Pipeworx Exhausts

[Rene Seiler]

Aftermarketexhausts are something you either really get...or really don't. The anti camp cites the efficiency of the design of standard cans these days, the increasing use of advanced materials and the ever more restrictive noise and emissions laws that are dropping on our shoulders. And these are all good points. The pro lobby, on the other hand, points out the improved aesthetics, both aural and visual, the reduction in weight and the further improvement in engine efficiency gained from a less restrictive exhaust.

Me, I sit with a foot in each camp. I like my bike to be at least within nodding distance of the legal noise limit, and I recognise the undoubted expertise of the factory exhaust designers. But I also understand that series manufacture is, by necessity, a compromise between performance, legislative requirements in varied markets and cost. And that means that the standard exhaust is going to be restrictive as it needs to be to satisfy the harshest market and made in the most cost effective way possible. Plus modern exhausts are often, to be brutally honest, sinfully ugly.

Specialist pipe benders, be they top end exotica or lesser known brands, have the advantage that they are only trying to do one thing, and that's produce an exhaust that works well, looks good and is, ideally, lighter than standard. The difference is that, because it's all they do, they can generally do it better than the bike manufacturer with fewer compromises and at a lower price.

Of course there are some after market exhaust makers whose products, while beautifully made and with names that give them top bragging rights in the pub, don't perform any better than standard and are considerably more expensive. You know who I'm talking about.

They're a smaller British company, based in Lancashire. They don't have a dealer network, you can only buy online. Which means that their overheads are lower, of course. It also means, to be honest, that they don't have to carry so much stock as pipes can almost be made to order. Yes, that means you have to wait a couple of days. But it also means you can have pretty well anything you ask for, made specifically for you.

What we have here is a road legal carbon slipon can for a GSX-R 750 K8. What actually arrives is the can, carefully and neatly packed, a link pipe to go from the cat to the can, a retaining bracket and a couple of exhaust clamps. The road legal can has a decibel killer fitted as standard, and is BS stamped. You can get a race version which doesn't have the baffle or the stamp, but as it's the work of seconds to remove it, or to refit it, I can't imagine why you wouldn't have the option.

Anyway. Fitting is a doddle. Really - using the extremely clear instructions it took about three minutes to remove the standard can and fit this one. OK, so maybe a bit more because the bolt was seized on the original, but you get my point I'm sure. Fitting really is very very easy.

Now I should say here and now that we don't dyno our bikes, so I can't honestly tell you if there's any real power gain. The seat of the pants says no, though pickup from tickover is a little cleaner and less fluffy. Not exactly a GSX-R problem anyway, but an improvement has got to be a Good Thing, right? The sound is deeper and more sonorous than standard, and it originally seemed as though the volume was about the same. Take out the dB killer and you just get a bit more of the same. Noticeably louder than with the baffle in, but not really over the top. A more scientific test using a noise meter showed that even with the dB killer removed this pipe is just about road legal. It just sounds massively better than standard, and the looks, while obviously subjective, are a league ahead.

We've got ahead of ourselves though. Let's go back to the can itself. The carbon is thick and feels robust. The stainless steel link pipe and end fittings are well polished and look to be well made as well. The X logo laser cut into the dB killer and the top of the exit are neat touches. The mounting bracket is a sturdy affair with a proper piece of rubber inside it rather than the puny efforts that come with some other cans. In short, the quality is genuinely excellent. Oh, and the fit is very good as well. There's no wrestling to get things lined up, they went straight in. Even the clamps and bolts, usually the parts that let exhausts down, are well made and plated to resist the worst of the weather.

Pipe Werx offer their pipes in round, oval and tri-oval configuration. You can have carbon, titanium (both plain and coloured) and polished or powder black stainless steel. If you want something different to the norm, they can do it for you as well though obviously there'll be a cost.

Cost. Ah yes. remember I said that they keep overheads down by only dealing direct? Well they go further than that. Bizarrely, they work from an eBay storefront. Which means they don't have to host anything either. And refreshingly those savings are passed on, at least to a major extent, to you. Astonishingly this exhaust would retail at just 185 plus another tenner for delivery. That's around a quarter of the price of a similar spec exhaust from a big name supplier. That six hundred pounds buys a couple of trackdays and a set of tyres, and that's quite a chunk of money.

So to sum up, Pipe Werx exhausts are well made, seem to work properly, make a nice noise without attracting the long arm of the law, look good, are British and are ludicrously good value for money. Even the titanium can for the GSX-R is well under 300. In fact it's only bikes with twin cans and lots of link pipes that get vaguely pricey. And when I compared them to offerings from, say, Italy or Japan I nearly fell off my chair.

Pipe Werx R11 CarbonEdge Carbon Fibre Tri-Oval UK Street Legal exhaust, grade 304 stainless steel internals, highest grade wadding and built using gas tight rivets. All exhausts come with our lifetime guarantee against manufacturing defects. Included is a 2.5" de-cat link pipe

Sleeve Length of this silencer can be selected from the Drop Down menu Below, we now offer 450mm sleeve length with 50.8mm perforated tube which is the quietest and great for UK Trackday noise limits.

What's included:- Slip on silencer, 2.5" De-cat link pipe, silencer hanging strap, clamps and any necessary fittings.

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