After starting building pipes for road racing in the 90s the Slovenian Exhaust manufacturer Akrapovic stepped into the off road market when Yamaha introduced the their YZ four stroke MX bikes by the year 2000.

As the primary supplier for the KTM MX factory team Akrapovic titanium pipes have been seen in the GP circus for many years now. A state-of-the-art titanium finish and some carbon parts added to the latest generation of pipes are outstanding features. While KTM boys like Tyler Rattray or David Philippaerts win GPs with the help of Akrapovic pipes on their KTMs and also the Suzuki factory team with Kevin Strijbos and Steve Ramon runs Akrapovic products it was time for a realmx.com track test. We checked out if it would help our (and your) Kawasaki KXF450 the same way… at least to gain power and ridability. Winning a GP like the factory boys using the Slovenian products might be a different story.

Our friends at Akrapovic were kind enough to send us a brand new 06 Evolution Line full titanium/ Carbon pipe developed for the new Kawasaki and we were quite impressed from the first moment we received it.

Out of the box the pipe showes off a perfect finish and feather light weight. The stock pipe that already has a titanium front pipe hit the scales at 3,1kg. The Akrapovic unit was at 2,3kg!

A smart combination of springs and bolts guarantees a smooth fitting and avoids strains that would be a big problem for a titanium product. So replacing the already nice stock pipe was done really quick with no further problems.

On the track
Once it started the sound level was just by hearing not much different. There is a dB killer insert inside the Akrapovic silencer that can be taken out but as too much noise is one of the main problems in MX these times we decided to leave it where it is.

On the track the engine started pulling noticeably earlier than the stock unit. The stock pipe produces a snappy power band with a nice mid range hit but within a limited RPM range. With the Akrapovic unit the KXF450 revs slightly smoother without losing its qickness. Like the dyno chart shows also the usable RPM spread is way broader what makes a massive difference when riding the KXF. Shifting action gets less thanks to that.

Upshot
If you want an exhaust system like a real factory rider, you need to check out Akropovic – their titanium beauties will have your bike look even greater and both more rideable and powerfull!

The retail price is 876 Euros (in Germany)

For more information about the Akrapovic product range check out:


www.akrapovic-exhaust.com


and the site of the German importer


www.akrapovic.de