe is sliced just behind the weld using a very thin cutter disc.
The halves separated. The hardest bit comes now as the pipe isn't perfectly round so if you rotate them it's forming a gap.
Some bashing into shape is therefore required.
Test-fitting the exhaust. This was easier than expected. Just rotating the intermediate pipe without altering the angle between the pipes gave the desired angle while the muffler remained parallel to the bike.
Both halves tack-welded together and time for another test fit.
After making sure everything still lined up okay Tinie TIG-welded the parts together.
TIG-welding stainless steel is much easier to do than welding aluminum so it was done in only a few minutes.
Cleaned the weld using a steel brush it looks like the pipe has never been modified.

RESULT!
Only needs a new support bracket.
I can't believe I haven't done this years earlier.
Sometimes you need somebody else to take a critical look at your bike.

Now I have the power *and* the good looks :-)

 
This is what it looks like in morning-sunlight.
With the new exhaust hanger designed by BikePenR.
The two stainless steel rods cross each other like spokes in a wheel making the construction surprisingly rigid!
The "spokes" are welded to stainless M6 bolts on top.

Minimalistic to the extreme.Look at the detailing!

 

Thanks to Tinie from BikePenR for his great ideas!