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99 Posts
I just received my Zard exhaust today after a three week wait for their made to order low mount slip on. I purchased mine off Amazon and it was shipped 2nd day air directly from Zard in Italy (a pleasant surprise). This exhaust is built by skilled hands and you can see it in all of the individual pieces that come together to form a true work of art. Lots of attention to detail and impeccable fit and finish. I weighed the original exhaust after removal to compare the weight difference as they claim a 3.5 kg drop in weight and sure enough that is what I came up with on my digital hanging scale.
Installation was a breeze as there was only two mounting bolts and the retaining spring to remove the old unit. The new exhaust uses the same retaining spring coupled with a steel hose type clamp that affixes the forward mounted heat shield against the inlet pipe. The rear mounted bolt was not supplied and the original was too long. I had a replacement on hand as it is a popular size and I sandwiched the hanger with a couple rubber grommets to quell vibration. I painted the exhaust hanger flat black which cleans up the look allowing you to focus on the exhaust itself. I also painted the back side on the Zard badge to help make it stand out.
The sound this thing makes is impressively loud, probably louder than what most people would like and that is with the db killers in. I myself love the sound and find it intoxicating. It does pop and crackle on decel but the factory exhaust did that as well, it was just a lot quieter doing it through the cat and large expansion chamber under the swingarm. My biggest problem now is I can't stop looking at my bike and this is infringing on my riding time.
I have a couple more projects planned that will help tie it all together. One of which I will post as "Zard guard". Stay tuned as there is more to come.
Installation was a breeze as there was only two mounting bolts and the retaining spring to remove the old unit. The new exhaust uses the same retaining spring coupled with a steel hose type clamp that affixes the forward mounted heat shield against the inlet pipe. The rear mounted bolt was not supplied and the original was too long. I had a replacement on hand as it is a popular size and I sandwiched the hanger with a couple rubber grommets to quell vibration. I painted the exhaust hanger flat black which cleans up the look allowing you to focus on the exhaust itself. I also painted the back side on the Zard badge to help make it stand out.
The sound this thing makes is impressively loud, probably louder than what most people would like and that is with the db killers in. I myself love the sound and find it intoxicating. It does pop and crackle on decel but the factory exhaust did that as well, it was just a lot quieter doing it through the cat and large expansion chamber under the swingarm. My biggest problem now is I can't stop looking at my bike and this is infringing on my riding time.
I have a couple more projects planned that will help tie it all together. One of which I will post as "Zard guard". Stay tuned as there is more to come.
. The exhaust fits the bikes style extremely well, in the flesh better than in the pics. Craftsmanship is a piece of art. The sound is very 2 cylindric now, louder, still decent, but more agressive. 
