Gen 4 Chinese headers?

[pauly]

Has anyone here bought the Akra copy headers from Ali Express? On the yank forum they seem to get good reviews, apart from needing a bit of persuasion to fit. At ?2-300 for stainless, they could be worth a punt.

 

[bananaman]

Has anyone here bought the Akra copy headers from Ali Express? On the yank forum they seem to get good reviews, apart from needing a bit of persuasion to fit. At ?2-300 for stainless, they could be worth a punt.

Bought a can off there and was really pleased lol

 

[pauly]

I quite like the standard Gen 4 can. Just want to get rid of some of the tin and weight attached to the BMW headers.

 

[alex]

Would be happy to hear your review. It's a bit of a lottery because there are no known brands, but for all we know you could order from a place that does contract work for Akra already.

 

[JetTech]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1n_uocO4lL0

 

[pauly]

I thought about buying Arrow headers for ?600 from Italy, but they're sneaky with their pictures now. You cant see if there's balance tubes on the downpipes, or there's a picture of Akrapovic headers, on the Arrows listings. Having been a welder myself years ago, I'm not keen on all those welds, on the titanium Chinese headers. There could be a lot of penetration/rough edges on the insides of the pipes.

 

[lightning_bob]

I thought about buying Arrow headers for ?600 from Italy, but they're sneaky with their pictures now. You cant see if there's balance tubes on the downpipes, or there's a picture of Akrapovic headers, on the Arrows listings. Having been a welder myself years ago, I'm not keen on all those welds, on the titanium Chinese headers. There could be a lot of penetration/rough edges on the insides of the pipes.

This set on eBay list it as the arrow part number so should be genuine and have the collector pipes

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/12587193...GG9PSehSsW&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

 

[pauly]

This set on eBay list it as the arrow part number so should be genuine and have the collector pipes

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/12587193...GG9PSehSsW&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

There's still only a sideways view of the downpipes. It's not possible to see if someone has cheaped out, and are selling a budget version without balance tubes.

 

[lightning_bob]

There's still only a sideways view of the downpipes. It's not possible to see if someone has cheaped out, and are selling a budget version without balance tubes.

If they?re not original then contravenes eBay?s policy get a refund
they list the Oem arrow part number and Oem arrow headers have the collectors

 

[pauly]

If they?re not original then contravenes eBay?s policy get a refund
they list the Oem arrow part number and Oem arrow headers have the collectors

There was definitely a picture of Akrapovic headers, on the Italian vendors Arrow listing recently. Now there's a picture of headers that hide whether there are balance tubes present. I'm reading that BMW are tightening up on engine warranty claims, if mapping or race exhausts are involved. What the yank owners seem to get away with, doesn't always apply elsewhere.

 

[JamieMac]

I had the full Akra on my Gen 3 which I sold and decided to get the aliexpress full system. Fitted easy and perfectly (tip: build the exhaust fully (no end can) and use a scissor jack (very cheap on ebay or amazon) to hold the exhaust in place whilst doing up the headers etc. Saves so much grief). Well made. 90% an exact copy of the Akra comparing them side by side. Slight differences. The only thing I didn't use was the supplied springs as they are the wrong length and I prefer the Akra free to spin springs as they don't break overtime. J

 

[pauly]

There are no balance tubes on the downpipes, and seeing as Akra etc have had those for 30 years I'd say they are required. You've bought some tat.

 

[JamieMac]

Really.

 

[JamieMac]

Some of us aren’t made of money so £154.20 delivered is perfect. If I was that fussy I could get my local race shop to weld on balance pipes but the bike is putting out good horsepower. More than my Gen 4. Also you were saying that all Akrapovic exhausts have balance pipes? See pic…. Must be tat? J

 

[pauly]

My 98 Fireblade Akra had balance tubes on the headers, as did my 99 R1. And all the Akra S1000RR headers on ebay do too. As I'm the OP on this thread I have no objection to cheap headers, just poor copies.

 

[JamieMac]

Having owned both and checked them side by side, they’re not poor copies and certainly not tat. Each to their own.