Free flow performance

The leading performance parts maker from U.S.A, Two Brothers Racing introduce a special exhaust system designed specifically for the Yamaha R15. Adhish Alawani finds out just how good it is

The YZF-R15 was launched in the Indian market more than a year ago and it raised the standard of sport biking in the country to a new level. The country’s performance motorcycle scene has been scaling new heights ever since. An appreciable change that is currently being witnessed in the Indian biker is that he has started preferring performance upgrades to the cosmetic ones these days. As a result, various options along these lines are being explored today.

After testing the performance kit from Daytona and a locally made exhaust system for the R15 in our previous issues, what we have here is the latest offering from Two Brothers Racing (TBR), USA. Specially designed for the YZF-R15, this exhaust system comes from the US manufacturer who has been making high performance racing canisters and full exhaust systems across the global range of street motorcycles, motocrossers and ATVs.

The end can of the exhaust system offered by TBR features their patented lightweight, thin wall die-cast aluminum inlets and outlets. The vertical oval canister from the M-2 series comes with the V.A.L.E. (Variable Axis Locking Exhaust) system – a method in which the muffler canister is attached to the exhaust tube without the use of welding. With the V.A.L.E. systems, the muffler assembly – the exhaust tube and canister – can be positioned perfectly on the bike before all the mounting hardware is fully tightened. Once the canister and exhaust tubes are properly aligned, the V.A.L.E. assembly locks the muffler canister to the exhaust tube assuring a perfect, leak free fit. A lot of technical science, is it? Okay, let’s talk the language a biker understands. Performance. With the data logging equipment mounted on the R15, we decided to do 0-100km/h runs on the stock bike as well as the one with the TBR system. Very frankly, we didn’t need the data logger to tell us that there was a noticeable rise in the performance of the Yammie. The R15 started pulling pretty strongly right from 5000rpm unlike the stock model which does the job from around 7000rpm. The midrange of the bike feels much stronger than the stock one making it a more tractable machine for city use. If one has to speak in terms of accurate timings then with the TBR exhaust system, the R15 managed 0-60km/h in 4.15 seconds as against 4.9 seconds of the stock bike. The R15 crossed the three digit mark in a mere 11.76 seconds with TBR which is much quicker as compared to 13.04 seconds with the stock exhaust. With an improvement of 1.28 seconds in the 0-100km/h run, the TBR system definitely does the job it is intended to do. The weight of the new exhaust system is just 2.09 kg, almost a whopping 3.5 kg lesser than the stock one, which helps in boosting performance to a considerable extent.

Apart from the fantastic performance offered by the exhaust system, there is no doubt about the cosmetics of the canister. The brilliant finishing and the upmarket styling of the muffler, like the ones on Fireblades and R1s, will definitely add glamour to your bike. However, being a pure racing product, the TBR system is loud and can technically be used only on the racetrack. Riding the R15 with this system on a daily basis in the city is not really going to be comfortable for anyone’s ears. The company claims that they will soon be coming out with the Power Tip accessory for the exhaust that will help in suppressing the sound emission to a great extent with a negligible reduction in the performance. Apart from the loud nature of the exhaust, the price is going to be another negative aspect. At Rs 19,990, the exhaust is quite expensive but then, it’s the racing performance that we are talking about and every bit of it comes at a price – especially when it is from the masters who have been delivering amazing products for quite some time in the international market. The TBR exhaust for the R15 will also be available with csarbon or titanium canisters (Rs 27,500).