Adventures in Wrenching: The Akrapovic Mission

Yesterday did indeed kick ass - not only did Adam and I rock the shit out of Full Spectrum Warrior and complete it, Dallas and I got together to have a go at his bike and install the new Akrapovic slip-on exhaust that he picked up last weekend. We approached the mission with the usual degree of caution and preparation, in that we started ripping bits off the bike and figuring shit out as we went. I can hear the professional wrenchers groaning now, but honestly I reckon that's the best way to learn, and it's a whole hella lot more fun than doing line-by-line from a manual, so bollocks to you.

Mission Akrapovic :: Wail of the Banshee

Sure, there were a couple of points where we reckoned we'd bitten off more than we could chew, but it's actually a fairly simple process once you have it all figured out. Once again, I reap the benefits of Dallas being the guinea-pig for the entire process, and reckon that when we do mine (whatever exhaust I decide on) it will take around half as long. I was really happy with how it all turned out and I think Dallas is too - if he can hear anything after screaming home on I-66 testing out his new baby that is. Today is bright and sunny, perfect for a ride so I'm sure he'll be enjoying that bitch! Once again, our mission accomplished. Why are we doing this? Well, aside from my previous mods post:

• The joy of having something different to other riders


• It sounds awesome


• The dyno chart improvements

For me, that third reason is pretty compelling. While we ride mainly street, the exhaust seems like the easiest / cheapest way to flatten out that hole in the midrange stock exhaust without getting really technical with power commanders, remapping and all that shit. The improvement's really quite marked:


Rock - onto the next weekend modification!