Review : BMC Street + Akrapovic Slip-on = OMG! Torque

A Tale of Two Cities

Back in 2010, the Ninja 650R was selling at RM36k (CKD Malaysia) or RM45k (CBU Japan), while the Ninja ZX6R was selling at RM68k (CBU Japan).

"Why the big price difference?", a novice may ask; and that was even before he realized that the Ninja 650R had a 650 cc engine (parallel-twin) while the ZX6R had a 600 cc engine (inline-four).

"Surely a 650 cc engine should be better than the other 600 cc engine, right?", the novice may add.

Well, the Ninja 650R was designed as a sports tourer to tackle city-riding and the occasional long-distance touring; while the ZX6R was designed purely as a racer. Take it to track and the difference between both stock machines could be felt immediately.

Maximum Power :
1) Ninja 650R - 64.8 hp (48.3 kW) @ 9,000 rpm
2) ZX6R -  129.3 hp (96.4 kW) @ 13,500 rpm

Maximum Torque :
1) Ninja 650R - 44.7 lb·ft (60.6 N·m) @ 7,250 rpm
2) ZX6R -  52 lb·ft (71 N·m) @ 11,500 rpm

From the aforementioned publicly-published figures, one could see that the strength of the Ninja 650R was in the delivery of the maximum torque at the lower-end of the rpm. This made the Ninja 650R a very enjoyable ride around town, where stop-look-go traffic were aplenty.

Torque Gear 

I never intended for Green Hornet to be a racer-wannabe, for that was not its nature. I enjoy its high-torque performance during city commutes.

Earlier in August 2012, I invested in an Akrapovic Titanium slip-on when its prices were gradually reducing from RM3,000 (2008) to RM1,500 (2012). Cost of installation at KS was RM90.

According to the information provided, the exhaust system modification with the SLIP-ON system results in a major boost in performance, delivering a usable 72.3 HP at 8900 rpm on back wheel. But the increased power isn't available just at the top of the range; the system shows its quality already from 2000 rpm up through entire rpm range. The maximum power in-crease between the Akrapovic and the stock system is 5.2 HP at 5280 rpm. Additionally, the torque is substantially higher in the lower rpm area at 3000 rpm and in the middle of rpm area.

The installation of the Akrapovic Titanium slip-on brought an urgency in torque previously not milked from its parallel-twin engine, and made riding Green Hornet a lot more fun.

Air Asia X

You could board Air Asia X and fly to Italy to get your hands on the BMC Street air filter that I got; but an easier and smarter way would be to buy it off the shelf at bike performance shops hereabouts, or purchase from the many online sites.

I tried installing the air filter myself some weeks back but the fact that the fuel tank has to come off and I didn't know the best way of supporting the tank while I work on the air filter had me going to KS a few rounds already- but Ah Ho had been busy on the 3-4 times that I dropped by.

Today, being the Awal Muharam public holiday with our Muslim friends a-celebrating, I figured that I may stand a better chance of catching him today and lo and behold, it turned out exactly as planned. Green Hornet was immediately worked on the moment I rode in. Mileage was at 12,900 km when the BMC was installed.

Cost of installation at KS was RM15 (I read from Pielang Bikers forum that it was a RM10 charge, but disregarded the 50% increase anyway as I was going to buy Ah Ho a drink anyway), and Ah Ho worked on it himself.

Oh, and I found out that they support the fuel tank with an old tire- works well too!

The torque increase could be immediately felt at the rev of the throttle, and the bike was almost jumping up and about. Definitely a worthwhile upgrade with the imported BMC air filter selling at RM320 locally.

I would definitely not hesitate to recommend the combination of BMC and Akrapovic to milk the extra torque from the Ninja 650R's parallel-twin engine. What an even more enjoyable ride it has been after the installation of both upgrade parts.

Alright, got to hit the road now- ride safe, mates!