Apologies in advance for all the exhaust questions. I still tossing up between Zard, SC Project & DIY Baffle Removal + LV Decat. The Zard Pentas seem to get the thumbs up from various forums, which means the bike should have more of a market when I eventually sell it. But I'm not sure if I should be getting the Homologated version or not? DUCATI HYPERMOTARD 796 EXHAUST ZARD - Zard Note there are options (I believe, their website is a little strange... ie you can purchase one without selecting either of these... I'm not sure what you get then.. I've sent them an email and asked) STEEL-CARBON RACING STEEL-ALUMINIUM HOMOLOGATED I believe that the Homologated versions are street legal, but if I'm removing the Cat I'm guessing it may no longer be street legal anyway? The SC Projects claim to all be Homologated So any idea if I should be defaulting to the Homologated versions... or if it does not really matter. I'm actually thinking of taking a staged approach to find the right sound level as I don't want anything too offensive or that drones too much.. so I might get the slipons first, try then without DB killers, then the Zard Decat..
I guess this one is down to personal preference so the staged approach may be better for you as for some, when it comes to noise, are of the opinion that too much just ain't enough.
Yeah I think you might be right BrassFlute about the noise level. I have Fazer FZ6 that has twin Devil under seat pipes and still has it's cat. I have one baffle in and one baffle out. Both baffles out is just too loud for commuting each day, it's a bit offensive. But that is not a V Twin.. so it's not as lovely a sound. I used to own a 750SS (1994) and I had Staintunes (Aussie pipes) which I drilled the baffles out on day one and loved it, I would never put them back. Although the older Ducatis did sound pretty special. So I'm just not sure about this... and their aren't enough Ducatis riding around to sample... so as someone said on another thread I think I'll have to go down to the local dealer to see what they have to listen to. But I'm also not sure if I should care about it being Homologated or not... ie would it make my bike illegal and therefor void the insurance... so I'll have to call my insurer and ask them if they care or not. I'm also going to call BSD Performance | The home of motorcycle performance tuning and ask their opinion. They done a few Zards so they should know. I'm going to start another thread on dB readings... I have a professional dB meter that I previously used for my car to make sure it was below the limit for a track. I measured it on the weekend at about 77dB at idle. It has Sports cats (200 cell) and modified mufflers. I have to check the two bikes but it would be interesting to see what people get. There is a free app you can download for you phone and it was consistently about 5 dB less than the professional one so everyone should be able to do this. Should be interesting. I've seen somewhere that the Zards 'racing' with no cats are 102 dB.. that would be too loud for me I think.
In case anyone is interested. I spoke to Zard today. They have 3 versions of their exhaust for a 796 Hypermotard. STEEL-ALUMINIUM RACING (Painted black) - € 851,40 STEEL-CARBON RACING - € 890,10 STEEL-ALUMINIUM HOMOLOGATED (Painted black) - € 890,10
Spoke to BSD today and they say that we don't have MOT emission controls in the UK for motorbikes... yet, so homologated exhausts are not a requirement. So Zard for me I think.
