This exhaust rattle is driving me mad

I ca't stand it much longer. The exhaust on my Maxim X is rattling/vibrating . The sound seems to be comming from the head pipe collector area. I have removed the exhaust system completly from the bike and checked every clamp and bolt I can find. That was thefirst thing I tried. Second thing was to remove it again and dissamble it completly. I took each piece and tapped it with a rubber mallet to see if I could hear anything, nothing. I did hear some loose stuff in the collector box, so I cut a big hole in the bottom to clean it out. Not much in there, welded it back together and reinstalled the exhaust on the bike. I was hoping for the best but no luck. My wife rode the bike down the street and I could hear the exhaust rattle over the sound of the bike. HELP I can t take it anymore.
Any helpfuff suggestions?

 

It could be coming from the collector box still or the mufflers. A Yamaha exhaust system is FAR from simple inside; the things are an amazing conglomeration of pipes, baffles, stub pipes and all either spot welded or stomped together. Something has broken loose in there, somewhere.

I have an almost perfect appearing muffler for a 550 Seca that sounds like the Titanic is banging around inside if you shake it. Passes exhaust properly as far as I can tell, none coming out the vent hole but something BIG is adrift inside. It's not on the bike anymore.

 

The collector box is empty now. There were some loose parts in there, they looked like flame arrestor screens. It was all removed when I cut the hole. Are the head pipes double wall? Maybe possible something is loose in there. I'll take it apart one more time and take a look.
The mufflers look like they may come apart if I drill out the rivets at the end. I'll try that sometime this week.

 

If they're the stock pipes, yes. And the inner pipes HAVE been known to fracture/break up on occasion, it's happened to me (not an XJ but 80s Yamaha.)

 

Mlew,

Are you going to remove the pipes from the collector box? I had a similar problem and found the copper crush gasket was loose and the pipe was vibrating. Hope you find it. Let us know

 

Hey Mark reading this I was thinking the double wall header might be the issue. Strange you don't hear anything with them off the bike.

Could it be a mounting issue? Vibration in a mount or something along that line?

 

had the same problem here I just got new exhaust clamps and adjusted the exhaust away from the brake pedal . no more rattle

 

Mlew hehe are you sure it is exhaust related? On my X I had a rattle from the front area that drove me freakin batty. Then I remove the radiator plastic cover and rode it bingo the plastic rattles insanly and at different rpms. Some truck cap (or other black weather strip with the self adhesive works great at stopping this rattle.