Exhaust headers - has anyone bought the Akrapovic one?

[OlieL]

Do they make any difference - either on a stock or remapped bike...? 

Just wondering...

[Grumpy Goat]

Do they make any difference - either on a stock or remapped bike...? 

Just wondering...

Full disclosure ... I do not have headers or any brand, so this is just my opinion on breathability mods in general. 

Yes, by definition they will make "a difference" and hopefully it's a difference you are happy with after spending the money on it.

I have a K&N filter and also a Remus Hexacone titanium muffler, installed at different times. After each installation, I felt an immediate increase in throttle response and a small decrease in fuel economy, i.e. it used more gas as the stoichiometric ratio was adjusted by the computer to account for the increased incoming airflow. There was no appreciable difference in low-speed throttle behaviour and control. I have no idea how much of a gain in horsepower and torque resulted, nor do I care, and I explain that in the second to last paragraph below.

Overall, the fuel consumption dropped from about 47 mpg.US to about 44 mpg.US, on average, all the time. I ride long distance from time to time, so a loss of 3 mpg is not insignificant. Over time the butt dyno got used to the feel of the increased breathability, and the bike is very lively and performs in a pleasing way for me.

One other difference that I did experience is the exhaust sound, with more pops on deceleration and a more raucous sound in general that is not overly obtrusive during long distance cruising. So, this is an "upside" of the muffler, which incidentally was only marginally lighter than the stock can.

So, it comes down to return on investment for you. If you add the headers you should also get more airflow over stock and coupled with a reflash I expect you will get some more horsepower. You will almost assuredly lose fuel economy and whether or not that is important to you, it will still be a tangible difference. Will the increase in power be sufficient to justify the expense - again up to you. 

I personally don't believe in big-expense add-ons to get marginal gains in performance that, if measured on a track at our typical skill level, might result in a small lap time decrease. My preference would be to put the money in a different bike, but that is just me. If one is locked into one bike then the perspective may be different. Speaking of which, most modifications have neutral to negative impacts on resale value, but I suspect a set of Akra headers with reflash may have a neutral impact, i.e. on an RS I can't see it having a positive influence on resale value, despite the fact that it "looks good on paper".

So in summary, its the intangible differences that may be more important ... if the sound and feel are pleasing then the cost may absolutely be worth it, but that is an individual decision. Sorry if I tend to sound like a buzz-kill ... just sharing my limited perspective based on my own upgrade. 

[Pyrrho]

I’m still stock but plan on a full Akra setup w/de-catted headers and Ti muffler, followed by a S2 Brentune w/velocity stacks. Using a catalytic converter and stock emissions tune is leaving performance on the table. If you think about tuning look into something like Brentune’s device you buy and keep, and they send you remaps via email you can flash (or importantly, flash back to stock) whenever you like.

Bikes with 2 lambda sensors like ours will handle a muffler change by themselves w/o ill effect. Changing out the headers will require ECU reprogramming.

[maxredline]

Do they make any difference - either on a stock or remapped bike...? 

Just wondering...

So, it comes down to return on investment for you. If you add the headers you should also get more airflow over stock and coupled with a reflash I expect you will get some more horsepower. You will almost assuredly lose fuel economy and whether or not that is important to you, it will still be a tangible difference. Will the increase in power be sufficient to justify the expense - again up to you. 

I personally don't believe in big-expense add-ons to get marginal gains in performance that, if measured on a track at our typical skill level, might result in a small lap time decrease. My preference would be to put the money in a different bike, but that is just me. If one is locked into one bike then the perspective may be different. Speaking of which, most modifications have neutral to negative impacts on resale value, but I suspect a set of Akra headers with reflash may have a neutral impact, i.e. on an RS I can't see it having a positive influence on resale value, despite the fact that it "looks good on paper".

So in summary, its the intangible differences that may be more important ... if the sound and feel are pleasing then the cost may absolutely be worth it, but that is an individual decision. 

I am in total agreement ^^^

[Masione]

Years ago I did a full Remus de-cat exhaust system and installed a Power Commander on my 2006 R1200GS. Then I had a professional tuner work his magic on a Dyno-tuner. The difference was night and day...no more flat spots in the power curve, all the way up to redline and 101 hp at the rear wheel. It is unfortunate that to realize true potential of our expensive bikes we have to shell out even MORE money, but that's the way it is...

[Grumpy Goat]

Years ago I did a full Remus de-cat exhaust system and installed a Power Commander on my 2006 R1200GS. Then I had a professional tuner work his magic on a Dyno-tuner. The difference was night and day...no more flat spots in the power curve, all the way up to redline and 101 hp at the rear wheel. It is unfortunate that to realize true potential of our expensive bikes we have to shell out even MORE money, but that's the way it is...

Are you sure that was 101 hp at the rear wheel? With 125 hp stock at the crank (for a 1200, 135 for a 1250) and with all those mods you should be getting way more than that at the rear wheel. Maybe you’re intending to say 101 lb.ft of torque … 

[Duckbubbles]

Years ago I did a full Remus de-cat exhaust system and installed a Power Commander on my 2006 R1200GS. Then I had a professional tuner work his magic on a Dyno-tuner. The difference was night and day...no more flat spots in the power curve, all the way up to redline and 101 hp at the rear wheel. It is unfortunate that to realize true potential of our expensive bikes we have to shell out even MORE money, but that's the way it is...

Are you sure that was 101 hp at the rear wheel? With 125 hp stock at the crank (for a 1200, 135 for a 1250) and with all those mods you should be getting way more than that at the rear wheel. Maybe you’re intending to say 101 lb.ft of torque … 

He mentioned a 2006 GS which should be a Hexhead- two generations ago.  101rwhp would be a nice result.

Frank

[Grumpy Goat]

He mentioned a 2006 GS which should be a Hexhead- two generations ago.  101rwhp would be a nice result.

Frank

Ahhh ... missed that ... guess I was too focused on the LC boxers. That explains it. According to this page it made 98 hp at the crank so that, with unknown losses, 101 whp would be an improvement.

[Sikorsky]

So a 1250 does not require a retune with just a slip-on added?

[maxredline]

Yes, my bike did not need any mods.