Listen to the Superleggera start and rev...

Gigantor, I think you need to read TJ99's response to acowsik. I read that to clarify that the SL comes with road-homologated Akra silencers but that the headers that are factory-mounted are full Ti. The racing parts kit has the track only Akra silencers and Y - pipe that add 5 hp.

JeffD said:

Gigantor, I think you need to read TJ99's response to acowsik. I read that to clarify that the SL comes with road-homologated Akra silencers but that the headers that are factory-mounted are full Ti. The racing parts kit has the track only Akra silencers and Y - pipe that add 5 hp.

Click to expand...

For those of you who run Akras on the regular 1199 bikes, is that a street homologated kit or is it made for the track? This really makes me wonder what kind of pipes does Akra really make..

While its an interesting debate to what I have learnt from my observations on the pictures of the racing kit vs the things TJ has posted here, its still a gray area IMO and neither of us may be 100% true. Unless Jarel or someone who can get more inside knowledge on these fine details has solid proof to share with us, its all speculation at this point.

However TJs point about street homologated Akras as the stock system still puzzles me as Akrapovic wouldnt market something without their brand logo on the silencers. I see it as two possibilities..

1. The header pipes are from Akrapovic as per what TJ says and they just fitted titanium silencers (I am making a blind assumption here that they are made by Ducati as support to my above statement) to be able to send bikes out in crates as street ready and the race kit from Akra are slip-ons which when fitted actually make it look like a full Akra system installed with its suitable up-map.

2. The stock system is just a titanium exhaust system from Ducati and the race kit from Akra is just a slip-on kit.

JeffD said:

Gigantor, I think you need to read TJ99's response to acowsik. I read that to clarify that the SL comes with road-homologated Akra silencers but that the headers that are factory-mounted are full Ti. The racing parts kit has the track only Akra silencers and Y - pipe that add 5 hp.

Click to expand...

Sorry if I'm wrong, but here are two of his posts side by side:

TJ99 said:

A full ti (headers excepted, which are steel because they get too hot to be ti) Akra system is ALREADY on the bike. The racing kit comes with an additional, racing exhaust. You're not going to increase the performance of the SL by changing the exhaust, believe me.

Click to expand...

TJ99 said:

Hi Acowsik,

please take a look at my location, and understand that I'm not guessing here

The stock system is Akra, with full ti pipes (except for the steel headers as I mentioned). The racing exhaust is also Akra, and only replaces the y-pipe and silencers because there's no performance to be gained by replacing the rest of the system.

Click to expand...

Makes it sound like the y-pipe and silencers are the titanium pieces that are included with the SL and that the headers are steel. What I AM confused about is that he says 'full akra exhaust,' but mentions steel headers, when the aftermarket full akra is in fact titanium from the block all the way back.

acowsik said:

For those of you who run Akras on the regular 1199 bikes, is that a street homologated kit or is it made for the track? This really makes me wonder what kind of pipes does Akra really make..

While its an interesting debate to what I have learnt from my observations on the pictures of the racing kit vs the things TJ has posted here, its still a gray area IMO and neither of us may be 100% true. Unless Jarel or someone who can get more inside knowledge on these fine details has solid proof to share with us, its all speculation at this point.

However TJs point about street homologated Akras as the stock system still puzzles me as Akrapovic wouldnt market something without their brand logo on the silencers. I see it as two possibilities..

1. The header pipes are from Akrapovic as per what TJ says and they just fitted titanium silencers (I am making a blind assumption here that they are made by Ducati as support to my above statement) to be able to send bikes out in crates as street ready and the race kit from Akra are slip-ons which when fitted actually make it look like a full Akra system installed with its suitable up-map.

2. The stock system is just a titanium exhaust system from Ducati and the race kit from Akra is just a slip-on kit.

Click to expand...

I outlined two of his posts above, but I don't think it clarifies anything.

The full akra kit that I received is not US CARB compliant nor 'street legal,' and it is the only kit they sell to consumers.

acowsik said:

For those of you who run Akras on the regular 1199 bikes, is that a street homologated kit or is it made for the track? This really makes me wonder what kind of pipes does Akra really make..

While its an interesting debate to what I have learnt from my observations on the pictures of the racing kit vs the things TJ has posted here, its still a gray area IMO and neither of us may be 100% true. Unless Jarel or someone who can get more inside knowledge on these fine details has solid proof to share with us, its all speculation at this point.

However TJs point about street homologated Akras as the stock system still puzzles me as Akrapovic wouldnt market something without their brand logo on the silencers. I see it as two possibilities..

1. The header pipes are from Akrapovic as per what TJ says and they just fitted titanium silencers (I am making a blind assumption here that they are made by Ducati as support to my above statement) to be able to send bikes out in crates as street ready and the race kit from Akra are slip-ons which when fitted actually make it look like a full Akra system installed with its suitable up-map.

2. The stock system is just a titanium exhaust system from Ducati and the race kit from Akra is just a slip-on kit.

Click to expand...

Most of these full on race systems are not street legal or at least in certain states due to DB levels and emissions hence they come separately with the bike and are usually titled race only.

I would be very surprised if it was not a full system and you will find that the headers are probably already made by akra and its just the silencers that have been put on to make the regulators happy, so assumption 1 should be correct.

reganc said:

Most of these full on race systems are not street legal or at least in certain states due to DB levels and emissions hence they come separately with the bike and are usually titled race only.

I would be very surprised if it was not a full system and you will find that the headers are probably already made by akra and its just the silencers that have been put on to make the regulators happy, so assumption 1 should be correct.

Click to expand...

I was leaning to that too and it would be a huge disappointment if it ended being slip-ons instead of full..

hmmm....
I think it's something in between.
I just had a look again on http://www.asphaltandrubber.com/wp-...s/2014-ducati-1199-superleggera-studio-03.jpg

So the racing kit includes Ti slipons (street version seems to be steel) and a y-piece that has no stupid valve in it.

The tubes itself are Ti and as far as I could see on all pictures available are a bit bigger in diameter than R and S.

I am not so sure like everybody here that the exhaust system has anything to to with Akra.
It's just the slipons that look similar. Welding at the tubes doesn't look Akra at all. My 2 cents.

Ok, I am confused

Akrapovi?

From the link above:

What is so special about the Akrapovič exhaust; why does it differ from the rest? That's the easy part"¦

All titanium alloy construction - only system of this type in market
Heat resistant carbon end cap and protection shields
substantial power and torque gains over standard exhaust
Removable noise reduction insert
Weight reduction of 4.8kg (10.6lb) over standard exhaust system

So the full aftermarket Akro exhaust appears to be different.

Woah guys! A lot of misunderstanding here. Maybe it's the terminology I'm using, let me try to make it crystal clear.

First off - everything is Akrapovic. The tubes, the y-pipe, the standard silencers, and the race silencers. The bike comes with 2 sets of Akrapovic exhausts. They are all Akrapovic. There are no other silencers that are not Akrapovic. (clear???)

The headers - which are very short pieces that connect directly to the engine heads - are stainless steel, and stay that way regardless of whether bike is in standard or race kit configuration. As stated before this is for temperature reasons, overheated ti is not good.

Everything after the headers, even in the standard configuration, is titanium. The race kit includes among its items the y-pipe (which does not have the valve), and two race silencers, which add 5hp. Aside from this the race kit does not include an alternative set of exhaust tubes, because the bike is equipped as standard, in street homologated form, with large diameter full titanium exhaust tubes (with the exception of the steel headers as I just explained). So, changing these tubes won't lead to increased performance, it's the replacement of the homologated silencers which frees up the additional hp.

That's as clear as I think I can possibly make it...

Ti headers can be problematic, as they are typically thinner than their steel counterparts by as much as 50%. Combine that with the fact that ti gets brittle under extreme heat (which you'll have at/near the block) and it leads to issues with cracking (from motor vibration at high RPMs)

It's not uncommon to see ti used everywhere except the header. Sure, there are places that will sell you a full ti system, but show me one that will do so with a full 2-year warranty.

The shape of the manifold/header is the only thing that will give you a performance edge, not the material it is made out of (modulo some weight savings). In the case of the SL, considering the lengths they went through to save weight everywhere possible, you can be sure it's not a cost issue.

i am still looking for someone to open up the akra cans. i wanna see what they look like inside.

i pay you a beer.






or two. (and the rivets to close them again)

acowsik said:

While its an interesting debate to what I have learnt from my observations on the pictures of the racing kit vs the things TJ has posted here, its still a gray area IMO and neither of us may be 100% true. Unless Jarel or someone who can get more inside knowledge on these fine details has solid proof to share with us, its all speculation at this point.

Click to expand...

Sorry one more thing…acowsik I guess you didn't take my hint. I'm not speculating. I work for Ducati. I'm a project manager for the bike. You're not going to meet anyone who has more knowledge about it. You can take what I say as the truth. Got it now?

TJ99: Thank you very much for this valuable input!!!!
I really hope to get it soon. It's such an amazing bike and I think you guys do a fantastic job.

One thing that really is mysterious for my: how can such a setup pass EU regulations?
I guess this question will stay unanswered forever ))

So.........care to shed some light on the electronics package and how it differs from a performance standpoint?

And thank you for joining this forum and discussing this project openly, I admire the fact that Ducati was willing to put together such a special bike.

Tell you what guys it's nighttime here and time to get off the forum. I'll check back tomorrow morning and respond to your questions, ok?

Awesome. Customer service at its best.

TJ99 said:

Sorry one more thing"¦acowsik I guess you didn't take my hint. I'm not speculating. I work for Ducati. I'm a project manager for the bike. You're not going to meet anyone who has more knowledge about it. You can take what I say as the truth. Got it now?

Click to expand...

I have the GoGo's song "Our Lips Are Sealed" playing like a broken record in my head...

gigantor said:

Sorry if I'm wrong, but here are two of his posts side by side:





Makes it sound like the y-pipe and silencers are the titanium pieces that are included with the SL and that the headers are steel. What I AM confused about is that he says 'full akra exhaust,' but mentions steel headers, when the aftermarket full akra is in fact titanium from the block all the way back.

Click to expand...

Thanks for clarifying for me. It's all a bit pedantic now. I'm miles from getting an SL so unless it comes up in Trivial Pursuit I'm OK being in the dark.

Sounds beefy~!