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Akrapovic racing exhaust vs stock.

6236 Views 6 Replies 5 Participants Last post by  MrGreen
I am hoping to open a discussion about the benefits of this expensive exhaust system and how it compares to the stock set up. First I would like to point out the possible benefits of the akrapovic set up.

Less weight: almost 23 pounds lighter than stock
Single sided:
More power and torque.

The single sided exhaust intrigued me because (a) I will be able to use normal sized spools, I have the mini spools but they are so close to my swing arm that I always fear scratching my swing arm with my paddock stand. (B) with the left side muffler gone I can remove that sides passenger peg and maybe get to install a proper helmet lock. ( less weight, more power and torque and the benefits mentioned above sounds like a win win.

I guess my major concern other than the $1600.00 cost would be trying to figure out why Kawasaki made this bike dual exhaust in the first place. Obviously it would cost more to implement a dual exhaust system as opposed to a single sided system. Perhaps it was done to pass smog criteria whereas a single sided system wouldn't pass. The Akrapovic system is not (street legal).
I also read that the Akrapovic system improves back pressure and creates better exhaust flow, kinda sounds like a contradiction. I looked thru the previous topics to make sure this wasn't there. If I'm bringing up a previously discussed topic I apologize. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
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You are bringing up a good point. In some cases.....dual exhaust could be a way to balance weight. It can also be a way to pass sound tests. Maybe two exhausts can be smaller than one . Maybe two small are easy to fit? All of this comes to mind....

The real reason is halfway lame. The real reason is looks. In Japann, two exhausts are a sign of great power. Notice the Hayabusa and zx14 come with dual exhausts. Its what they do.

I like the look and went with duals on my leo vince/ arrow set up. Feel free to do as you wish. On our stock bikes, the header pipes are too small. You could let it exit into 72 pipes and it wont change that.

as far as backpressure goes, you want zero. A small amount is too much.

in saying that, that means youd need to tune the fuel mixture coming in. If you dont do that, it could very well be a bike or car needs back pessure to run right, but if you have tuning ability, you want zero.

Thats in a world where oir bearings are friction free and no other considerations given other than peak power.

If we want more low, or midrange. And are stuck with stock cams, stock pistons and porting, now we might start feeding some back pressire in to achieve this, but it will cost us elseware.
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You are bringing up a good point. In some cases.....dual exhaust could be a way to balance weight. It can also be a way to pass sound tests. Maybe two exhausts can be smaller than one . Maybe two small are easy to fit? All of this comes to mind....

The real reason is halfway lame. The real reason is looks. In Japann, two exhausts are a sign of great power. Notice the Hayabusa and zx14 come with dual exhausts. Its what they do.

I like the look and went with duals on my leo vince/ arrow set up. Feel free to do as you wish. On our stock bikes, the header pipes are too small. You could let it exit into 72 pipes and it wont change that.
Street legal, I missed that. Most systems remove the cat, and you are not street legal after removing emissions related otems. They stamp "not street legal" and look the other way as we run these on our street bikes
I just got a lightly used 2011 N1K. I always install a system on my bikes and was looking at the Akrapovic. Being unsure that I was gonna keep this bike long term I opted for the Vance & Hines cat back exhaust tips. They really look great on the bike, I got em for $256.00 and it they took less than 30 minutes to install. After installing them this past Thursday the following Friday I suited up and rode all weekend to Birmingham, AL for Vintagefest. The bike performed great without in noticeable changes in power delivery or throttle control. The Akra appears to be the ultimate set up for these bikes and likely increases performance but I'm pretty pleased with what I got for $256
Ivans full treatment

I just finished installing a full Akrapovic exhaust, Ivans ecu flash, pcfc and air box modification. the Akra is a 100% improvement in looks and sound over the stock exhaust. Ivans flash really smooths out the engine breaking and makes the bike a lot smoother ride. I am 56 years old so the extra horse power I really did not need. So I did the Akro for appearance and Ivans flash for the rideability. Ivans the man. That being said, Urban brawlers would have been my choice if I did not go with the full exhaust.
Well i went the exact opposite direction...back to almost stock. I have a two brothers system that i just removed [Black series, with juice box fuel controller ] i loved the sound, loved the look didnt notice the weight change really. the juice box will run Power Commander maps so i could do the full Ivans with it but i am happy with the bike now {too cheap to buy the headers and pay for the reflash lol }. Mine is a 2012 i left the fuel cut eliminator on, that is a great improvement. I am actually toying with finding a leftover 2014. I feel you gotta go full bore to make it worth it. The reflash is what really kicks it up a notch from all i have read about it.
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