Motorcycle Exhausts

Full system, slip-on or header: what's actually different

Before brand or finish, the real choice is how much of the exhaust you are replacing.

All three are on this shelf. An Akrapovic Evolution Line full system for a Honda Fireblade (S-H10E6-APLT) is the header-back kind. This particular listing is Akrapovic's HRC-kit version: the manufacturer states it is "designed for use on a race-prepared motorcycle at competition circuits only" and that it "does not fit on a stock Honda CBR1000RR-R." An Akrapovic Slip-on Line dual muffler for a BMW (S-B16SO5-HZAAT) is the smaller kind. An Akrapovic headpipe for a Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade/SP (E-H10E2), now marked discontinued on the manufacturer's own listing, is the header sold on its own. Slip-ons are the biggest of the three on this shelf: 532 listings against 145 full systems and 144 headers or link pipes. The full range by make is on the slip-on mufflers page. Beyond those three, there is also a wide run of individual parts for a repair, not a whole new system: springs, mounting kits, heat shields, all gathered on the exhaust parts and accessories page.

Will it fit my bike?

All 1,545 exhausts on this shelf carry a fitment tag. Filtering by make is safe to trust. You do not need to work around it. Yamaha (300 listings), universal-fit systems (270), BMW (230), Honda (229) and Kawasaki (222) cover most of it between them. Suzuki, Triumph, Aprilia, Ducati, KTM, Vespa and CFMoto fitments are also listed. A universal system bolts to more than one model. It still needs checking against your bike's own mounting points. A model-specific system is tagged to an exact machine, often to an exact generation of it. The same model name can take a different exhaust before and after a mid-life update, so check the year as well as the name before ordering.

Terms you'll see on our listings

• Can: the visible box that quietens the exhaust. Riders call an aftermarket one "an aftermarket can" or "an E-marked can".
• Baffle or dB killer: the noise-reducing insert inside the can. Riders use both terms almost interchangeably, though strictly a dB killer is the removable or welded part fitted inside the baffle housing.
• Link pipe: the pipe connecting the engine side to a slip-on can, sold on its own, such as the Akrapovic Link Pipe SS for a Yamaha T-Max (L-Y5R3).
• Headers, headpipes or collector: the pipework straight off the engine, ahead of the mid-section, such as the Akrapovic Headpipes TI for a Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade/SP (E-H10E2).
• "With CAT": a system built to keep its catalytic converter fitted instead of removing it, such as the LeoVince LV One EVO stainless system for a Triumph (14385EK), whose title on this shelf says "with CAT" (the manufacturer's own product page for it does not use the term).

Is it road legal?

That depends on the exact product you buy, not the brand it comes from. It is the one question worth settling before you order rather than after. UK law requires a silencer to be kept in good working order and never altered to increase the noise it makes, and lets a system instead comply through a marking under ECE Regulation 51.02: the "E-mark" riders look for stamped on the silencer. At an MOT, a tester is not checking a decibel figure: the current DVSA inspection manual for motorcycles describes the pass as a judgement, that the noise from the bike is "not clearly unreasonably above the level expected from a similar motorcycle with a standard silencer in average condition." There is also a separate roadside offence for excessive noise, independent of the MOT, so a bike can pass its MOT and still be stopped.

Both Akrapovic and LeoVince sell exhausts on both sides of that line, under the same brand name. LeoVince's own homologation guidance is explicit that on a road-legal system the dB-killer has to be welded on, not removable, and that the product ships with a certificate confirming it. Some Akrapovic listings, by contrast, state plainly that the product does not meet emission compliance requirements for street or highway use. Others carry Akrapovic's own EC, ECE and EPA badges instead: the BMW slip-on cited above (S-B16SO5-HZAAT) lists all three, each linked to a downloadable type-approval certificate. One title on this shelf, a LeoVince LV Race Exhaust System Ece/EU (14372EBK), even carries both signals in its own name. That is exactly why the name is not what to check. Look at the marking on the silencer itself. Not the badge on the box. Ask the parts desk before you order if it matters how you plan to use the bike.

Insurance follows the same split, but insurers do not agree with each other and it is worth checking yours rather than assuming. One major UK broker lists road-legal silencers and full systems as accepted as standard, with nothing to declare. Another lists aftermarket end cans and full systems in its modifications table, accepting them where they carry BSAU193 or E-mark approval, and rating a full system as a bigger change to cover than an end can. A non-road-legal exhaust needs declaring either way. Not declaring a modification risks a claim being refused. Tell your own insurer what you have fitted. Get the answer from them.

Does fitting an aftermarket exhaust void the warranty?

Fitting an aftermarket exhaust does not automatically void a warranty in the UK. But there is no single rule that covers every bike, and the American claim that federal law protects aftermarket parts has no force here. Cars have that kind of protection under EU block exemption rules, which guarantee owners the right to use independent parts and workshops. Motorcycles are specifically excluded, because the regulation only applies to vehicles with three or more wheels. That leaves each manufacturer to set its own terms, and they do not agree with each other. BMW says it will only reject a claim if the specific fault traces back to the aftermarket part. Ducati voids the warranty for any non-original part or any work by an unauthorised workshop. Harley-Davidson does not require a dealer to fit the part at all, as long as it is of similar spec and quality to the original. Check your own manufacturer's position before you fit anything. It genuinely varies that much.

Tuning, fitting and what actually goes wrong

An engine's fuelling is set up around its standard exhaust. Changing the exhaust changes the airflow it was set up for. Take enough restriction out, most obviously with a full system and less so with a slip-on. The bike can then run leaner than it should, sometimes with a flat spot, until the fuelling is adjusted to match. That is a job for a dyno and someone who knows what they are doing, not a guess.

In the two reviews we've read for one slip-on fitment, the exhaust spring (the one that hooks the can to its hanger) came up as the fiddly part, with the rest of the job described as simple. That is not enough to say fitting is always easy, only what came up when it went well. A mild-steel system will rust in time. Stainless resists it for far longer. A header or link pipe bought to pair with a slip-on is worth checking against the mid-pipe it has to mate to before you order both. That is the pairing the table above is pointing at.

All of it is for sale here at 10% off RRP, with free UK delivery available: full systems, slip-ons, headers and link pipes, across every fitment above. If you are not sure which of the three you actually need, the parts desk will talk it through before you order, not after.