VZ800 Marauder Exhaust. Unsure what to get

Hey guys,

So as some might have read in my introduction topic, I've recently got my 97 Marauder 800.
It looked fine as I rode away, on closer inspection, the original cans are rotted through on the bottom, so they'll need replacing.

I'm checking out the options online, done some research, but Im mechanically impaired   

Money is also tight at the moment, so anything aftermarket expensive is out of reach. 

My mechanic says he can make straight pipes to replace the whole thing from the headers to the tip. regularly called drag pipes i guess. but though they look good, by the info i've found online, they seem to have 2 standard problems. 

1) midrange loss of power (previously racing bike rider, so... no go.  ) 
2) I like a nice deep rumble going to banshee under pressure, but not obnoxiously loud pipes, I do some highway riding and it would grind on my nerves. (loved Bluesman's "Dead" pipes sound)

So, please point me in the right direction... what would you guys do? 
Thanks.

How about these, cheap and cheerful at £66 a pair.  Cherry Bomb Slash Cut

hmac, thanks for the idea. they look good and are inexpensive. now... do all slip ons have a baffle inside? if not how do we know? Would I need to rejet. etc?

"and a removable noise absorbent baffle." lol. got it.

There's something though... on the 97, though the cans have their separate pipes, they are interjoined... I imagine putting 2 completely separate cans would have some effect on the fuel/air system.

Hello David,
I must be lucky,, I have never known VZ800 exhausts to rot through and I would have thought in your climate they wouldn't.
The little pipe connecting the two cans is a balance pipe,,, it`s supposed to even out the exhaust pulses,,, Later models have the balance pipe as well.
A very common modification is to totally gut the stock exhaust cans giving a really pleasant sound ( often referred to as the "Honest Abe" Exhaust Mod ) so if you fit after market slip on and they don`t have baffles all should be well. If you just change the exhaust and leave the original air filters in you wouldn't normally have to re-jet the carbs. I have known people to fit Highway Hawk slash cut slip ons and have no problems,, that said the VZ800 has always paid dividends if you keep on top of carb syncing.

Hope this is of some help mate.

Hey John thanks for the explanation.

So, if that balance pipe wasnt there, would the exhaust pulse separately in each pipe, kind of like a harley, all -seemingly- out of sync?

The area i bought this bike from was right next to the sea, which could explain the salty marks on some non chrome parts like the switch assemblies, and maybe the exhaust corrosion.

So, finally got a pic of it. this is what was hiding under the bike.

Hello David,
Bugger,,, every day is a school day ain`t it,, we live and learn,, that's new to me,, my mate lives near Aberdeen the weathers is crap there even when its good, his VZ800`s seat rotted but his exhausts are fine and we all expect his bikes to rot. 
yes in a fashion ,,, several reasons for it ,,, Some bike exhaust systems have unequal length pipes and the idea of a balance pipe is to prevent/reduce crackling or popping that can occur in some twin pipe exhausts due to the unequal length/distance the exhaust pulse/pressure wave has to travel and to some extent especially under higher loads in a particular pipe hot gas can tend to want to " back up" whilst trying to work it`s way through baffles and exhaust wadding so is allowed to bleed across to the quieter pipe so helping to smooth out exhaust flow,,,,, all this happens many times per second and the very clever exhaust bods must not have friends/ wife's/ girlfriends/boyfriends/a life if they can be arsed to sit and work all that super techy stuff out. suffice to say exhausts can be tuned by length, bore size, header shape, size etc.,,, so some after market systems don't have them and some do,, its these exhaust bods at it again. all clever stuff. 
I would lubricate the rear brake Bowden cable mate, I`ve known them to size on at the most inconvenient time and yours looks in need of love and attention.
You used to be able to pick up original used systems on Europe E-bay at a fair price,, especially fronm Germany.
I wish you luck mate.

once again thanks for the info mate.

Yep I'd say the previous owner never actually did any maintenance on her, but I'm pretty ocd with that so, no worries there, as soon as there's time, ill be on it