Review - Yoshimura Race Series R-77 Full Exhaust for Yamaha FZ-07 / MT-07 / XSR700

[Pursuvant]

Let's have some fun looking at some measures I took of the Yosh R77 pipe (and 2wdw flash) I installed recently on a 2019 XSR700.

Product as ordered (and used in this review)

Yoshimura Race Series R-77 Works Finish Full Exhaust for Yamaha FZ-07 / MT-07 / XSR700 w/Black can with 2WDW ECU flash. Everything was purchased through 2 Wheel Dyno Works in Kirkland, WA

 

What I received

 

Delivery of parts/return of ECU flashed

I FEDEX'd the ECU, it arrived at 2WDW on a Tuesday morning, those guys got it together. They flashed the ECU and shipped it back out to me same day (Tuesday), using priority USPS. I received it on that Friday.

The Yoshimura exhaust (also purchased from 2WDW as part of their package deal of flash and pipe) was ordered on that same Tuesday. They use PWS warehouses (who have 7 warehouses in different US locales). I received the pipe UPS on my doorstep the following day Wednesday.

These guys make it easy to do business with. Thank you 2WDW.

 

 

OK, so how do you know you have a good pipe, beyond the obvious of the materials they use? How about we look a little closer at the differences between what Yoshimura engineers intended a customer receive, and what happens to best practices/repeatable processes in the shop making those pipes.

The XSR700 engine manifold specs (outside to outside)

Outside to outside looking at the engine exhaust manifold, the measure is 128mm (please don't hold me too close to absolutes, I was using my manual calipers to measure and they were just a little short to make this measure).

How close is the stock exhaust once removed, to the actual engine manifold measure?

OEM Stock Exhaust Head Pipes (outside to outside)

Not bad Yamaha, the stock pipe with cat box header pipes are outside to outside, 127mm. Only 1 mm off (closer "together"), completely insignificant for practical purposes.

Let's look at the plane that each of the head pipes sits on, to see if they are on the same plane or if they are off, are the two planes parallel and how much distance are they off from each other?

OEM Head Pipes Plane & Offset (if any)

Are the OEM stock head pipes both on the same plane and exactly the same so they will align and meet the face of the exhaust manifold without one head pipe making contact before the other (that would be if the two head pipes were on different planes)?

I was surprised, because the OEM stock head pipes are exactly parallel and on the same plane. Nice job Yamaha, don't know if every pipe they make is that correct but the one on my bike that I removed is.

 

Yoshimura R77 head pipes (outside to outside)

Yoshimura head pipes, are they the same outside to outside as the XSR700 engine manifold (of 128mm) ? Interesting, they are 127mm, the same as the stock oem head pipes measure outside to outside. Both the Yoshi pipe headers and the stock oem headers are 1mm closer together than my measure of the XSR700 engine exhaust manifold.

 

Yoshimura R77 Head Pipes Plane & Offset (if any)

Now it's getting more interesting. The Yosh header pipes are on two different planes, and the offset it 2mm. Cylinder two Yoshi headpipe, when it meets the exhaust manifold, Cylinder one will still be 2 mm distance from mating up with the exhaust manifold. Here is a lousy picture with my phone of the pipe with Cylinder two sitting flush on a glass tabletop showing that Cylinder one is "standing" off the table top 2mm.

No reason to freak, 2mm is insignificant to our installation, the exhaust flange  when torqued up to 14 foot pounds will pull these two pipes completely to the face of the exhaust manifold gaskets with no problem. It's only noted here, because that's the point of doing reviews, to find where best practices have a "spectrum of potential values" during manufacture and in final products.

 

Strength of Yoshimura Head pipe flanges

Pipes and flanges are well made, the head pipes are "flared" open after the flanges were placed on the headpipes, making a really smooth mating surface and flanges are free of any "rough edges" that might hang up when trying to insert into the engine exhaust manifold. The flanges are tig contact welded on to the head pipes, making a singular strong and straight header interface.

 

What to watch out for

If you have a header that has head pipe flanges that are significantly in different planes, it can make pulling the head pipes up to the engine more interesting. Or if the head pipes are not parallel (if they form a V or a W) that can make it tougher to get installed and into the engine exhaust manifold properly. Keep in mind the exhaust manifold gaskets are copper/ceramic and are about 3mm thick themselves, when judging "are my head pipes well formed" - or how far "off" from ideal they are).

Also note, if the two head pipes are really off in different planes, that can swing the collector end of the header right or left, making it easier or harder to get the collector/canister into it's mounting brackets.

 

Canister and mounting brackets

All extremely well done, the canister is fine looking bit, the mounting brackets are simple, practical, and very strong. Don't underestimate the band that captures the canister to it's mounting point, it's all extremely secure once installed.

 

Fitment

Suprising how close to the bike, the Yoshimura pipe fits, they really pulled everything in close without any danger of touching moving parts. They wanted this to be a great fit, and the pipe certainly is that. Strong, great look.

 

Sound

It's practically a straight pipe with 12 inches of outerwrap insulation. Yes, it's loud, it's mean. The motor likes breathing through this setup with the 2wdw reflash of the ECU. It's sound penetrates your flesh, like accidentally getting to close to a rasp file.

 

Plenty of install videos

I'm not going through the install here, I was only interested in putting the measures of the pipe I received out there, for conversation and to help others judge "do I have a good pipe" regardless of the manufacturer. Hope I've done that.

 

Yoshimura R77 pipe final grade (including the installation not documented here)
Materials: A
Assembly: A  (especially nice welds and strength of the small crossover pipe)
Fitment: A-

 

I gave it the A- in fitment, only because of the two head pipes being about 2mm difference in their plane alignment. In reality, this means nothing, with all the other fine engineering and beautiful black canister, it really earns and A+ all the way around. I would do this pipe again in a heartbeat.

 

Edited September 1, 2020 by Pursuvant

[seven]

On 8/31/2020 at 9:52 PM, Pursuvant said:

Sound

It's practically a straight pipe with 12 inches of outerwrap insulation. Yes, it's loud, it's mean. The motor likes breathing through this setup with the 2wdw reflash of the ECU. It's sound penetrates your flesh, like accidentally getting to close to a rasp file.

Does this have a DB killer/baffle? If so, is your impression above with it in or out? Has it mellowed out or gotten louder since initial install?

[Pursuvant]

7 hours ago, seven said:

Does this have a DB killer/baffle? If so, is your impression above with it in or out? Has it mellowed out or gotten louder since initial install?

That was with the dbkiller out. I have installed the dbkiller since then, and you have to really strain to find it any quieter than without.

But I do notice that the bike runs better with the dbkiller in, it likes a little backpressure

[seven]

1 hour ago, Pursuvant said:

That was with the dbkiller out. I have installed the dbkiller since then, and you have to really strain to find it any quieter than without.

But I do notice that the bike runs better with the dbkiller in, it likes a little backpressure

Yeah 2WDW said the their tunes with both Akra Ti and Yosh R77 had the best results with the DB killer in. I am still tempted to get the R77 but I don't want an exhaust that I have to tiptoe through residential areas where I do a lot of my riding because I might upset the neighbors.

[stickshift]

7 hours ago, seven said:

 I am still tempted to get the R77 but I don't want an exhaust that I have to tiptoe through residential areas where I do a lot of my riding because I might upset the neighbors.

Akra ti with baffle in makes a great sound and won’t upset neighbours. 

[seven]

22 minutes ago, stickshift said:

Akra ti with baffle in makes a great sound and won’t upset neighbours. 

Most people I assume run the Akra without the optional cat. I am curious how it sounds with both the cat and baffle and with just the cat. 

[M. Hausknecht]

I've got the carbon can Yosh on my 07 race bike. I love how it sounds, nasty, but IMO way too loud for the street. 

[stickshift]

1 hour ago, seven said:

Most people I assume run the Akra without the optional cat. I am curious how it sounds with both the cat and baffle and with just the cat. 

I suspect you’re right, I don’t have the cat fitted.

I don’t imagine the cat would reduce noise levels significantly, certainly nothing like the baffle does.

The Akra ti with baffle (and cat - for emissions purposes) passes the same noise tests that the standard exhaust system does from the factory. It’s louder at lower revs, but same volume at revs (5k?) that noise levels are tested at.

Without the baffle fitted I personally would need to wear ear protection on long highway rides.

[seven]

On 2/23/2021 at 7:19 AM, Pursuvant said:

That was with the dbkiller out. I have installed the dbkiller since then, and you have to really strain to find it any quieter than without.

This is interesting because I was emailing with @WDW about the R77 and they said "For an exhaust system that doesn't dramatically increase noise level BUT does dramatically improve performance and the actual sound/pitch of the exhaust note, the Yoshimura R77 is absolutely the best way to go. The R77 muffler works best on these bikes with the baffle IN"

[Pursuvant]

5 hours ago, seven said:

"does dramatically improve performance and the actual sound/pitch of the exhaust note, the Yoshimura R77 is absolutely the best way to go....works best on these bikes with the baffle IN"

That's the money shot right there.

It's a header, so it's got the ability to sound off when you get on it, so just stay off the power curve when your cruising in the neighborhood.

You, your wrist, that's what decides. It's all ok, if you let it be ok. Now go get that R77 mi amigo, you know it's the real deal

[seven]

58 minutes ago, Pursuvant said:

so just stay off the power curve when your cruising in the neighborhood.

Well that's no fun. 

[emmett]

I have the Yoshi R-77 with stainless can, no baffle and dealer reflash.  It rumbles nicely while riding reasonably thru town, but when we get to the faster roads and turn up the wick...YEEEEEEEEEEEEEHAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!  I get a boner, every time! I've had people tell me it sounds like a Ducati, some have said like a short block V-8, even a Hogly.

[seven]

Well a year later I am actually considering getting an exhaust, so I have questions for the Yoshi R77 and Ackra Ti with the baffle in...

It seems like the Akra is only slightly louder than stock but the Yoshi is much louder than the Akra. Is that accurate?

With either the Akra Ti or Yoshi R77, if you have the DB killer in, wearing a full face helmet and have earplugs in, can you hear these exhausts while riding? 

@emmerich @Pursuvant When you say staying out of the power/turn up the wick, do you mean just keeping the revs low or more using lots of throttle? At what revs/how much throttle does it get into "pissing off the neighbors" range?

@M. Hausknecht Are you using the db killer and still find it too loud for the street?

 

I wish there was someone close to me that had these for me to hear.

[M. Hausknecht]

4 hours ago, seven said:

Well a year later I am actually considering getting an exhaust, so I have questions for the Yoshi R77 and Ackra Ti with the baffle in...

It seems like the Akra is only slightly louder than stock but the Yoshi is much louder than the Akra. Is that accurate?

With either the Akra Ti or Yoshi R77, if you have the DB killer in, wearing a full face helmet and have earplugs in, can you hear these exhausts while riding? 

@emmerich @Pursuvant When you say staying out of the power/turn up the wick, do you mean just keeping the revs low or more using lots of throttle? At what revs/how much throttle does it get into "pissing off the neighbors" range?

@M. Hausknecht Are you using the db killer and still find it too loud for the street?

 

I wish there was someone close to me that had these for me to hear.

I don't ride my 07 on the street. The Yosh  is louder than I'd be comfortable with on the street, even at part throttle. I wear ear plugs and can hear the exhaust, even at idle. To be fair, however, I have the Hordpower intake also and it is a good bit louder than the stock airbox, irrespective of how it is modified. Since intake and exhaust noise combine to piss off the neighbors, perhaps the exhaust isn't as loud as I imagine. I can't comment on the db killer; I don't have one and haven't heard an 07 with the Yosh db killer baffle. I suspect you'd be happy with either pipe with a suitable baffle.

[J.J.]

My Akra with baffles out and ear plugs in is still loud as hell. Love that sound!

[tomlichu]

@Pursuvant I just bought this exhaust used from someone, but the seller did not include the exhaust springs. Do you know the length of the springs? I called Yoshimura today but their phones appear to be down.

[Pursuvant]

Here's replacement springs. Mine seem to be 2.75" when installed. I'm not sure which length is right.

Email youshimura sales:

sales@yoshimura-rd.com

They will sell you the right size if you make sure they understand what bike fitment.

Yoshimura Exhaust Springs, 2.6in. Long | RACE-82MM

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Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Yoshimura...

 

Yoshimura Exhaust Spring, 2.3in. Long | RACE-SPS-1

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Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Yoshimura...

 

[Pursuvant]

Here's one of my springs "unsprung".

Just a shade under 59mm. That would be the 2.3" long Yoshimura spring.

 

Having a spring puller tool makes life easier.

[tomlichu]

Thank you for making the measurement! I was going to swing by local bike shops to see if they sell exhaust springs.