[Review] Akrapovic Carbon Exhaust (Dobeck Performance)

[haze87]

I'm a little late in posting this due to the holidays, but I purchased an Akra Carbon about a month back from Dobeck Performance!
 
First and foremost, I want to thank Dillion and all of the employees at Dobeck for the assistance and extremely quick delivery. The install wasn't too bad and the change in my low gear cruising speeds was significantly impacted once I installed and properly set up my EJK. I'll touch on each of my thoughts below:
 
Ride: I really didn't expect much of a change with the exhaust / EJK combo and was really purchasing mainly because the stock exhaust just does not match how it feels to ride the bike at all. I originally installed with the baffle out and it was a little loud for my taste and felt a bit sluggish. I did some reading on Dobeck / EJK's site and noticed that there was no solid configuration for baffle out - so I quickly reinstalled the baffle (which is extremely easy to do on the Carbon variant). Once I reconfigured the EJK and had the baffle installed, the bike rode amazing. Acceleration feels like there is a bit of an increase, but the most dramatic change that I didn't expect was in second and third gear. When everything was stock, I just felt like the bike was always a bit jittery and touchy between 15-35 mph and it really pulled away from the fun for me. I want to highlight that I have an R6 throttle on it, so that may be why; however, once I installed the EJK and Akra - it feels so much more fluid in all gears. Shifts sound and feel amazing and its really like riding a meaner bike. Loving the ride and couldn't have asked for more out of an exhaust system.
 
Sound: With the baffle in at idle, it makes it presence known, but doesn't dominate (as it does with the baffle out). The real exhaust comes through on acceleration - it sounds mean and hooligany, as it the spirit of the 07. I love it's sound and know my presence on the road is a bit more known, as quick rev can generally alert a distracted cager. All in all, if sound is all you are looking for I'd definitely shoot for the Akra over the Yosh. Those were the two I was personally looking at and while I enjoyed the higher scream of the Yosh pipe, the Akrapovic has a deep growl that just sounds higher quality to me.
 
EJK: I'm gonna keep this short and sweet. Either get the EJK or get an ECU flash. I had a ton of backfiring / popping on decel without it programmed correctly. Once it was programmed and installed, all was gone and it is extremely rare that I hear any popping. It isn't hard to install, the biggest pain in the ass comes with wire management if you are OCD.
 
Closing: Very satisfied with my purchase and working experience with Dobeck. I would certainly recommend and purchase from them again. They were quick to answer any questions and Dillion was spot on with helping me find the right exhaust. He knew I was ready to buy and didn't pressure me at all, simply gave me his own opinions based on the preferences I laid out. Spoke with Allison (I believe that was her name) quite a few times as well, and she was eager to assist where she could and would refer me to Dillion if things were too technical, as he was the expert on the Carbon. Back in March I purchased an IXIL (Chrome) from them and the model was discontinued and I was really unsure of what I wanted to do. They never bothered me or pressured me into switching to another exhaust and I cannot say I could be any more pleased that the IXIL Chrome order was unable to be fulfilled. This worked out perfectly.
 
If you are at all considering an exhaust or are let down by the sound of the stock exhaust. Please consider giving Dobeck a call, as they were extremely helpful in making a decision. They have a massive amount of experience with the exhaust systems for the FZ-07 and were extremely eager to answer everyone of my nitpicky questions before I ordered. Shipping was fast and they were always eager to help, even after the purchase and delivery - which is unlike a lot of manufacturers out there!
 
Thanks for getting me to rip off that terrible stock exhaust and replace it with what the bike has needed all along!

 
 

[jeffkisthename]

I concur with the exhaust sound. It's very loud beautiful music to my hears.

[AlbatrossCafe]

You pretty much mimic'd my review word for word, except I went for the ECU flash over the EJK. I agree with everything, especially with the bike feeling less jerky at lower speeds. Doebeck was great. And yeah, the yoshi was a bit louder with the baffle but to me it seemed more raspy. The Akra makes the bike feel bigger than it really is.
 
One question - to take the baffle in/out, do you take the exhaust muffler off the bike? Or do you do it all with the exhaust on?

[haze87]

You pretty much mimic'd my review word for word, except I went for the ECU flash over the EJK. I agree with everything, especially with the bike feeling less jerky at lower speeds. Doebeck was great. And yeah, the yoshi was a bit louder with the baffle but to me it seemed more raspy. The Akra makes the bike feel bigger than it really is. 
One question - to take the baffle in/out, do you take the exhaust muffler off the bike? Or do you do it all with the exhaust on?

I do it with the muffler on. I've messed with it a few times since I did the install, just to show buddies. The easiest way it to buy an ~10 dollar magnetic grabber in the event the bolt falls in the tiny carbon compartment. I read a lot about people having issues lining up the baffle on reinsertion, but I didn't find it to be all that much of a problem. It's heaps easier than the nonsense people with the Ti have to do.  
Agree with you on the Yoshi thoughts. It sounds more Super Sport to me and that isn't really what I was going for when I purchased the 07. The Akra it throaty and deep, sounds amazing
 

[chickenchickendinner]

so you recommend getting the akra exhaust and ecu flash at the same time? if you wanted the baffle out would it still be easier to use the ecu flash?

[AlbatrossCafe]

so you recommend getting the akra exhaust and ecu flash at the same time? if you wanted the baffle out would it still be easier to use the ecu flash?

The Akra exhaust with baffle IN will work fine without any ECU flash. I only backfired maybe once or twice before my ECU flash with my Akra Carbon. 
The ECU flash will make the bike a little smoother and you will feel like you aren't lugging as much at lower RPM's (because of the smoothness). You can also get rid of a fuel cut-off issue that the FZ-07 has.
 
IF you decide to take the baffle out, you will need a flash, otherwise your bike will run worse than it did with stock and you will have tons of backfire/decel popping. The thing with the ECU flash is that it is not adjustable by yourself. You have to take it in or mail it in every time you want it to change. If you get the ECU flash for the exhaust with the baffle in, and then take out the baffle, you will have to get it flashed again as the two aren't compatible.
 
If you are at least 95% sure you want to have the baffle in or out, and have $312, I would recommend getting the flash. While the bike is not very noticeably faster in terms of raw acceleration, the smoothness definitely makes for a much better ride, especially around corners.
 

[chickenchickendinner]

so you recommend getting the akra exhaust and ecu flash at the same time? if you wanted the baffle out would it still be easier to use the ecu flash?

The Akra exhaust with baffle IN will work fine without any ECU flash. I only backfired maybe once or twice before my ECU flash with my Akra Carbon. 
The ECU flash will make the bike a little smoother and you will feel like you aren't lugging as much at lower RPM's (because of the smoothness). You can also get rid of a fuel cut-off issue that the FZ-07 has.
 
IF you decide to take the baffle out, you will need a flash, otherwise your bike will run worse than it did with stock and you will have tons of backfire/decel popping. The thing with the ECU flash is that it is not adjustable by yourself. You have to take it in or mail it in every time you want it to change. If you get the ECU flash for the exhaust with the baffle in, and then take out the baffle, you will have to get it flashed again as the two aren't compatible.
 
If you are at least 95% sure you want to have the baffle in or out, and have $312, I would recommend getting the flash. While the bike is not very noticeably faster in terms of raw acceleration, the smoothness definitely makes for a much better ride, especially around corners.

Just the information I was looking for! thanks!!! and I will definitely have the baffle out. So, I will only do the ecu flash once! 

[haze87]

The Akra exhaust with baffle IN will work fine without any ECU flash. I only backfired maybe once or twice before my ECU flash with my Akra Carbon. 
The ECU flash will make the bike a little smoother and you will feel like you aren't lugging as much at lower RPM's (because of the smoothness). You can also get rid of a fuel cut-off issue that the FZ-07 has.
 
IF you decide to take the baffle out, you will need a flash, otherwise your bike will run worse than it did with stock and you will have tons of backfire/decel popping. The thing with the ECU flash is that it is not adjustable by yourself. You have to take it in or mail it in every time you want it to change. If you get the ECU flash for the exhaust with the baffle in, and then take out the baffle, you will have to get it flashed again as the two aren't compatible.
 
If you are at least 95% sure you want to have the baffle in or out, and have $312, I would recommend getting the flash. While the bike is not very noticeably faster in terms of raw acceleration, the smoothness definitely makes for a much better ride, especially around corners.

Just the information I was looking for! thanks!!! and I will definitely have the baffle out. So, I will only do the ecu flash once!

Let us know how this goes. I didn't get a ton of popping with the baffle out and the EJK programmed for baffle in, but I did notice a severe decrease in performance. I felt like my acceleration had drastically decreased. I actually prefer the growl with the baffle in. When it was out it was just too much for me at idle, I got looks and I kind of felt like a douche. With it in, its mild, but has a presence at idle - but when you yank the throttle it really sings. Either way you go, excellent exhaust!