Not wanting to leave well enough alone, I went to Lowes today looking for some ceiling fan drop pipe. It fits the type of flex pipe I have to connect the expansion chamber to the engine header. They had an 18" pipe on sale for $1.00 (reg. $9.99) so I bought 2.
Instead of all the twisty's I had and the many connections, I replaced all that with a single slightly cut down (probably 14") straight pipe. I just completed the changes but its late & dark, so I wont test it out till tomorrow after work, but I'm expecting good things. If the engine/pipe sings, I'll leave it alone...if not, I'll cut some length out of it a little at a time till its perfect. I made good use of an old threadless stem that had a cracked faceplate (probably by overtightening the nuts unevenly). It is now attached firmly to the seatpost sideways & serves well as a rear muffler hanger. The next hanger forward is the same I had done before. The front is also supported by another hanger w/spring.
-Low-