HeadsMess:
"Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance," by Robert M. Pirsig -- great book! As you seem to be, I really like the bit about the author's friend with a BMW motorcycle...he wouldn't use a shim made out of a soda can...he had to expensively buy the part and the repair from a BMW dealership. That's exactly what I thought about as I fabricated my soup can heat shield.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zen_and_the_Art_of_Motorcycle_Maintenance
To those who aren't familiar with this book, it has very little to do with motorcycle maintenance. It's more of a philosophical read. I first read it while on a motorcycle tour of Nova Scotia in 1981 with my older brother. I had a 1981 Suzuki GN400 (single cylinder, kick-start only), and my brother had a 1980 Yamaha SR500 (also single cylinder, kick-start only). We bought various Vietnam-era US Army surplus canvas bags to serve as panniers, tankbags, etc. to hold our cooking gear, tent, maps, etc. And we fabricated the mounting hardware to attach all of that stuff to our bikes. And we even fabricated highway bars with footpegs for these bikes! They looked totally cool; especially when we parked them next to a few full-dress Honda Goldwings that we ran in to up in Canada.
Secondly, my exhaust on the motorized bike: that's a brand-new Honda GXH50 engine that I recently installed to replace my Huasheng 142F. I planned on using the previous engine's "flexpipe and Briggs & Stratton muffler," but I decided to first try the box muffler that came stock on the Honda. I had heard that they sound good and quiet and that they're not very restrictive. It's proven to be all of that, and I really like it, and I'm keeping it as my permanent exhaust. I especially like the low noise level. I no longer scare toddlers and dogs!
Cheers, mate...
Max-M
Mystic, Connecticut USA