Leo Vince SBK - installed

[r12gecko]

My bike

Cee Bailey screen
Corbin seat
BMW side bags (reflective decals are my own work)
BMW top case (still at BMW due to the re-keying fiasco I experienced with them this summer)
Motech bars & highway pegs
Datel voltmeter
Zumo GPS

and... my latest and last addition for the season...

Leo Vince SBK can.

I have the baffle out, as it sounds pretty much like stock with the baffle in. This pipe makes a lovely, sonorous growl - love what it does to add to the character of the bike. It feels like I might have obtained a barely noticeable boost in torque, certainly I have not lost any. At idle it pops rather unobtrusively - I won't be arrested for my morning warm up. But open the throttle, and out comes a nice domesticated roar.

This bike may not be faster than my old F800 - I'm convinced of that now - but it sure sounds faster!

Very happy & I'll be on this machine for a while I think.

Would love to swap the cluster for the one just shown on the new R1200R though - first impression I had of this bike was that cluster does not belong.

BTW, the way we have to post pics in this forum is SO CHIMPY. Tried to use in-line links like usual & got "It was not possible to determine the dimensions of the image." That's bloody helpful. I would like to become a paying member, but will NEVER do so until the software is improved. Want to see what a forum should look & work like, check out http://www.f800riders.org

UPDATE: image links below now fixed. I still think this is a PITA way to post pics, for the record.

[BigEasy]

very nice Mike. What are you using for photo gear BTW?

[websterize]

Nice install. You're grabbing the wrong URL. Mouse over the image, control click, and copy the image address (http://gallery.photo.net/photo/11875433-lg.jpg). Paste the img tags around that URL, and you're in business.

[r12gecko]

very nice Mike. What are you using for photo gear BTW?

Oly E3 with 200mm SWD & a polarizer. The only post-processing was levels & crop.

[r12gecko]

Nice install. You're grabbing the wrong URL. Mouse over the image, control click, and copy the image address (http://gallery.photo.net/photo/11875433-lg.jpg). Paste the img tags around that URL, and you're in business.

Thanks. I'll fix up later when I have some time. Right now I'm covered in green stage paint & getting ready to take the girl out for Halloween... :-)

[bmwk100]

That is a very good looking bike! I like that exhaust pipe.

[r12gecko]

That is a very good looking bike! I like that exhaust pipe.

Thanks.

When I was shooting the pictures out in the alley, a guy driving by stopped, rolled down his window and said - You won't have any trouble selling that!

(Needless to say, she's not for sale!)

BTW, how do you folks dispose of the stock can? Is there a market for them here on the forum or out there on craigslist, or should I just stow it as a spare?

[boxerpaul]

Really nice bike, Mike.

Could I ask, was there a dealer in Toronto where you were able to pick up the Leo Vince, or did you have to order it from the States?

I see another silencer on the Leo Vince website that looks quite similar to the stock R1200R exhaust.... other than the looks, do you know of any difference in sound or performance between the 2 different Leo Vince exhaust models?

Thanks,
Paul

[r12gecko]

Really nice bike, Mike.

Could I ask, was there a dealer in Toronto where you were able to pick up the Leo Vince, or did you have to order it from the States?

I see another silencer on the Leo Vince website that looks quite similar to the stock R1200R exhaust.... other than the looks, do you know of any difference in sound or performance between the 2 different Leo Vince exhaust models?

Thanks,
Paul

Hi Paul,

http://www.baysideperformance.ca/ in Vancouver is where I sourced it. Shipping was under $20 & took 4-5 days. There may be a dealer here in Toronto that could order something, but I could not find one with off-the-shelf product. Maybe someone else has a lead on that...?

I don't know about the other Leo Vince that looks like stock - I just shopped for titanium with a removable baffle. With baffle in, it sounds pretty much like stock - amazing how a little piece of pipe can do so much. Baffle out & you have a brand new bike! And while I have not compared baffle in/out for performance, with baffle out the bike feels a touch more responsive to the throttle compared to stock - not tons, but enough to produce a bit more smoothness and purpose when launching.

[Ric]

My bike........ This bike may not be faster than my old F800 - I'm convinced of that now - but it sure sounds faster!

You're kidding right ?

Just using BMW spec material:

F800GSHP = 85
Torque = 62
Dry weight = 392#

R1200RHP = 109
Torque = 83 ft-lbs
dry weight = 435 #

Just asking....but, in a drag race I'd lay a C note down that the 1200 is going to be running away from that 800.

[r12gecko]

My bike........ This bike may not be faster than my old F800 - I'm convinced of that now - but it sure sounds faster!

You're kidding right ?

Just using BMW spec material:

F800GSHP = 85
Torque = 62
Dry weight = 392#

R1200RHP = 109
Torque = 83 ft-lbs
dry weight = 435 #

Just asking....but, in a drag race I'd lay a C note down that the 1200 is going to be running away from that 800.

Actually, I'm not kidding at all. It feels about at par or slightly slower. It might pull a faster quarter by out-working the F800 at the end of the run, but in day-to-day traffic and on my favourite redline ramps, it's at par or slower. I have a friend who rides an 1150R and he also said he found the promised performance doesn't leap out and grab you - and his bike has less hp and more weight, as we all know.

Put a belt or chain on the R12 with shorter gearing and it would kick ass. But look at hp at the rear wheel & you'll find a bunch gets swallowed up by the shaft. The R12 gear ratios are taller, too, so it's not tuned to run fast. And there's a fair bit more rotating mass on this bike than the belt-driven F800 and a little more mass overall. I'm 6'4" and 200lb into the bargain, so I'm going to get less bang for my horsepower buck than a smaller rider would - YMMV. (BTW, I think those torque figures you quote are Nm vs Ft-lb's)

Don't get me wrong - I love the R1200R and can never go back... but I can feel in my arse it's not as quick to wind up in the first 100-200 meters as the F800, and on a short tight track, the lighter F800 would have R12 chasing its tail.

I would love to know if anyone has put these bikes side to side in real life - personally, I'm not one to entirely trust the marketing numbers coming out of BMW nor what the bike mags do on the dynos when they're in a hurry to make deadline - I'd rather see what happens in an old-fashioned traditional duel.

[Ric]

The torque numbers are indeed in ft-lbs. I reported the 1200 torque a couple too low, it's actually 85 not 83. And I reported the 800 numbers from the GS. The F800 R numbers are Hp=87, T=63.

Ahhh....now were talk down to the first 100 to 200 meters....well, I might be talking out my arse here because I've never driven an 800, I'd still say it ain't happening....even though I'd have to do a bit of a granny start on my 1200 to keep my front wheel from going higher than just a few inches off the ground through the first 100 meters, I'd say it would be no match, no match at all. My guess...I would not only beat the 800 from the first inch off the line, or from any rolling start, I would be leaving him so fast it wouldn't be funny.

A duel....Yes...someone in the Huntsville Alabama area with an F800 R or GS I don't care, please chime in, I want to run ya with my 1200. The beer is on the winner....huh ....that'd be me.

Also, with spec numbers you have to start somewhere and particularly for comparison purposes it's best to use the same standard, or same persons data, hence the use of BMW's. BTW,....BMW numbers are close. I've seen a number of 1200 dyno charts of 105-106 hp and many at 100. I saw one once that was in the low 90's but thats where I figure the bike or the dyno is not sorted right. Anyway, you have to choose some standard to communicate.

Sorry....I grew up street racing....to me it's as exciting as all get out !

[boxerpaul]

Thanks for the information, Mike.

I've been wanting to get an exhaust for my bike for some time now, and the Leo Vince looks very good, and glad to hear it sounds great too. I've also been looking at the Akrapovic siliencer... I'll mull it over during the cold winter months...

[r12gecko]

Put in a few km without earplugs today. To my immense pleasure, a little aggression in the right hand will make this pipe obnoxiously, scandalously, frighteningly loud. It's controllable, but the potential is there - just the way I like it... :-)