Panigale Vision

[BMW Alpina]

Test fitting the new silencers and carbon cover before I reinstall the titanium headers.
Going to stick some better heat shielding on the carbon guard to protect the inside of my legs a little more. Heat really won’t be too much of a problem anyway since ill be eliminating the coil under the seat now but every bit helps.
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Hi Andy7,
I like (LOVE) the Akrapovic much better than the Vandemon, not only the Akrapovic looks better in my personal opinion but because it's an Akrapovic

But again, if I am not mistaken (from previous posts), the titanium header is from Vandemon, right? How do you know they will fit perfectly (Vandemon Titanium Header and Akrapovic Rear Dual Pipe/Silencer)?

Or maybe I am wrong, and the titanium header is also Akrapovic?

 

[Andy7]

Hi Andy7,
I like (LOVE) the Akrapovic much better than the Vandemon, not only the Akrapovic looks better in my personal opinion but because it's an Akrapovic

But again, if I am not mistaken (from previous posts), the titanium header is from Vandemon, right? How do you know they will fit perfectly (Vandemon Titanium Header and Akrapovic Rear Dual Pipe/Silencer)?

Or maybe I am wrong, and the titanium header is also Akrapovic?

Correct again, the headers are VanDemon which I am more than happy with the quality of (without paying the Akra tax).

The outer diameter of the Akrapovic silencers are a perfect fit to slide into the VanDemon pipes just behind the right rearset.
I will cut the Akra off at the right length (hence the test fit) so I’ll be able to slide the silencers right into the spot where the Vandemon ones would usually go.
Once I’m happy it all fits together nicely I’ll take it to a professional so they can weld a sleeve at the correct point to support the join & also a spring catch so the two pipes can be mated together and supported as strong as the original mufflers

 

[Andy7]

And with that the VanDemon pipes are back on. Nice and blue still from the last time I (briefly) had them installed.

 

[Andy7]

Quite a snug fit although it could be a little bit tighter so I’ll defintiely have to weld a ring around the pipe to ensure it sits In the right position then maybe even use a clamp to guarantee there is no tiny leak escaping from the join. Very happy with the result so far. Will update later on again once I’ve installed the carbon guard and tightened everything fully.

 

[Andy7]

Finished up for the moment. Now I know what parts need some small adjustments to make it all sit comfortably but that will probably happen in a few days.
Ran it for a few mins to see how it sounded and extremely happy with the result. Not so loud it’ll draw too much attention but a much nicer growl than the stock cans.

 

[BMW Alpina]

Finished up for the moment. Now I know what parts need some small adjustments to make it all sit comfortably but that will probably happen in a few days.
Ran it for a few mins to see how it sounded and extremely happy with the result. Not so loud it’ll draw too much attention but a much nicer growl than the stock cans. View attachment 2897

Hi Andy7,
Can you please give us your opinion regarding how the Akrapovic muffler sound compare to the Vandemon muffler in term of, Loudness, Pitch (deeper or higher pitch) during idle, and overall tone during higher RPM?
Which one you prefer more? Thanks

 

[Andy7]

@BMW Alpina the full VanDemon system is extremely throaty, too loud almost even for us in Australia as police from time to time decide to be strict on that kind of thing.
It sounds savage and the higher you rev it the deeper it goes before you start hearing some crackling and seeing sparks.

This Akra set has extra packing/bungs in the mufflers I can take a photo of both sets later to give you an idea of what I’m talking about. What that does is keep the overall volume a bit lower (not a lot, just enough to stay undetected) but maintain the deeper tone you would normally miss out on with the standard exhaust.
I know the cameras never pick up the sound of bikes that well but I’ll make a short comparison video soon to try show you what I mean

 

[BMW Alpina]

I am looking forward to hear your video, in the meantime,

I believe your new exhaust will sounds spectacular when you rev it just like in this video (from 0:14 second to 0:18 second of this YouTube video)

 

[Andy7]

I am looking forward to hear your video, in the meantime,

I believe your new exhaust will sounds spectacular when you rev it just like in this video (from 0:14 second to 0:18 second of this YouTube video)

I think I’ve watched that promo video about 100 times as I just can’t get enough of the 1299FE. But it sounds very similar to what you hear in the video.

Today was spent cutting and grinding some pieces to ensure I’ll have a perfect connection between the silencers and the pipes. Tomorrow I’m taking a few bits in to town where I’ll get someone with experience fabricating titanium exhausts to neatly weld the two pieces together for me so it’s tidy and doesn’t leak + they might be able to sell me some more heat shielding (rather than ordering online and having to wait) so I can re-line the inside of my guard for some more protection.

Hopefully this time tomorrow it will all be fitted up nicely so I can move onto the next little modifications.

 

[Andy7]

My part is gonna take a few days to be completed so I’ll have to wait until next week to get everything back together. That’ll give me a chance to clean everything I can reach while the fairings are off which is satisfying until I ride down the driveway next and the dust finds its way in to all the crevices again.

 

[Andy7]

Saturday arvo here, finished up work at about 4:30 and had the energy to pull some more bits apart.
Took me an hour or so to get these brackets off & rearsets separated with minimal blood/tears/swearing
I would have done it during the week but I’d been racking my brains on how to support the rear of the bike while these mounting points were off and hadn’t come up with anything.
Luckily the smith machine in my home gym makes for a good bike hoist (even if the workspace is a bit cramped).

 

[Andy7]

After finding out on Wednesday nobody up near home could help me out with my titanium welding job I jumped onto google to locate an engineer/mechanic who could get the job done. Exchanged a few emails Wednesday evening and booked the job in with Bruce from Precision one engineering

Took the opportunity to jump on the Tuono and go for a ride down to Sydney on Friday sampling the putty road for the first time (a very popular & scenic drive).

In his emails Bruce mentioned he had a lot of experience with custom titanium exhaust jobs as he has rebuilt a few of his own bikes as well as others through the years so I was confident the end result would be of a good standard.
Any mention of bikes gets me pretty excited but I certainly wasn’t expecting to arrive and see a collection like to these two stunning machines.





An immaculate 998R(S) wsbk spec race bike. More carbon, titanium and magnesium than I’ve ever seen in my life I think, and not just a garage queen either. That’s his dedicated track bike I found out weighed a little less than 160kg and came back at 149hp when it was dyno tested. I don’t know how often it gets thrashed round the track but I have no doubt it would be extremely competitive even next to some of the current superbikes.
The second is a recently acquired 748R which he has completed a full reconditioning of to register for road riding. It’ll receive the same carbon/ti upgrades for any parts that aren’t already optimised and a very beautiful sight with the fairings removed. @BMW Alpina I know you’ll appreciate those termi pipes.

Now the job - I’m extremely impressed with the finished result here.



I need to take some better photos tomorrow but I had to post quickly before I fall asleep. 7 hour ride home is pretty tiring after all. Can’t describe the feeling properly (one of those If you know, you know kinda things) but seeing the attention and care devoted to those two Ducati’s put me in a great mood which unfortunately was dampened when passing through a horrific scene on the way home very shortly after two cars collided with each other.

 

[BMW Alpina]

Thanks so much for the picture Andy7 ,
Looking at those bikes always bring back my memories on the gold old days ,
those trellis frame are just geometrically pleasant to look at, and maybe someday when I have extra money (and time to maintain this bikes) someday, perhaps I could own them that start my love with Ducati

 

[Andy7]

Very easy to see how Ducati gained its reputation when you look at those bikes up close. That 998 would be worth around $60kaud currently!

 

[Andy7]

Sprint Filter arrived today so I’ll replace the old one while the tank is raised. This is just the basic P08 to keep a bit more of the filth out of the system than the more breathable F1 product.



After a very quick sanding to remove a few of the markings I had a quick test fit and was glad to discover my measurements had left me with a spare couple of mm on the vertical insert. I did consider this when I cut it so it wasn’t a complete fluke but it’s still a relief to see I have some extra room to work with when I put it back together.

 

[Andy7]

For sale: slightly used

 

[Andy7]

Decided to bite the bullet tonight and order my new sprockets from AEM. Still got to purchase the front sprocket and chain elsewhere since they do not offer those items. But I have chosen to go with the 520 pitch and increase the stock ratio (15/39) a couple of teeth in the rear to 15/41.
All black besides a gold sprocket carrier just for a subtle glimpse of colour.

 

[Andy7]

Received another delivery today - Spider shock mount. Bought this off a member of the *other forum* so managed to save a bit from buying brand new.



Also picked up my painted bits as well. Beautiful finish and a perfect match to the CNC rearsets. I think I'll be able to reassemble it this weekend and then in a week or two take it up to the dealer once my chain and sprockets have arrived to have them install those + a new rear tyre.

 

[Andy7]

This morning I had 15 mins to kill and I’m impatient to get this thing back together so I can ride it again
Pulled the old engine shock mount off and replaced with the spider one. I do apologise for the dust you can see on the edges, these pics were the initial mock up before I pulled it all off, re-wiped and tightened it all properly before running out of time and returning to work.

 

[BMW Alpina]

This morning I had 15 mins to kill and I’m impatient to get this thing back together so I can ride it again
Pulled the old engine shock mount off and replaced with the spider one. I do apologise for the dust you can see on the edges, these pics were the initial mock up before I pulled it all off, re-wiped and tightened it all properly before running out of time and returning to work.
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The Spider Shock Mount looks lighter and stronger