[Beemer.Bert]

Pipes look beautiful, nice work. After your description of how they looked upon receipt, I'd say job well done.

I think your bike looks great, really tastefully modded. Love the skid plate too - I think I'll have to get one of those.

I appreciate the kind words! Modding this bike has been one of the most fun things I have done with motorcycling. Though, I must admit that the R Nine T is quite difficult to make into something less than incredible looking. The SW-Motech Skid plate is definitely a must have for me. I don't go off-road at all, but here in MD, our roads are not great, and are typically laden with stones and small debris. The bottom of my skid plate shows that it has done its job protecting the sump, and underside of the bike. It is littered with nicks, so I count it as a good investment.

As for the condition of the headers when I received them, feel free to see for yourself how they came in. I'll include some photos below. I was quite displeased, though I realize that I can have unrealistic expectations. That said, it seems as though Akrapovic did absolutely zero in the way of finishing, which I believe is a pretty big oversight.

Pretty Extreme Scratching On End (This is covered when assembled, but it is still unacceptable in my opinion.)

Water Spots, Bend Stress Lines, Scratches, & Factory Printing

Water Spots, Bend Stress Lines, Factory Printing, & Marker Mark Under Spring Loop

Large Scratches

Water Spots

 

[Gaum69]

Sort of kills the whole 'Bike Porn' thing when looking at those headers.

 

[Markan]

What about these then!, Still no date when they will be available, I wonder if fitting these will do away with the butterfly valve!


CarpiMoto - Akrapovic E-B12R5 pipes for BMW NineT - BMW NineT

These Akrapović headers will be my choice.

 

[BaldyDave]

@Beemer.Bert I'm wondering if an email to Akrapovic would be in order? I am wondering if these headers have somehow slipped past final refinishing before despatch. Attach photos and explain the work you had to do to get them right. The pipe ID printing and general messiness is not what you'd expect being sent out from a BMW-approved factory accessory supplier.

You never know you might get some form of compensation, or make the factory tighten their QC procedures...

Excellent work in fixing the pipes though!

 

[Stanley]

I'm running the same set up on my UGS (Akra headers, flap delete and SC Project can). Initially I was a bit disappointed with the headers as they arrived in a similar condition. An hour with a cloth and some GT85 saw a great improvement. A few miles in and they look great! Marks have vanished and colour keeps on improving!

I had to fabricate a new bracket for the silencer. The one supplied by SC was a mile out.
OP... Have you had a remap? Mine is perfect at low/midrange, but possibly feels a bit lean at the top end?

Sent from my SM-A520F using Tapatalk

 

[Stanley]

Update...
I've had the bike on BSD's dyno. With Akrapovic headers and SC Project can, the fuelling was perfect with the throttle wide open, and only slightly lean at part throttle openings. No fuelling mods needed!
At the rear wheel it produced just under 107hp (at 7500rpm) and 80Nm of torque. It made over 65Nm from just 2750rpm! The bhp curve was still rising at 7500rpm, but the noise was deafening!
Installing the baffle reduced the noise significantly, but reduced the power a bit too.

I'm actually thinking of changing the exhaust system to standard, so "might" sell this set up at some point. I've bought a 175bhp KTM. One for speed and one for cruising!

Sent from my SM-T510 using Tapatalk

 

[R9TFWS]

Nice idea ... can I suggest one refinement to the question ..
[1] Best upgrade in terms of appearance
[2] Best performance upgrade.

For me:
[1] Appearance: Black Powder coated valve covers
[2] Performance: Akrapovic Ti catless exhaust headers.

View attachment 137922

Sweet ride....how much and how do the Akrapovik headers improve performance? Throttle response, acceleration, sound, fuel mileage? Which valve covers are these? Stock, powder coated? Thanks 😊

 

[Dauphinais]

Sweet ride....how much and how do the Akrapovik headers improve performance? Throttle response, acceleration, sound, fuel mileage? Which valve covers are these? Stock, powder coated? Thanks 😊

I've moved your post here as not to hijack an existing thread.

 

[Ian_H]

Sweet ride....how much and how do the Akrapovik headers improve performance? Throttle response, acceleration, sound, fuel mileage? Which valve covers are these? Stock, powder coated? Thanks 😊

@R9TFWS I'm no expert but my impression is the bike revs more freely (revs rise quicker), a bit louder, a few more "pops" on deceleration (not to everyone's taste!), no idea on mileage as this isn't something I really check.
I did add a BrenTuning remap as apparently the bikes can run lean with so much additional airflow.
I got the valve covers powder coated by a local company. Not expensive at all.

 

[Chris.]

So; i am also looking at new headers for my urban g/s.

Already fitted the boosterplug and looking to upgrade the headers for looks/better running engine. (Going for either SS or Titanium)

Because of emmision / noise laws in the Netherlands i want to keep my Urban GS as close as possible to stock sound (db wise)... and Akrapovic seems to deliver the quietest headers.

From the akrapovic site i get this info sheet;

Can anyone confirm the headers actualy sound close to stock? (2.3db sound increase)

At the moment i have an AC schtnizer High mount exhaust fitted.. it is a bit quieter than the original. So in the end with headers it should add up to the original "sound level"

I am going to measure the bike in current state (with AC schnitzer) with a DB meter to confirm this.
The end goal is not a louder bike, but a bike that looks and runs better.

 

[Ian_H]

I'm not an expert, but I believe measuring noise in decibels is a logarithmic scale.
So 2.7 db is a bigger rise than you might imagine.
I have the Akrapovic titanium headers and the noise level change is very noticeable. I also have the BMW HP Akrapovic performance exhaust (the single one).
If noise levels concern you - check out the suggestion I've seen for adding a high performance in-line catalyst.
I think removing the catalysts is another big contributing factor to increased noise.
You should know some people will say that the unrestricted air flow of the catless headers can cause the bike to run lean. Others say this is not an issue and the bike will adjust.
Booster plug will help this (apparently).
I went for a Brentuning remap.

 

[Chris.]

I'm not an expert, but I believe measuring noise in decibels is a logarithmic scale.
So 2.7 db is a bigger rise than you might imagine.
I have the Akrapovic titanium headers and the noise level change is very noticeable. I also have the BMW HP Akrapovic performance exhaust (the single one).
If noise levels concern you - check out the suggestion I've seen for adding a high performance in-line catalyst.
I think removing the catalysts is another big contributing factor to increased noise.
You should know some people will say that the unrestricted air flow of the catless headers can cause the bike to run lean. Others say this is not an issue and the bike will adjust.
Booster plug will help this (apparently).
I went for a Brentuning remap.

Thank you for your explanation.
Does the in line high performance catalyst really reduce the noise by a bit? I have asked this question before on the forum but got the answer it did not help reduce the sound.
Mostly it was just there to pass emmission tests; which we dont have here for bikes after they are bought.
I hope to achieve a "Close to standard" sound with the AC Schnitzer high mount exhaust (which sounds a bit quieter than stock) in combination with the Akrapovic headers.

 

[Ian_H]

Thank you for your explanation.
Does the in line high performance catalyst really reduce the noise by a bit? I have asked this question before on the forum but got the answer it did not help reduce the sound.
Mostly it was just there to pass emmission tests; which we dont have here for bikes after they are bought.
I hope to achieve a "Close to standard" sound with the AC Schnitzer high mount exhaust (which sounds a bit quieter than stock) in combination with the Akrapovic headers.

I can't say for certain as I don't have one.
Did the previous replies come from people who own one ?
My personal view is that any type of catalyst will affect gas flow to some amount and would therefore impact noise levels.
I would find an owner to ask.

 

[Chris.]

I do know from personal experience a cat reduces the noise (sometimes quite) a bit. I had a blackwidow header on my NC750X in combination with a Shark DSX 7 exhaust and it was too loud for enjoyment. You get a sort of droning effect. Later i mounted a BOS exhaust (a longer silencer with more dampening) and the sound was fine.

 

[NateE]

are the headers for a 2010 the same as for the 2019? I’m seeing that some places are specifying “2014-16”. By the eye they look the same....

 

[NateE]

Just installed mine yesterday...not too impressed with the finish either (but I come from bicycle world, where the tubes are flawless and seamless)...I just used a degreaser after install and it cleaned it up pretty good. They however sound FANTASTIC. Can’t wait to put more miles on and get the colo changing more (this pic is only after about 30 minutes.)

 

[Chris.]

Just installed mine yesterday...not too impressed with the finish either (but I come from bicycle world, where the tubes are flawless and seamless)...I just used a degreaser after install and it cleaned it up pretty good. They however sound FANTASTIC. Can’t wait to put more miles on and get the colo changing more (this pic is only after about 30 minutes.) View attachment 141193

They look great!.. im still thinking about getting those. What do you think of the sound increase? That is the only thing holding me back; i dont want the bike to get too loud.

 

[NateE]

The sound increase is noticeable, it to be honest I would rather have loud pipes than quiet ones. Loud pipes save lives after all. I only kept the flapper because of hearing people around here say “with __ headers and __ exhaust, it’s waaay to loud, so I put the other muffler back on”when come to find out, it’s quieter than my Harley and MV Agusta was. Don’t get me wrong, it’s loud, but there are 9286484927538 more loud cars and bikes than me on the road.

 

[DomNineT]

Got my Akra Ti headers yesterday - were waiting for me when i got back from riding 450km in the hills with a mate i hadn't seen in 10 years on a Kawasaki 900RS (Beemer had it covered no problem ).

Like others, mine were raw titanium tubing with tube labels, blue pen, scratches, water marks etc etc. Spent an hour and a half with scotchbrite pads (maroon, green, gray in that order) this evening (not perfect but much improved), removed the old headers, and will hopefully get a spare hour to install tomorrow. Can't wait to hear and feel the difference!

Also, can confirm that weight saving is basically bang on 2.8kg.

Cheers, Dom

 

[DomNineT]

Got my Akra Ti headers yesterday - were waiting for me when i got back from riding 450km in the hills with a mate i hadn't seen in 10 years on a Kawasaki 900RS (Beemer had it covered no problem ).

Like others, mine were raw titanium tubing with tube labels, blue pen, scratches, water marks etc etc. Spent an hour and a half with scotchbrite pads (maroon, green, gray in that order) this evening (not perfect but much improved), removed the old headers, and will hopefully get a spare hour to install tomorrow. Can't wait to hear and feel the difference!

Also, can confirm that weight saving is basically bang on 2.8kg.

Cheers, Dom

View attachment 149905

View attachment 149906

View attachment 149907

Got some time to fit the headers this morning. No issues with fitment - but I did need to use a washer under the header flange nuts as the studs were too long as mentioned by others. It was also a bit of an effort getting the tubes together but got there in the end.

The worst part is it's 39deg and full sun 🌞 now so way too hot to try them out. Tomorrow morning to bring in the new year I guess!

Happy new year everyone.

Cheers, Dom