So I did the first thing to my bike and took apart the stock exhaust, spray painted it black and re-attached it.
Suggestion to avoid the situation that I just described in the post above (my bike is the same, including the colour, which I really like).
Check / replace your fuel filter. It seems that these bikes have something of a history of that filter clogging up.
The good thing is that it is accessible outside the fuel tank. (Most fuel injection systems have it buried inside the tank!)
The bad thing is that you'll have to remove a bunch of bodywork in order to get to it.
The good thing is that you will then learn how to do that ... it's not that hard BUT there are some tricks, and there's a lot of "knee bone connected to the ankle bone" going on with this bike. It's not easy to figure out the first time. You can remove every obviously visible screw, and be no closer to having the fairings off the bike.
Do this with the fuel tank as empty as you dare!! Ideally flashing on the last "empty" bar on the gauge.
Remove side fairings. For each one, there's 1 screw facing upward on each side underneath the headlight, 1 obvious one facing the side, and 1 that's in the little "cavity" underneath the radiator and behind your front wheel. At this point, even with the screws removed, the panel still won't come off. Get your fingers into the gap between the top/rear of the panel (near where the only obvious-from-outside screw is) and give it a quick tug. That will pop it out of the clip. Work your way forward to release the next clips, with the last one at the very front of the panel near where the turn signal is. Then unplug the turn signal bullet connectors.
Remove passenger seat (key), remove rider's seat (2 socket-head bolts that become visible with the passenger seat off).
Loosen and pull out the white fairings on either side of where the passenger seat was. They don't need to come off, just pulled out. 2 10mm hex head bolts on each side accessed with the passenger seat off. Then pull then out of the grommet at the front.
This will reveal a bolt on each side that has to be removed to release the black trim panel under the rider's seat. Remove those plus the other obviously visible screws.
Remove the screws that secure the trim panels on either side of the front of the fuel tank.
At this point, you should be able to pull the black trim panels out of the grommets that are in the fuel tank. They don't need to come off the bike - just out of the grommets that are in the fuel tank.
Now remove the painted trim panel at the front of the fuel tank. You have already removed the screws that hold it in place (they serve a double purpose). It's in a pair of grommets at the back. Get your fingers into the gap between the trim panel and the gas tank towards the back of the trim panel (where the grommets are), and pry it up out of the grommets. Now work it out between the gas tank and the trim panels at an angle.
Remove the steel bracket at the front of the gas tank. 2 hex head screws.
Now - FINALLY - you can remove the single 12mm hex head screw that holds down the front of the fuel tank, and lift it up. But, be careful! There is a loose steel spacer that will fall off at this point. Don't lose track of that spacer.
And now, with the fuel tank tilted up, use a suitable piece of wood to prop it up as high as it will go (so that hopefully the fuel level in the tank will be below the fuel filter that you are about to remove).
The fuel filter is a little black cylinder connected to the fuel hoses underneath the fuel tank that you spent all this time getting to. Take note of which way the flow-direction arrow points ... you don't want to install the replacement backwards. Any small 3/8" inlet and outlet generic fuel filter that's roughly the right size will work.
You have to go through the exact same exercise to get to the air filter ... lifting up the fuel tank has also revealed the top of the airbox to you, and the air filter lives inside that.
This was brutal to figure it out the first time. I can do it in 15 minutes now because I know what needs to be done.
