Dyno runs

I received the results from the last 2 dyno sessions with the R1100S. the other day I have to admit I'm a bit disappointed with the way the figures are displayed. With the performance upgrades put on the bike, I knew the engine would not show a 10hp improvement and was more in a search for a solid torque curve. Unfortunately, as you will immediately notice, the provided power and torque curves use the speed as the reference data. They should have used RPMs.

Here is what I got (all measures at the rear wheel, 13% loss from what the dyno guy said) :

- Session 1 : KN filter, Y pipe (cat eliminator), NGK iridium spark plugs, Nology Hot wires coils

- Session 2 : KN filter, Laser Daytona 2-1-2 system, Power FRK, NGK iridium spark plugs, Nology Hot wires coils, carbon air intake

Not even comparable ... Kind of useless, isn't it ? Even more if you consider the air/fuel ratio sensor did not work at the first session. But it did at the second session and allowed to show the engine's apparently running much too lean. This is something I have to investigate a bit further, because this is a case for an engine failure.

Pipe reduction

With all the recent performance upgrades fitted, I decided I'd give the bike a test run to see how it goes now. I must admit that I've been rather disappointed. I thought this would have made a much more noticeable difference. With all these parts fitted, I could even have expected a large improvement on how the engine pulls.

The first problem I immediately spoted was the fact that the bike was way too loud with its new Laser exhaust system. And despite the fact the tiny db killers were said to reduce the noise by 3db (cutting the noise by half), fitting them in the cans didn't not really improve the situation. Worse, with this system on, the bike became hard to work in the city streets. I could feel a sensible loss of torque in the low revs. At that point I was really disappointed, even more when thinking about the hours I've sweat trying to mount every single performance parts.

I was decided to cut off the noise first, because I had already experienced a similar problem with a very loud exhaust system on another bike. It totally spoils the general impression you can get from a motorcycle. Not only a very loud exhaust does not always mean optimal performance improvement, but it does also prevent you from trashing the bike and get the most out of it (I remember I once even removed a Micron system from a track bike because I could not concentrate).

In my opinion, the whole problem with this noisy cans, came from the db killers. They were too short compared to others I had seen before on other systems. In my mind, they had to be lengthened. I had spotted a new shop where I wanted to go to see what they were up to, because the guys were told to be pretty good mechanics with one who had worked for a Formula 1 team (Prost Grand Prix) before. I was just curious what they were able to do and since I had these tiny pipes to modify, I thought it would be a great opportunity to pay them a visit.

We immediately aggreed on how to proceed. We all knew we could not find the right solution by making just one attempt. So I came with bike to the shop and they started to work with the db killers and a 18cm piece of pipe coming from a higly modified Akrapovic system, which means the db killers woud receive 9cm of extra pipe each. One of the new db killers is shown below :

The result ? A much more usable bike with torque back at low revs and far less noise (but still a grunty one). I rode a little more than 30 km on my way back home and trust me when I say there's a huge difference now ! I'm heading to the dyno shop to put figures on what I feel. And yes, it took us only one attempt to build these. The guys at Metal Machines really rock ! They know what they're doing and won't bullshit you for hours.

The Metal Machines workshop

Home made trike. There's also a home made ATV (powered by a R6 engine) being built in the back of the shop

On your mark

You'll find below a few pics of the day I've spent fitting the performance parts on the R1100S.

Parts gathered and ready (Laser Daytona II exhaust sytem, Power FRK module and Boxer Performance carbon air intake)

2 into 1 into 2

I should have tried to spit flames through that !

I didn't trust the licence plate bracket holder provided by Laser, so I had it welded to the pipes

Straight pipes exhaust !

Those 2 stainless steel pipes are so hot while riding, they're burning my boots !

The Laser end cans without any sort of restriction. Way tool loud in my opinion.

Thanks again to :
- Robert Foster from Foster Performance for having provided the parts and helped me fitting them properly to the bike.
- the guys at PoliMetal59 who have made a little of welding

Rare pipes

I bought this exhaust system last month for the R11S track bike project. At first I thought I'd go for a Staintune instead of the classic Laser system that you usually see on the Boxer Cup Replicas. But then, as I was wandering for a couple of hours on the Internet to find a good deal on an exhaust, I stopped on this one.

It is a BoxerCup Laser Daytona Race System. It is said to be the last in the world and was bought directly in the US from Foster Performance. While I'm mentioning his name and before letting him telling you this exhaust system's history, let me just say true simple words about the man. I would truly recommend doing business with Robert Foster from Foster Performance. He's really kind, arranging and knowledgeable. This level of service is pretty rare to come across with these days. Simply amazing.

Here's what Robert said about this Laser exhaust at the time of the buy :
"This is an official BMW BoxerCup Series Laser "Daytona" Race System - Last one left! Laser will recreate them but they will be production systems. These systems were made by hand by Don de Vink and his crew at Lasers Racing department. Don de Vink went on to be Akrapovic's top racing designer and now he is with his own company building some increadable systems for cars and motorcycles. So you have a piece of BMW history waiting for you. A Powerful piece!! - You will see! This system was developed when they added Daytona to the Boxwecup Series. The R1100Ss needed more power for the banks and straights of Daytona"

Not only this system looks promising, but it's also a real piece of art once assembled. There are still a couple of thingies to work with on the bike before fitting this beauty. Hopefuly, this will look good.