According to the PV thread, I guess it does mellow out with use. Removing elbows won't really get you much power increase... neither will a cone filter. A naturally aspirated engine is essentially a mechanical air pump. It can only suck in as much air as it can displace. You're likely to gain more with a free flowing exhaust than an intake. Once you have forced induction... then it's a different story.

So, I guess what I am saying is... damn the neighbors. It's not like you use your neighborhood streets as drag strips. If it's anything like what people have reported (and all the stainless steel aftermarket exhausts I've owned in the past on previous rides), at normal cruising speed of 35 mph or so, the PV shouldn't be too lound.

Also... from another thread, I guess the size of the tip (diameter) has a lot to do with the sound level. The stock tip at 3" tends to act as a megaphone.

If you're still interested in doing intake mods... unless something comes up to take away time, I think I may begin my first attempt at making a hand-laid carbon fiber intake tube and a intake heat shield next week. The tube would take a cone filter while the heat shield would act essentially as an airbox around the filter. Again, not likely to gain much power with this as long as the engine is in NA form... 3-5 hp at best. Intake sound would definitely be louder though.