Video: Akrapovic adds more power to Kawasaki Z1000

Watch this exclusive MCN video to see the fitting of a full Akrapovic exhaust to my long term test Kawasaki Z1000 motorcycle, which not only dropped loads of weight off the motorcycle but also gave another 11bhp.

The Kawasaki Z1000’s stock exhausts are the only ‘Marmite’ part of the motorcycle, judging by MCN readers’ comments, which range from ‘distinctive’ to ‘minging’.

Find parts and accessories for your motorcycle with MCN’s Parts and Clothing section, here.

But love ’em or hate ’em, you can’t get away from the fact theKawasaki exhausts are bloody heavy. Just how heavy was revealed when I took the motorcycle to Dave Cooper Racing in Kettering (01536-519200).

With deft spanner work by DCR’s Matt Norman, the Kawasaki Z1000‘s exhausts were taken off and weighed up at a barely believable 15kg – and that doesn’t include all the cables and other bits associated with the butterfly exhaust valve in the left side, which adds another 600g.

It’s hardly surprising when you realise there are four cats inside – two in the collector pipes under the engine and one in each end can.

I’d been looking for a new aftermarket exhaust for some time, but because the Kawasaki Z1000 was relatively late to the European market, it took a while for products to become available.

They’re turning up now, starting with a full exhaust system for the Kawasaki Z1000 from Slovenian masters of titanium, Akrapovic (0870-240-2118).