184 replies to this topic

[twinrider]

I've got a full system aftermarket pipe on my bike but the highish cans make it a bit difficult to use panniers and I can't use the centerstand. I'm thinking of switching back to the stock exhaust with Akrapovic slip-ons but am wondering about their noise level. They're rated at 96db. Is this loud enough to bother the neighbors or be annoying to me when touring long distances? My current system is rated at 89db and I'm satisfied with the sound.

Any input is appreciated!

[Pict]

I have Akra titanium (oval) slipons for my 900 (2004) which are definitely loud at and above about 4000 rpm, and are accordingly marked "not for road use". Lovely bits of metal, and the new bass "voice" (never mind the volume) that they give the bike is stunning. Have been a bit nervous of the local plod, though, and accordingly tiptoeing around at low revs when near civilisation. Not tried them on a long run yet, but I don't imagine they'd add any noise burden for the rider (Can't speak for pillion), especially over the old wind/turbulence issue. Mr satnav has carbon ones, I believe, so will probably comment. Can't guess whether Japanese views will be a problem - they seem to be such a mixture of officiousness and the opposite that it's hard to tell. The outlet pipes being 48 mm internal dia, DB killers from Staintune should fit, if you don't mind drilling holes in the cans' outlets for the grubscrews. I have a pair, but they need a bit of engineering as they're just a shade too tight - the outlet welds seem (pun?) to be the issue, and so it looks like I need to grind a groove in the DBKs to suit. (Hopefully the ugly sods will then slip in out of sight - they're not a patch on the Serbian work). Hope this helps

PS I have friendly neighbours - so far.

Edited by Pict, 02 January 2007 - 08:54 am.

[E-njoy]

I've got a full system aftermarket pipe on my bike but the highish cans make it a bit difficult to use panniers and I can't use the centerstand. I'm thinking of switching back to the stock exhaust with Akrapovic slip-ons but am wondering about their noise level. They're rated at 96db. Is this loud enough to bother the neighbors or be annoying to me when touring long distances? My current system is rated at 89db and I'm satisfied with the sound.

Check out my latest reply in another thread: http://www.carpe-tdm...&...ost&p=25889

The Superpoles are probably a lot cheaper than the akra's, they made adjustments for me to fit them with the Yamaha bags and centerstand (standard on GT version), they can be bought CE approved (so totally road legal, which means you can take them to Germany as well, handy for RTT's and such) and have a removable db killer (nice and loud enough with both though). You can choose your own material, shape, length, color or even special imprint if you like (like I love carpe-TDM or so) . Good quality stuff, great shop. They have guys coming from Germany to custom fit pipes to their bikes, they have dealers worldwide. But I would still suggest taking a ferry down here to the factory (also see the linked topic).

More superpole pics on this Dutch forum (16 pages):
http://www.motor-for...ssages/117009/0 (click on volgende pagina for next page)

Edited by E-njoy, 02 January 2007 - 02:53 pm.

[twinrider]

Thanks for the very helpful info, Pict. Hopefully Mr. satnav will weight in with his view.

Looks like you got yourself a great pipe, E-njoy, excellent how they can personalize a pipe to fit your needs. Unfortunately, I'm way the heck over here in Japan.....

[mr sat nav]

Hi twinrider, have just PM'd you. I agree with whats been said by pict, they sound awesome, but I am fortunate to have some understanding neighbours!

Not toured with them yet so I'm not really able to comment on what they'll be like!

The thing is they look stunning, sound even better, alledgedly add on 4.1 bhp (which obviously makes a huge amount of difference!?) and you don't need to adjust your fuelling/get a power commander or anything when they are on!

Re-reading this post I'm probably not being a lot of help ....................................

[AJ_Blizzard]

Hi twinrider, have just PM'd you. I agree with whats been said by pict, they sound awesome, but I am fortunate to have some understanding neighbours!

Not toured with them yet so I'm not really able to comment on what they'll be like!

The thing is they look stunning, sound even better, alledgedly add on 4.1 bhp (which obviously makes a huge amount of difference!?) and you don't need to adjust your fuelling/get a power commander or anything when they are on!

Re-reading this post I'm probably not being a lot of help ....................................

Quill T3 (British made) also looks very cool and it seems that the customers, amongst them a couple of TDM'ers, got what the wanted - look here....

Anyone here with Quill experiences they want to share?
I want to know because I am seriously considering Quill as a replacement for the stock cans on my TDM.

And yeah, I think they are cool :

[Pict]

Quills look pretty smart - I guess the aftermarket industry is moving production standards up a notch or two.

[E-njoy]

Quills look pretty smart - I guess the aftermarket industry is moving production standards up a notch or two.

Are they CE approved? Can I have an early shift without waking up the street? Removable db killer? That carbon most have its price...

[AJ_Blizzard]

Are they CE approved? Can I have an early shift without waking up the street? Removable db killer? That carbon most have its price...

More info here...

[mr sat nav]

A pair of Quill oval carbons are £533 (Quill website)+ VAT, Akrapoviks are £802 (Demontweeks 2006 catalogue) +VAT, thats a huge price saving for a product that looks the same (and its road legal), but what do they sound like?

Mind you, surely half the fun of having after market exhausts is them being not street legal??

[robelst]

I wonder how much the stainless Quills are (never liked CF myself, esp not since my Buell pulverised one in a few hundred miles ). I see it's a single can system, double system looks nicer but this is probably the less expensive option. It seems Quill does headers as well?
I don't mind a tiny bit more noise than standard but I hope it's not really loud

[Mitch]

http://www.performan...asp?prod=tdm900
I love em.

[E-njoy]

A pair of Quill oval carbons are £533 (Quill website)+ VAT, Akrapoviks are £802 (Demontweeks 2006 catalogue) +VAT, thats a huge price saving for a product that looks the same (and its road legal),

A pair of black SS poppy cans (carbon as well if it would be available, but carbon is too weak for big twins and singles) for the TDM900 from Superpole costs ca. £370 incl VAT. So even on Quills you will save at least £160 GB pounds. A return ferry or eurotunnel ticket costs £26 GB pounds, so even if you'd want to go there for installation you'll save at least £130. Or just let them ship it to you of course .

[Pict]

carbon is too weak for big twins and singles

I'm learning all the while - is this a mechanical (vibration or pressure) or heat-based problem? How quickly does it arise? Are some makes worse than others? Would 2 into one be even worse? Are you saying S/S is the only option for big twins/singles (titanium also no good)?

Edited by Pict, 02 January 2007 - 10:19 pm.

[twinrider]

I'm learning all the while - is this a mechanical (vibration or pressure) or heat-based problem? How quickly does it arise? Are some makes worse than others? Would 2 into one be even worse? Are you saying S/S is the only option for big twins/singles (titanium also no good)?

The Akra carbon would be fine on the TDM as the carbon is just a sleeve wrapped around a titanium can. My current aftermarket setup is titanium. No probs whatsoever.

[E-njoy]

The Akra carbon would be fine on the TDM as the carbon is just a sleeve wrapped around a titanium can. My current aftermarket setup is titanium. No probs whatsoever.

The carbon wrap on the Akro is for show only, but the carbon cans Superpole sells are for racing. So there it is not a wrap, it's the only thing holding it together.

Carbon is nice is some ways. First it's black, so it looks cool. It also has the ability to stop bullets in some configurations and it's very light. But it is not very resistant against tearing. So the CF mufflers won't last very long on twins and singles because of the stronger exhaust pulses. That's why they sell the CF Moto GP mufflers mostly for triples and 4 cilinders only, even then the endurance of titanium or stainless steel is higher. But for a true racing pipe it has to last at least one race of course, performance has priority.

Superpole has the black stainless steel "poppy" variety though, which (if you check out the mentioned links) is perhaps nicer than carbon, and you can get it in a lot of colors (black, gray, green gold and purple). They are very durable exhausts, very high quality, but more than twice as cheap .

Dutch internet mag motormaniacs.nl had a comparitive review once with 4 exhaust manufacturers. Unfortunately the site just set up a new site, the old site appears to be offline. I don't know the others they compared with, probably includng at least lazer exhausts. Superpole won concering performance, sound was also nicest (or so someone told me). I will try to find out more. I just know it sounds great on the TDM, the set is very well made and totally legal. I don't think it matters that much which brand you take, the prices can be very different though.

[twinrider]

Quill T3 (British made) also looks very cool and it seems that the customers, amongst them a couple of TDM'ers, got what the wanted - look here....

Anyone here with Quill experiences they want to share?
I want to know because I am seriously considering Quill as a replacement for the stock cans on my TDM.

And yeah, I think they are cool :

If Quill's claims about the T3's reasonable sound level are true, then together with the unconditional lifetime warranty it'd be a great pipe. Unfortunately, big bucks after converting the price into yen.....

[Quartermaster]

I've got a full system aftermarket pipe on my bike but the highish cans make it a bit difficult to use panniers and I can't use the centerstand. I'm thinking of switching back to the stock exhaust with Akrapovic slip-ons but am wondering about their noise level. They're rated at 96db. Is this loud enough to bother the neighbors or be annoying to me when touring long distances? My current system is rated at 89db and I'm satisfied with the sound.

Any input is appreciated!

I strongly recommend having a look at Fuel exhausts of Cumbria. Wifey bought me a set for Christmas, I was going to stay with my slightly battered standard Yamaha silencers and put up with the strangulated farting noises (the bike not me), but for such a cheap price I couldn't resist. Just over £200, beautifully made in stainless and a pleasure to deal with. Also they are road legal with removable baffles. web site is www.fuelexhausts.com.

[twinrider]

I strongly recommend having a look at Fuel exhausts of Cumbria. Wifey bought me a set for Christmas, I was going to stay with my slightly battered standard Yamaha silencers and put up with the strangulated farting noises (the bike not me), but for such a cheap price I couldn't resist. Just over £200, beautifully made in stainless and a pleasure to deal with. Also they are road legal with removable baffles. web site is www.fuelexhausts.com.

202 quid for stainless, 262 for titanium. More in my price range and a lifetime guarantee How do they sound with the baffle in and out?

[Quartermaster]

202 quid for stainless, 262 for titanium. More in my price range and a lifetime guarantee How do they sound with the baffle in and out?

They sound fine with the baffles in. More throaty than the genuine but as I've only just fitted them I've not had a chance to do any miles yet. Not taken the baffles out yet so can't comment but there are comments by happy users on their web site and pictures of TDM owners with the new cans fitted. Incidentally if exported the price is £202 less the VAT but then plus carriage. The factory (a nice young lady called Louise,) rang me to thank me for the order, then rang back to give a date for delivery and when they arrived they had included a block of Kendal mint cake by way of tha thank you, can't fault their marketing. The pipes fitted easily with no issues.