Saki Gets New Vocal Chords.

     The Yoshimura exhaust showed up around 8 o'clock Friday night. That meant that the plan for a Saturday upgrade to Saki was a go. I of course had to get one last ride on Saki with the stock exhaust system, and it just so happens that I needed to hit the hardware store and pick up a 3/8 drive. I didn't realize that all the sockets and the 10 in. extension that I got were all 3/8 and all I had were 1/4 in drivers. I hit the bank after work and headed straight to the store to pick one up. I found what I was looking for and it was just the right size to fit under the seat, so I didn't have to try to back pocket it for the ride home. Once I got home, I shot a short little video clip of what the stock exhaust sounds like. You will see that a little later. First I have to tell you about the rest of my Friday night.

     Well, since I haven't been drinking, I've basically been staying home, and watching Netflix or catching up on recorded shows. I was caught up on all those shows this week, so Netflix it was. I watched the last few episodes of Santa Clarita Diet. It ended rather abruptly, and definitely left you wanting more. I will have to wait until the second season though. I needed a new series to watch, so I quickly ran through what was on my queue, and after browsing everything through once, I decided on OA. I can't really tell you why I like this series so much. Partly because one of the reasons will give some of the story away, and one of the other reasons, I just can't figure out. The one I can tell  you though, is that it is a complete story. It isn't rushed just to get an audience. It builds slowly the way a great story should. There is character development and growth with those characters. Imagine a more mature Stranger Things. I guess that is a good way to put it. I only watched one episode on Friday night, because I wanted to get to bed early, so that I could wake up, and put the new exhaust on.

     Here is the crazy thing about Saturday. I had a hard time sleeping that night. I woke up a dozen times between 3 and 6 in the morning. With all that, I managed to wake up late. Well, 8:30 in the morning, but that was late. I wanted to be wrenching on the bike by then. The forecast was calling for rain the latter have of the day, so I wanted to get everything done early so that I could ride.

     I made a quick breakfast, and got everything ready so that I could start wrenching. I had already put Saki up on the rear tire stand, so all I needed to do, was put down some towels underneath so that I could lay down while getting under the bike, and a piece of cardboard to put the new exhaust system out on. I opened up the box, and I would have had pictures for you, but I forgot that I only took them for my Instagram Story, and those pictures do not save to the phone. Not to mention, that they are only up for 24 hours on Instagram, so if you didn't see them yesterday, they are gone. I do have pictures of the finished product though, and those will be coming up, as well as the video.

     Removing the stock exhaust was a breeze. I only had to open the bottom of the fairing, and take out 1 bolt on the side in order to get the headers out. I also had to remove the right side footage, and rear brake mount so that I could get to the two bolts for the bracket that held the can of the exhaust. With that all done, I put the new headers in, and grabbed the new Yoshimura can. I had to fight with it a bit, because I was trying to mount it on the wrong side of the bracket. The directions that came with it weren't really specific, but when I took a good look at the diagram, I finally saw where it was supposed to go. Once I got it right, everything fell into place. Before I buttoned up the fairing and returned the footage and brake to it's rightful place. I wiped everything down with rubbing alcohol, so as not to leave any prints behind. I know, that makes me sound like a thief in the night, but that is recommended so you don't leave any oils are grease behind that will blemish the new exhaust system.

     With everything clean and tidy, I had one more thing to do, before reattaching everything. I needed to start it up, and check for leaks around the headers, and where the can and exhaust pipe connect. I was good, and let me tell you. Saki sounded amazing. Here is the video, to show you the before and after.

     It sounds so much better, and let me tell you, when I was riding I got several heads to snap around to see what was coming. That was the greatest feeling. People walking down the sidewalk would spin around and look at me, and if they were doing that, then drivers were taking notice as well.

     Yoshimura doesn't make any claims of increased horse power, but I can tell you, that there is a difference in horse power. I could feel it when I would take off, and gun the throttle. I know it isn't much, but it was enough to make a noticeable difference. Still, the biggest thing for me, was the sound. I could hear the exhaust over the wind noise, which is something that I could do before Saturday. The bonus of it all, is that the new exhaust just looks sexy on Saki. you can see it in the video, but I did get some pictures at my favorite spot. I'll give you a before and after shot, and then a combined shot that I put up on Instagram last night.

This of course is the before. Still  great picture, but that exhaust though.

And here is Saki with the new Yoshimura RS-4 exhaust system.

Final shot with the picture above combined with a close up of the exhaust.

     It was a great experience putting this exhaust system on, and it made me realize that I really love working on this bike. That feeling of accomplishment that you can only get by doing something yourself. There is a huge sense of pride that comes with something like that, and I can't wait until the next thing I do for Saki. Whether it's an old change, or maybe putting new bar ends on. I fall more in love with this bike with every ride and every new thing I put on it.

     Here are some of the the simple things that this exhaust has changed. It dropped around 10 lbs. from the bike. Based on other exhaust manufacture claims. Saki now has anywhere from 3 to 7 extra horse power, and the sound is loud enough for cars to finally hear me when I'm along side of them. the greatest change though, is just how good Saki looks with it.

     All of this gives me hope for when I finally buy that GROM. I want to do a lot of things to that when I get it. A new exhaust will be one, but there are so many more things in store for that little bike when I do finally decide to buy it. Now, I know for sure, the I can achieve everything I want to do to it, and I have some pretty grandiose plans for that tiny little bike. Because of that, I"m going to end this tonight the way I end my little blogs on Moto Amino. By the way, I got some pretty good reviews on the write up of the new exhaust. Anyway, this is how I ended it on there. Get out there and ride, and peace in.