Custom Exhaust -- Why?

[so1102]

I'm on the fence about an exhaust, but I may still wind up putting one on my bike someday.  Up to this point, all of my investments have been focused around safety or performance (suspension, lighting, mirrors, etc).  Well, I did blow $65 US on a pair of carbon fiber heel guards, but they just look bad-ass.
 
Let me explain why I am still on the fence about an exhaust:
 
[ul type=disc][*]They cost a lot of money (some of them upwards of $1000 US, + another $300 or so for an ECU flash or fuel controller just to make your bike run correctly afterward)[*]They really don't improve performance in a statistically significant way (especially when you do 90-100% of your riding on the streets)[*]"Loud pipes save lives" is largely a myth, and really only works if you are right next to someone and they have their window down.  (You're better off wearing hi-vis or bright colored gear)[/ul][div]
So I want to hear from you -- why did you decide to make the investment?[/div]
 

[Tyler Jane]

It sounds silly, but honestly I just wanted my bike to sound like a bike. Stock exhaust sounded more like a sewing machine, and I just wanted my bike to command a bit more attention.
 
The funny thing is that this doesn't really jive with my personality. I'm extremely introverted and soft spoken and it's not like me to want a lot of attention. But something about a loud exhaust just fits. I love to let the little bike roar through tunnels and under the overpasses; it just kind of makes me feel like a badass
 
But also it helps a ton with lanesplitting. Cars are MUCH more likely to notice me and scoot over a bit. Since I commute almost every single day on the bike, it's pretty invaluable.

[xtrapsi]

What, no 'all of the above' option??

[pattonme]

I think the point is to identify your TRUE motivation. No doubt lots of people would claim "all of the above". The only reason I install aftermarket exhaust is so I can relish the noise. You haven't lived till you've heard a 'priller with 2-1-2 pipes with headers big enough to take a fist. Best part is the PO spent the $1300+ on them and the chip. I said "thank you very much" as he took a massive loss on his investment.
 
That is why I only buy used bikes. Nobody puts any serious miles on them and you can get multiple thousand dollar upgrades for pennies on the dollar.

[07echelon]

By purchasing an exhaust you are basically donating money to a team or engineers and manufacturers allowing them to feed themselves and their family, as well supporting business growth. An added bonus is getting a specifically shaped pipe that makes a head turning sound. 
 
I haven't bought an exhaust, but I would, if I REALLY had extra cash. The main reason would be the awesome sound. Second, the looks of the carbon fiber ones match what I want the bike to look like. Third, maybe a bit of loud pipes save lives, but I'm not fully convinced on that either. It really varies from driver to driver. Last on my mind would be performance. I don't do track days and probably wont in the near future. If I did want to do track days consistently though, I would just buy a 10 year old r6/gsxr/cbr/zx6r.
 
As long as you're happy with the bike, then its all cool. 

[Mr.Puss]

@ Tyler Jane pretty much sums up my sentiments to the letter. (Except for lane splitting as its illegal here.)
The bike just has this great strong aesthetic and I felt it was belittled by that sewing machine exhaust. I didnt buy it to draw attention or add myself to the plethora of annoying jackasses reving at stop lights and through quiet neighbourhoods with their straight pipes at 3am etc. I bought it solely for myself and my further enjoyment of the bike and the ride. Now everytime I crank it up it puts a bigger smile on my face. Now it just feels and sounds like how it should've rolling out of the factory, it just feels right. I bought a full SS yoshimura and a ejk and I love every aspect of it. Sure it isnt cheap but IMO its already paid for itself from pure enjoyment.

[hobbs]

I think I have around $600 into my exhaust and fuel controller, maybe a little less. I bought it so I could actually hear the bike at speed over my noisy helmet.
 
I'm happy with the purchase overall. Still kicking after about 16,000 miles and I was able to support a small shop (@marthy) which is all the better.
 
If I could do it again, I maaaaaybe miiight have just bought a Hobart handler 140 (mig welder) with the money. Then I'd make my own exhaust. But hey, that's gonna end up happening anyway because it's a tool I need.

[so1102]

I'm smiling at the poll results. At least you guys are being honest.

[sorkyah]

I purchased the Yoshi stainless exhaust because i have always loved the sound of twin layout engines... and to lose a bit of weight.
i bought the bike as a commuter and a lighter bike = better economy
another reason for the yoshi
dont have to worry about emissions or fueling as it has the O2 bung and i didnt want to worry about a cat. converter at any point in the future
 
With the baffle inserted the idle sound is a bit throaty but nowhere near as loud or barky as without it
 
 

[motomeek]

I didn't vote primarily because... I didn't buy mine. Haha.
 
 
PREFACE: I do believe it depends where you live. Since lane splitting is legal...
I do think it has saved me a few times due to it's volume and I do love that my bike now sounds like a bike and. I also own a hi-viz rain suit and can attest that wearing hi-viz doesn't necessarily mean people will pay more attention to you. We can do our best to try and make us as visible as possible, so adding sound also gives me a piece of mind.
 
 

[ducttapewd40]

I never bought one for my old bike, a 2007 R6, even though I kept getting encouraged to. I honestly liked the look and sound of the stock one and have seen only minimal performance improvement on identical bikes with $1,200ish systems, a $500 tuner, and a day in the dyno room.
 
I do plan on getting one on the FZ07 because I don't like how the stock system looks. For being a naked bike with a completely exposed exhaust, the cat looks like an awkward lump, the welds are a bit ugly, and even the color of the metal doesn't quite fit with the rest of the bike.
 
I do want the extra sound for the added chance I will be noticed in traffic and not run over, but mostly because hearing my own engine just plain adds to the enjoyment I get out of riding a motorcycle. I'll occasionally start up my dirt bike (the loudest one in the garage) and rev it a few times just because I like hearing it. Knowing I could be getting the same satisfaction every time I drive the bike that I ride almost every day in the summer but hearing it through a restricted muffler instead feels like only being able to hear a great musician through a couple layers of drywall.

[conejo]

If I could do it again, I maaaaaybe miiight have just bought a Hobart handler 140 (mig welder) with the money. Then I'd make my own exhaust. But hey, that's gonna end up happening anyway because it's a tool I need.

Budget in a tubing bender too. :-) 
 
Once you have the welder & the bender, you're only a skip and a jump from building a rock crawler! 

[N/A]

OK, I'll admit it, I wanted the bike to look better as the stock exhaust looks like it was designed by a two-year-old.
 
007

[ornery]

I wouldn't be ashamed to admit I made a purchase like that, strictly for aesthetics. Folks pay a LOT of money for things that merely "look good", or sound good in this case. I only have to point to Apple and their less capable iThings to prove that point. And, Dyson, for one more example. Marketing is everything, and aesthetics goes hand in hand with that.
 
I'm more of a form follows function type guy, but I'll spring a few extra bucks for tools and devices that have extra polish and care built into them. In the case of this bike, I feel it gets its due respect when it zips effortlessly through traffic, or wherever it's pointed. No need to advertise I'm far exceeding the speed limit every time I blip the throttle.

[pgeldz]

I got mine for two reasons...sound and weight - in that order
 
- Paulie

[rewplayff]

+1 for I just want to sound fast. haven't bought one yet but I will.

[so1102]

I got mine for two reasons...sound and weight - in that order  
- Paulie

surprised you went with the Akra Ti then instead of the Akra carbon -- you only saved like 4 lbs off of stock, vs potentially -7lbs for the carbon

[pgeldz]

I got mine for two reasons...sound and weight - in that order  
- Paulie

surprised you went with the Akra Ti then instead of the Akra carbon -- you only saved like 4 lbs off of stock, vs potentially -7lbs for the carbon

True, but to my credit, the Ti version came out first... 
...and IMHO looks way better than the carbon version that came out after

[gregjet]

I bought the Akra for the prime reason of weight reduction and accompaning handling and braking improvements ( where I aim most of any initial mods). I would have bought a GPR but wasn't available when I got the Akra ( lighter and cheaper than the Akra).
Nice side benefit is it sounds really fine even with the dB killer in ( no difference in performance and one tuner claimer less hp with it out, though marginal). If someone makes a light 2-2 I will get that ( 90/270deg crank/exhaust discussion other places).

[pantheraleo]

Loud pipes can help you, you just can't count on them solely.
 
But more than the safety factor, I just really like the Yoshi sound. It truly is a dramatic sound change.
 
I spent about 450 for the full system (I think). I got an EJK for 225 afterwards, which makes the throttle response smoother and certainly helps initial burst when you whack the throttle.
 
Also, it dropped the weight by a significant amount...not sure the exact amount (8 pounds?).
 
It also looks way better to me than the abomination that came stock.

[Guest Ralph]

Thing with the 07 is it sounds like a very quiet Briggs & Stratton,
with a pipe on it still sounds like a Briggs & Stratton but with a
knackered silencer, likely something to do with the cam timing,
but I bet and I haven't weighed one the weight saving will be quite
good, the Akrapovič looks good with welding to die for price £585 ish
down from near a grand when the 07 first came out but still a bit high
foe a £5000 bike.

[Beemer]

A part of me agrees with the statement that louder pipes don't save lives because if you think about it there have been a lot of people with loud pipes that weren't noticed and were ran into. The problem with the debate on loud pipes and whether they save lives is the 'Eluding', contributing factors in crashes. E.G. it's not always known or reported whether the person had a little trouble with his/her hearing or what their I.Q. was. (there are some Gump fans on the streets that were barely able to pass the test but they did pass it, so the state gives them a license) they may have been listening to some music really loud or somehow distracted, etc, etc. What I'm saying here is no matter what you do to make yourself safe you are never 100% safe because there is always someone out there that resembles one of the descriptions above. People can always assume this or that about what may have contributed to an accident.
 
On the other side of that coin, every time I pass a car I make sure not to just cruise past them, I'm giving it extra gas to help ensure I'm heard and let off when I'm past them. After doing this with thousands of people and not having been ran into not one time one could also ASSUME that my loud pipe is helping with the majority of the people. One could also ASSUME that maybe I've been so lucky as to not have passed one of the Gump or other types at the wrong place and time but the point is .... no one knows and will never know so who can say with certainty that loud pipes do or don't save lives. Maybe it all comes down to wrong place, wrong time, wrong person to be next to (GUMP) - loud pipe or not. All I know is when I hear a loud bike coming up next to me I stay in my lane and I have to assume most people with good sense, that are paying attention to their driving, that don't have the radio blasting @ 120 db, do the same thing so I believe that for the most part a loud pipe does help because most people are decent, responsible drivers that pay attention to sounds on the road and react accordingly to them instead of play bumper cars with them like some road-tard. Knowing this, people can also assume every time they pass someone safely with a loud pipe that their loud pipe 'may have' contributed toward not having had an accident and just the same, who could say it didn't? Just my take on it. Sorry this was so long.
 
 

[so1102]

A part of me agrees with the statement that louder pipes don't save lives because if you think about it there have been a lot of people with loud pipes that weren't noticed and were ran into. The problem with the debate on loud pipes and whether they save lives is the 'Eluding', contributing factors in crashes. E.G. it's not always known or reported whether the person had a little trouble with his/her hearing or what their I.Q. was. (there are some Gump fans on the streets that were barely able to pass the test but they did pass it, so the state gives them a license) they may have been listening to some music really loud or somehow distracted, etc, etc. What I'm saying here is no matter what you do to make yourself safe you are never 100% safe because there is always someone out there that resembles one of the descriptions above. People can always assume this or that about what may have contributed to an accident. 
On the other side of that coin, every time I pass a car I make sure not to just cruise past them, I'm giving it extra gas to help ensure I'm heard and let off when I'm past them. After doing this with thousands of people and not having been ran into not one time one could also ASSUME that my loud pipe is helping with the majority of the people. One could also ASSUME that maybe I've been so lucky as to not have passed one of the Gump or other types at the wrong place and time but the point is .... no one knows and will never know so who can say with certainty that loud pipes do or don't save lives. Maybe it all comes down to wrong place, wrong time, wrong person to be next to (GUMP) - loud pipe or not. All I know is when I hear a loud bike coming up next to me I stay in my lane and I have to assume most people with good sense, that are paying attention to their driving, that don't have the radio blasting @ 120 db, do the same thing so I believe that for the most part a loud pipe does help because most people are decent, responsible drivers that pay attention to sounds on the road and react accordingly to them instead of play bumper cars with them like some road-tard. Knowing this, people can also assume every time they pass someone safely with a loud pipe that their loud pipe 'may have' contributed toward not having had an accident and just the same, who could say it didn't? Just my take on it. Sorry this was so long.
 

tl;dr; you like em loud.  

[hobbs]

There's a reason cop cars/ambulances have sirens, flashing lights and trained drivers. All 3 things work to variable degrees of success.

[Beemer]

Yes, I like them loud. I got mine for two reasons, It's a bad-ass bike and it should sound bad-ass. Putting that quiet pipe on it was like castrating it from the start. I gave my bike a reason to be proud with an Akra CF pipe. The other reason is people kept coming into my lane when I was beside them so I wanted to be heard. Since the louder pipe no one has switched lanes into me when I passed them. I think that speaks for itself. Also, what is more easily heard from ten feet away, a whisper or a shout and I've heard plenty of bikes coming up beside me when my window was up so what you said just isn't true.