I've thrown all kinds of money at this bike with little hesitation, but ~$1k for an exhaust upgrade exceeds even my loose farkling threshold. From what I've read the benefits of the Akra are:
1. Sounds better than stock for sure.
2. Looks better (subjective).
3. 4.4 lbs lighter than stock (big deal on a ~600 lb bike).
4. Adds 3.4 hp and 3.2 lb-ft (according to Akra web site).
Does that about sum it up? For you guys who took the plunge, which of 1-4 above was your main motivation? Do you even notice the slight performance boost?
For the real tuning whores I can understand the full header + pipe + PCV/custom ECU maps, etc., but adding a slip-on seems mostly cosmetic (sound and looks).
For a work of art like a Ducati Hypermotard or BMW S1000RR I could see paying for cosmetic farkles like this, but the Tenere is a bit too matronly to "deserve" this kind of pimping IMHO. Just trying to understand ...