Dramatic effect of Akrapovic slipons and ECU remap

I know the regulars on this board are fully aware of the effect of this mod, but I just have to exult about the effect of this change on my '08 SD. I just had the 1000 mile (1600 km) service done, including valve adjustment, and also fitted the Akrapovic titanium Evo slipons. The ECU received the factory remap for the Akra slipons. The weight of the stock mufflers was stunning when I took them back to keep at home. I am thrilled to get that heavy thing off my bike.

The effect on the motor's performance was dramatic as soon as I left the dealership. The motor is much smoother at all RPM (this might have something to do with the valve adjustment as well, of course). Previously, the engine was hard to hold at a fixed RPM below about 5000 RPM. Now, it is stable at any RPM, all the way from idle up. There is no more afterfiring on a closed throttle during engine braking.

I assume much of this improvement is due to the completely open loop operation of the ECU with the remap, with the O2 sensors out of the loop, as I have learned from members of this board. The overall effect is to make the bike much more enjoyable to ride. It still has great punch from low RPM and the top end is as strong or better. I don't know how fuel consumption will be affected, but it really doesn't matter because the drivability of the engine is so much improved.

My advice to any SD owner is to run, don't walk, to get an aftermarket exhaust (I assume it's not necessarily just Akra's) and the Akra ECU remap from KTM. It changes the bike dramatically for the better. You won't regret it.

For those who (like me until very recently) have no idea what open-loop and closed-loop operation of an engine ECU refers to, here is a simple explanation from another web site:

And as this joy 'taint 'nuf, the new PCV with AUTO TUNE effectively takes you back to closed loop with a wideband commander and tuner, adjusting fuel maps on the fly according to air temp and humidiy, 'monst other thangs, based on wideband O2 commanders with replace your stock O2 sensors, instead of just reading from an open loop table. A dyno that fits in the palm of yer hand!

when I recently took my SDR to have my evo system installed and remapped, my dealer installed the stock european map instead of the akra map... Yep. Wont be going back there...