There was a time when buying an aftermarket exhaust meant one thing: volume. Pure, window-rattling, neighbor-upsetting volume. You wanted your bike to sound like a Superbike grid, even if you were just heading out for coffee. Louder meant faster. Faster meant cooler.
Science.
But alas, things have changed. Between Euro 5+ emissions rules and stricter global noise regulations, modern exhaust systems aren’t the unhinged megaphones they used to be. Manufacturers like Akrapovič aren’t just going after decibels anymore. They’re gunning for compliance, weight savings, subtle performance gains, and let’s be honest, aesthetics. Because these days, dropping serious cash on a titanium slip-on is tantamount to buying jewelry for your bike.
And few people know that better than Ducati owners.
The new titanium Slip-On Line systems for the Ducati Panigale V2 and Ducati Multistrada V2 are a perfect example of how the aftermarket has evolved. They’re plug-and-play, Euro 5+ compliant, require no ECU remapping, and best of all, are fully street-legal. Which, 15 years ago, would’ve sounded like the least rock-and-roll sentence in motorcycling. But now, that's just the reality.
Let’s start with the Multistrada V2 setup. It uses a sandblasted titanium outer sleeve with stainless-steel internals, capped off with a carbon-fiber end cap and heat shield. It’s about 0.44 pounds lighter than stock. That’s roughly a 5 percent drop. Power-wise, Akrapovič claims an extra 0.9 horsepower and 2.2 pound-feet of torque around 3,000 rpm.
Now, let's be honest. You’re not feeling 0.9 horsepower. But what you are getting is a slightly sharper throttle response down low and a deeper, richer V-twin tone. Not louder. Just fuller. More expensive-sounding. Which is really the best we can hope for, given current noise regulations.
Then there’s the Panigale V2 and Streetfighter V2 system. The setup features twin titanium cans and honeycomb-style end caps that look like they were borrowed straight from a WorldSBK paddock. This one drops about 2.2 pounds compared to stock, which is over 30 percent lighter than the original exhaust assembly.
Performance gains? Around 1.8 horsepower at 11,000 rpm and about 0.6 pound-feet at 7,500 rpm. Again. Not life-changing numbers.
But let’s not kid ourselves. If you’re spending thousands on a titanium Akra system, you’re not doing it to shave tenths off your dyno chart. You’re doing it because every time you walk away from your bike, you want to turn around and stare at it like it’s a Renaissance sculpture with a swingarm.
Modern aftermarket exhausts are less about rebellion and more about refinement. They still add performance, sure. They still tweak the soundtrack. But they’re also designed to work within a world where bikes need to pass emissions tests and sound checks without drama. It’s kinda wild when you think about it. The industry matured. Riders did too. Well... some of us. And that's because we didn't really have a choice.
So yeah, the horsepower bump is nice. The torque gain is cool. But the real upgrade is how it transforms that rear three-quarter view of the bike. Perhaps aftermarket exhausts have really gone soft. But you could argue that they're going more for sophistication than look-at-me energy.
Source: Akrapovic
