[MikSchultzy]

OK, I've been reading through here, and have come upon a loss.

So I'm going to say something I have not heard a lot of:
I like the sound/tone of the stock exhaust system.

A deeper sound with slightly more dB would be nice, but I don't want to change it a lot. I don't want loud/obnoxious. I do, however, want to lose the weight and gain a bit of hp/tq.

Aesthetically, the stock cans also look appeasing to me. They fit the shape and look of the bike.

Only others that look aesthetically pleasing are the Urban Brawlers.

However, m1ellison pointed out the vast amount of noise these make with headers. Here's his thread:
http://www.kawasakininja1000.com/forum/exhaust-headers/5274-2011-n1k-akrapovic-header-urban-brawlers.html

But I cannot argue these points:
stock is heavy
power is to be found in both tq and hp with a header
slip ons have few numbers to show the gains

Which brings me to my issue;

What should I look for decent gains without obnoxious noise and doesn't look like I bolted on something from a toy store?

 

[Day Trippin]

Your logic is similar to mine. I really don’t mind the stock system but I’d like a slightly deeper sound. I am not the biggest fan of the looks but I can live with it. I am leaning toward the 8” Delkevic Carbon Fiber ones. I’ve had great luck with their pipes on other bikes. They weren’t too loud.

I definitely don’t want very loud as I spend a lot of time on the highway and would like to keep my hearing. I wear ear plugs of course but loud sounds for extended periods causes a lot of fatigue as well. You don’t just have to hear it but you can feel it.

Lastly I don’t want to attract undue attention from LEO. Last thing I need as I am usually flying low.

So I go with a header would be the max gain and get rid of the cat BUT it is likely to be much louder as well. I thought about the brawlers but was put off by the potential noise levels. Most slip-ons will only gain 2-3 hp from what I’ve seen. Not a lot and I wouldn’t do it just for the hp gains but more the weight savings and the improvement in looks.

So when I do all the analysis, I am going with Ivan’s tune and with the Delkevic 8” CF slip-ons. They are great bang for the buck. My last Delkevic CF on a 1250 Bandit gave a significant gain in HP and huge weight savings. They weren’t much louder than stock with the DB killers in and with them out not really what I would call loud.

Since I don't have Ivan's tune yet, it seems like that would be a better use of my $$$ than to buy a header. With the Delkevics around the low $400 range it isn't a huge investment.

 

[maniak]

I definitely don’t want very loud as I spend a lot of time on the highway and would like to keep my hearing. I wear ear plugs of course but loud sounds for extended periods causes a lot of fatigue as well. You don’t just have to hear it but you can feel it.

Lastly I don’t want to attract undue attention from LEO. Last thing I need as I am usually flying low.

Anyway, I went with pretty loud pipes (Urban Brawlers) and I can still hear them without them being loud. I couldn't hear the stock exhaust with the ear plugs in...

Out this way the speed limit is 75mph so I spend quite a bit of time around/above that.. I found I must wear ear plugs even with the stock/silent exhaust thanks to wind noise, even with my Shoei rf800 and rf1200..

This is the kind of plugs I use.. They attenuate the best (I've tried some others) and don't bother my ears with extended wear time. Flents Quiet Contour Foam Ear Plugs, 20ct - Walmart.com

As for the undo attention from LEO's.. You got me there.. I'm sure they can hear my way before they can see me..

~Mark

 

[GaryK]

I see no downside to the akro header, with stock mufflers... Ivan says his tune will work without change if I put the header on and it will make a big difference in power (he says).

So less weight
Less cost (650) than some of the higher end slipons
More volume
more hp and tq

I will be doing this over the winter on my '14.

 

[MikSchultzy]

I see the Akro header.

I have found another called "Arrow" that looks interesting, but I don't see it for sale anywhere.

 

[rcannon409]

Leo Vince makes a good system that is very quiet with the stock header. It was supplied with all of the sound test stickers, in Italy, so it meets some sort of noise standard.

 

[ToNY97]

I've had a good experience with 2 delkevic exhausts. CF 8" mini and ds70.
Great look and affordable price.
Talk to Janielle @delkevic.

 

[Chrispy]

I see no downside to the akro header, with stock mufflers... Ivan says his tune will work without change if I put the header on and it will make a big difference in power (he says).

So less weight
Less cost (650) than some of the higher end slipons
More volume
more hp and tq

I will be doing this over the winter on my '14.

This is the setup (Akro headpipe with stock mufflers) I have and Ivan confirms there is no HP loss with the stock mufflers. Yes, the mufflers are heavy but I don't have to worry about my local LEO's as it maintains the stock look while only being slightly louder / deeper.

 

[MikSchultzy]

Anyone have any information on the Arrow header? I liked the sound of it + stock mufflers.

Anyone have the Akro Header + Stock Mufflers sound recording?

This is the Arrow Header & Stock, then Arrow Header & Leo Vince.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y88eAGGc0OI
I enjoy the sound of the Arrow+Stock.

 

[GaryK]

Arrow is nice stuff.. but the last I priced the parts cost more than a used track bike

 

[Day Trippin]

That is sort of where I am at with the N1K. I don't have a huge amount invested in it and I don't want to drop another grand in it just to bump up HP a few more. I likely should have bought a different bike to begin with.

It will never be a ZX10R and I'll likely just settle with Ivan's tune and slip ons. Then again a small nitrous kit could be a lot of fun for less $$$.

 

[MikSchultzy]

My only complaint with the N1K is "mild" power and the throttle issue. One will for sure be taken care of by Ivan, the other needs a little help. Seems to me the exhaust is the easiest way.

The exhaust would give multiple benefits - as posted before.

I don't know of any other way in this cost range (for the headers, ~5-700) to get as many benefits.

 

[GaryK]

Yep I think we are the choir... A lot of forum members are more than content with the power output.. maybe I am jaded but I have always thought that a liter bike was like having a pet tiger... you pull it's tail and its going to bite you. When I bought my monstrous n1k I thought it would be too much for me!... come on you know you left that dealer lot with tc set to 2 or 3 but the more I turned down the nannies the more I realized this bike is a big old ***** cat and unless I did something stupid involving the clutch or the timing of throttle on apex it was a pretty docile bike.

The header should get us near 140HP give or take... I don't think Ivan's on a 2014 does any real dyno improvements without the pipe.. it does improve ride-ability - and has an effect on where the wheel comes up but it ain't no 15HP! I am hoping the header gets the bike to that 140 number even if it is higher in the rpm range, I just want that tiger to snarl a bit.

 

[mrsand]

Power

What do you guys think might be gained by a ivan tune and a pair of delcovics or m4' slipons on a stock 2014 NJ1?

 

[MikSchultzy]

Ivan has a graph on his page that indicates what the gains are.
Here's his page:

Ivan's Performance Products

 

[Day Trippin]

Generally a few ways to get HP from a normally aspirated motor (and no nitrous); more revs, peakier powerband or more displacement. The first 2 tend to compromise the streetability of the the bike and I wanted a streetbike, not a racebike.

Best bang for the buck is to spray. You can instantly have a 180hp bike with not much install time. I'd go with Ivan's tune and a bottle and have a lot of performance for not much money. Hide the bottle in a factory bag and surprise the crap out of people. If you go a low HP kit, a bottle will last a fairly long time.

Once you start trying to get more than about 10-15hp out of a stock setup, you are probably better going with a different bike unless there is some hugely limiting single factor that you can easily eliminate. I've had bikes that a pipe swap netted me 20HP at the rear wheel. Nowadays though pipe design is much better from the factory and not so many huge gains to be had other than from weight.

If you are really serious about this and want to tear the motor down, you could maybe go big bore (if there is one for it), cams, porting the head, lightening the valve train, etc. Then you are up to cubic $$$. I'd keep the N1K pretty much stock and buy a beater Gixxer, S1000R, R1 or ZX10R if you are really serious about going fast.

 

[MikSchultzy]

If I could afford a second bike, I'd hop on any one of the 4 you listed (Gix/R1/S1000R, ZX10R). I'm not a fan of the CBR's.

Most likely, I'd end up on the ZX10R. I'm just a Kawa fan.

 

[Day Trippin]

Even a 5-9 year old SS 1000 is going to be still very fast, much quicker than the N1K, and you can pick them up for almost nothing. Ok, maybe not nothing but in the 4-5k range. Considering you could easily drop 1k in HP mods for the N1K and not ever be near the complete ZX10R pkg it might make more sense to go that route.

On a positive note, I did see one with over 100k miles in my general area. That is a pretty amazing bike if it went 100k and is still running considering the output of the motor.

 

[lachain]

pipe replacement

I installed a full Akrapovic exhaust on my 2013 nina 1000 with the full Ivan treatment. I Akrapovic pipe is not loud at all but has a good sound. The Ivan reflash tamed down the engine breaking. I did not need the extra horse power. I did it because I for one do not like the look of the stock pipes and think a bike looks more sporting with a single pipe. The bike accelerates hard enough for me and goes faster than I need to go. I was looking for a used Gsxr or a Zx10r but found the insurance rates to high even at my age with a clean driving record. I probably dont have the skills now or maybe never had them to handle a super sport bike. Truth be known I probably don't have the skills to ride the ninja full out either. But it sure is fun. I have to admit the super sports do get my attention when I see them. I guess I am at the age where I dont have to have the fastest thing on the road

 

[rcannon409]

Dont kid yourself about the ninja 1000. Once Ivans work has been completed, its as powerful, up top, as the 2009-2013 yamaha r1 is. The ninja is also way stronger , down low, than that bike ever will be.

The skill you need to survive does not have much to do with the power of your bike.

You need to make sure the controls are second nature. You have to operate all of them without thinking about it. Why? You need 100% of your brain to keep away from the cars who would enjoy hitting you. No, they probably would not really like it, but sadly wont realize it until they send that last text.