Akrapovic carbon installed!

[pineappleunderthesea]

Wow.  Let's just say that you immediately hear the difference upon startup, a lot more "bass" and rumble on idle.  I left the baffle in, it's plenty loud as it is for my taste.  On the road it sings when you get on the throttle, but at constant speed it quiets down nicely.  
 
Some hints on install:  
I unclipped the O2 sensor connector before removing the sensor itself, that way I didn't have to worry about twisting the wires. You simply lift up the little tab with a screwdriver and pull on the connector.
 
I used a bit of lithium grease to hold the new gaskets in place (the service manual actually recommends it, even though I did raise an eyebrow when I read that).  That worked nicely to hold them in place. 
 
My unit came with the header and collector already assembled. I tried and tried to get that puppy to line up with the exhaust ports, but I finally realized that I could simply take off the collector, and voila, the two individual header pipes were now free to move around a bit and align right up. I then re-inserted the collector after bolting down the headers.
 
Note:  there are two hex bolts right above the rear brake pedal that you take off.  These are some red compound on the threads (I assume red loctite).  I did not reapply loctite on these, since I didn't have any of the red stuff.  But I believe the service manual recommends it.
 
Here's a pic below.  If you look carefully near the ladder in the top right, you'll see the stock exhaust sitting there, dejected and lonely.
 
 

[Cruizin]

Looks great man! How does it sound?

[pineappleunderthesea]

Looks great man! How does it sound?

When I first fired it up and listened to it at idle, I initially thought "holy crap, is it too loud?"--keeping in mind that the baffle is in.  That's how different it is than the stock exhaust, and that's how much I got used to quietness of the stocker.  There'a a lot more low end notes coming through, lots more rumbling bass, whereas the stock exhaust is like an exhaust taken from a sensible family sedan.  It definitely took me by surprise, the only way I can put it is that at idle it sounds like a slightly quieter Harley. 
But going for a ride you really appreciate it, it's just loud enough to feel mean, but not screaming high-pitched loud that screams crotch-rocket, and certainly not obnoxiously growling loud like a Harley (to continue the analogy).  I like the fact that at constant speed it quiets down, I'm not into a screaming loud ride at all times.  When I get on the throttle, you get a nice low raspy tone, it's quite nice actually, it did put a smile on my face.
 
So it depends what you like in an exhaust: I wear earplugs when I ride, and I barely hear the stocker.  Nothing wrong with that, but darn it this is a motorcycle and I wanted a bit more growl.  The Akra gives that growl, but isn't obnoxious.  It's a nice compromise.  

[jeffkisthename]

I have never heard the Akrapovic Carbon with the baffle in in-person...

[gregjet]

Considering the diameter of the outlet, the only effect you get from baffles out is louder and harsher. I prefer the more even order harmonics sound and less tops ( think Marshall not bipolar transistor amp sound). I would be surprised if there is any gain in output performance. If I were racing it though I would have the baffles out so the other racers could hear me if I were behind. I run mine in ( it's a street bike only).

[jeffkisthename]

Considering the diameter of the outlet, the only effect you get from baffles out is louder and harsher. I prefer the more even order harmonics sound and less tops ( think Marshall not bipolar transistor amp sound). I would be surprised if there is any gain in output performance. If I were racing it though I would have the baffles out so the other racers could hear me if I were behind. I run mine in ( it's a street bike only).

I run mine out, because we can lane split here in California USA!!! I use my exhaust to rev at people who like to hang out in the middle of the lane while drifting and on their phones. People also hear me coming from a bit so they move over if their music isn't too loud, or if they're paying attention at all. Loud exhaust may not be as important anywhere else in the USA or wherever, but here in California, it helps out a lot. 

[GAZ]

If carbon is anything like Ti with baffle in vs out. It's night and day. I wouldn't ever put the baffle back into mine. It sounds way too good. Grats on the exahust.

[N/A]

I have an Arrow Titanium and only run with the baffle in. As the OP says, like the Akra it's also WAY too loud with it out. Even with it in there's a small improvement in top end power and a significant improvement in torque right across the rev-range, so I would imagine the Akra also gives a slight performance boost even with the baffle in. Curiously, my first TRX850 (for the US guys, because you didn't get the TRX, it's a sports version of the TDM850 with a 270 degree crank) had better mid-range torque but slightly less top end with the baffles in (Staintune dual slip-ons) than with them out. All this is probably irrelevant to the thread, but once I have my -07 H-O fully run in (about 500 kms/300 miles to go) I'll take her to the dyno and report back... Merry Christmas everyone!
 
007

[pineappleunderthesea]

I have an Arrow Titanium and only run with the baffle in. As the OP says, like the Akra it's also WAY too loud with it out. Even with it in there's a small improvement in top end power and a significant improvement in torque right across the rev-range, so I would imagine the Akra also gives a slight performance boost even with the baffle in. Curiously, my first TRX850 (for the US guys, because you didn't get the TRX, it's a sports version of the TDM850 with a 270 degree crank) had better mid-range torque but slightly less top end with the baffles in (Staintune dual slip-ons) than with them out. All this is probably irrelevant to the thread, but once I have my -07 H-O fully run in (about 500 kms/300 miles to go) I'll take her to the dyno and report back... Merry Christmas everyone!  
007

Haven't had a chance to get a butt dyno impression (only took a short ride once I installed), but I also plan on getting a tune, so it'll be interesting to see if I can tell a difference pre- and post-tune.  Frankly I'm not looking for uber power here (if I was I would have bought the FZ-09), but whatever I can get will be nice.  If the tune also lessens that engine braking, then it's the best of all worlds.

[Beemer]

Congrats on your carbon pipe! I felt the same way about the sound as well when I got mine, made it sound like the muscle bike it is.

[merc16]

Could you post a pic from the left side and from underneath ? I'm just curious of the exhaust routing and if it would work with my SW Motech centerstand.

[pineappleunderthesea]

Could you post a pic from the left side and from underneath ? I'm just curious of the exhaust routing and if it would work with my SW Motech centerstand.

Here's a few pics, hope it helps.   

[merc16]

Thank you !! That's the first pics of that angle I've ever seen.

[seega7]

Just installed mine on Christmas Eve. When I first started her up I thought it sounded great. Once up to operating temp. I craked the throttle from idle and man it was loud. Went for a short ride around the neighborhood and just smoothly going through the gears it sounds really good. Deep and throaty, kinda like a Harley. Rev it and it ROARS ! Haven't had a chance to go for an extended ride due to the weather but I have an Ejk on the way and I really want to see the b/f and after install difference. Initial impression is that it's louder than expected, but I think it sounds great. Didn't think to unplug the sensor prior to unscrewing and reinstalling, but once reinstalled I did and untwisted the wires. 

[seega7]

I had two bolts that were leftover from the original exhaust mounting . Just wanted to confirm that you did as well. ? Did you use a torque wrench on the header nuts ? I just tightened mine with a socket wrench. I think the only somewhat complicated part of the install was getting the nut onto the bolt for the bracket that goes around the actual muffler. Not much space there. P.S.  A very small amount of lithium grease on the gaskets worked well for me too.

[pineappleunderthesea]

I had two bolts that were leftover from the original exhaust mounting . Just wanted to confirm that you did as well. ? Did you use a torque wrench on the header nuts ? I just tightened mine with a socket wrench. I think the only somewhat complicated part of the install was getting the nut onto the bolt for the bracket that goes around the actual muffler. Not much space there. P.S.  A very small amount of lithium grease on the gaskets worked well for me too.

Yes, I did have two bolts left over as well, I believe they were for the stock exhaust.  They're now safely in my FZ-07 parts bin! 
I did use a torque wrench on the header nuts, simply because I have one handy, otherwise I would have done my typical "tight plus a quarter turn".  I might recheck those after an extended ride, a couple of the nuts were really easy to take off when removing the stocker.  The manual doesn't call for loctite with those bolts it seems.
 
The only step that truly worried me was removing those two hex bolts near the footrest.  My hex key slipped on the bottom one, was worried I'd strip the darn things.  

[lbv]

Is that a mini-cat I see on the very first pic right at the bottom? Is it included or an extra purchase item?

[pineappleunderthesea]

Is that a mini-cat I see on the very first pic right at the bottom? Is it included or an extra purchase item?

If you're talking about that sort of hump, no, it's not a cat, it's where the two header pipes converge into one. There's a Y-adapter (called a collector) that is attached to combine the 2 header pipes to the single exhaust pipe. You might see it better on the pictures showing the underside. 
It appears that Akrapovic does sell catalytic converters for the FZ-07 (saw them on the Akrapovic website), they're little canisters that fit into the muffler inlet pipe.  Not sure if they work for the Carbon exhaust, though, they do seem to work for the Titanium.  But if the inlet pipe diameter is the same on the Carbon as it is on the Titanium, I don't see why they wouldn't work.
 

[pineappleunderthesea]

For those interested in a sound comparison between stock and with the Carbon exhaust, Akrapovic has this neat little sound comparison tool:
 
 
Akrapovic carbon vs stock sound comparo
 
 
You can also go to their Motorcycle exhaust tab and Titanium exhaust if you want to see what that sounds like (to me they're very close).

[gregjet]

Both Akra and GPR ( there may be others) make special cylinder shaped cats with 100cells/sq" so they have almost NO restriction. Most cats are 200 or 400 c/sq" and restrict the flow. They are ceramic and last a very long time. They work as well as the big cats and for longer.
Akro himself said that people were being ripped off as the huge expensive cats on motorcycles and cars were inefficient, heavy and overpriced.
I run my snail Akro with baffle and cat. Dyno 'd with and without baffle and IN was more power ( not really significantly though) but I had the ecu tuned with the baffles so not entirely surprising.