Your experience with Akrapovic slip-ons.....

[H2RICK]

Since I'm getting closer to an '05 B12, aftermarket exhausts come to mind.
A buddy of mine has a VTR1000 with an Akrapovic Race (not street legal) can
on it and it really sounds great. Akrapovic DOES make a slip-on for the G2 B12's but ONLY in Race type noise levels.....no/no/no street legal version available. Since my B12 would be used exclusively for long distance roadwork (I have other iron for around town/short haul craziness), my questions are:
1) Is there anyone on here using ANY Akrapovic on ANY year B12 ??
2) What is/are your general performance experience(s) ??
3) Can I get away without a jet kit since Akrapovic claims ~8 HP increase over stock WITHOUT any other changes at all ??
4) How loud IS the Race-only Akrapovic compared to the Suzi stock can ??
5) If the Akrapovic turns out NOT to be suitable because of excess noise on long distance trips, what would be a suitable alternative ??
All experienced opinions solicited and appreciated.  

[PaulVS]

I don't know about the Akrapovic, but I do have a Yosh RS-1 race baffle  slip-on, and I don't think you're going to find much loudness differential among the major race-baffle cans.  Mine is a lot more quiet than I anticipated it would be.  Not really much louder than stock except at WOT.

Some (Like D&D) are supposedly louder than others, but the 'internals' of a race can are all pretty comparable, IMO.  I would be willing to bet that the spread between the 'best' race-baffle can and the 'worst' is not more than 2hp.

Akrapovic is supposed to be one of the best aftermarket cans, but it's also a lot more expensive.  I believe my Yoshimura is probably $200 less, and delivers a 10.5 hp gain.

So for the price of the Akra, you could get a Yosh AND a jet kit.  (Which would really make the bike come alive... an 18 hp gain.)  

It probably comes down to cost, and which one looks best to you.

Here's a pic of my bike with a Yoshimura Titanium (with a stage 1 jet kit):