What effect does removing an exhaust baffle have?

Q. I have just purchased a new GSX-R1000 with dealer-fitted Arrow cans with removable baffles.

• Save cash on motorcycle exhausts

Can you please tell me whether it would harm the bike if I removed them.

I have also read in the Arrow instructions about a connecting pipe without the stock cat convertor, are these ok to use and will it increase the power low down?
Neil Fletcher, email
 
A. It shouldn’t be a problem, they are designed to allow you to take the baffles out for a meatier sound when you are at a track day, without upsetting the bike’s performance.

Of course, it means the bike is breaking the noise limits at this point.

The de-cat pipe replaces the original catalytic convertor and if you allied it to a Power Commander you’d get a mid-range boost, but on its own the power is virtually unchanged.