Been there done that ??? You have to completely remove the muffler from the header. And to accomplish that, you have to remove/loosen the header from the exhaust port. Even when the muffler is out along with the shield, you have to carefully remove the 2 big cross-pointed screws w/o messing up the head.

Good luck

Jim_R
You are very fortunate then. Believe meeeee, I usually try to find the best way to tackle the job with the minimal amount of effort. I can see those screws but cannot get any tool to reach them ???
So I have 2 choices:
1)smog control box(nahhhhhh ) or
2)loosen two nuts at the top of the header  
mine is 05 S40 Califonia Spec

Thanks folks for the input.  For Jim R - I was able to remove the heat shield clamp quite easily, but ir was still attached solidly.  Must be the two phillips head screws you mentioned.  

For Savage Dude - I can see the bolt that clamps the muffler to the header pipe, but I can,t get a wrench on it due to a protrusion of the lower engine casing.  By loosening the header bolts at the cylinder head end and taking out the bolts holding the muffler to the muffler bracket, do you think I can then swing the entire exhaust system outboard a little and thus be able to reach the muffler clamp bolt?

Taking the whole darn system off is not a great hassle, but the less I pull and haul on the header pipe the less likely I am to ding or scratch it.

Thanks again for all your help.  I really appreciate it!

Jack H.

I guess I must be one of the lucky ones...

I don't remember what I used to remove my heat shield, but I did it without removing the exhaust from the bike.  One way or another, the right tool is often what saves the extra 20 minutes not including the trip to the bike shop for a new gasket...