Just received my new 20201 XR, it came with the BMW optional Akrapovic exhaust.

I was hoping for a louder presence.

What are my options?

There seems to be a very short insert at the end of the exhaust with a screw. I tried removing the screw and pull it out, but without success. It seems to be secured by more than the screw. And doubtful it can change the noise much as it is so short. I emailed Akrapovic about this and they responded they can't help because of regulations and that the BMW exhaust is "tamper proof".

Full headers?

I love the bike so far, very refined and top notch. Just need a bit more audio emotions.

Mandatory picture with my 19 yo daughter, who inherited my super fun Street Triple with my new XR.

Nice! LOVE when kids ride with their parents.

There may be a little tack weld on the screw, or they may have used Loc-Tite.

 

Install headers. The giant catalytic converter box is blocking all the noise. The Muffler just changes the exhaust note.

 

First of all, nice picture with your daughter, lovely to see.
I just ordered a 2021 S1000XR Sport, so, same colours, same Akrapovic (from BMW) optional exhaust.
i was hoping the screw would work like in my Akrapovic (from BMW) for the K1300R which allows me to remove the screw and pull out the DB Killer.

I can’t believe the screw on the S1000XR is there for no reason... did you find any solution In the meantime? I mean without having to buy the headers.

Note: this is my first post and English is not my mother language, so sorry in advance for any typos.

 

I have not found a solution. I asked the dealer to remove the DB killer, they said sure, no problem. But when the technician tried/looked at it, he said there is no DB killer on this exhaust, and the little tip held by the screw is not a typical dB killer.

only solution I found is to rev the $hit out of it, as it gets quite loud past 8000rpm. 😎

I still would like something louder at low RPM but not ready to go full headers.

 

Unfortunately the cats are your issue.

Try remove end can entirety and see the noise. I'll bet it's not much difference.

 

Unfortunately the cats are your issue.

Try remove end can entirety and see the noise. I'll bet it's not much difference.

That's probably the case yes. I'll wait for my bike to arrive and then I'll test this.

 

Before removing the headers, you could try unhooking the exhaust flap near the cat. It should give you a deeper and a little louder tone. Done this on my R.

 

Any link or instructions how to do that?

 

 

Ok, I did a bunch of reading on the exhaust valve and decided it was a good project for Thanksgiving.
So I did it this afternoon. Was not super easy to access but I did not have to remove any body parts. Just removed the cap and disconnected the 2 cables.

The sound change is quite noticeable at low revs, exactly what I wanted. Before putting the cap on, I manually open and closed the valve with the engine running. Significant difference.
Went for a quick ride, and no side effect or error code. I really like the new sound. Highly recommended.
I am not too thrilled about having these two wires loose in there, but removing the entire servo and getting the buddy thingy looks too difficult

 

That's great news! I know what I'll do first when my new bike arrives!
Enjoy it!

 

Also, did you get any error on the dash? Is something like this required?

 

only required if you remove the servo.

 

Thank you, more knowledge for me. Very nice to see that this forum really works!

 

There is a tune company that claims to de-restrict the exhaust servo in their tune

 

Stage 1 flash tune from Bren Tuning.

What Do We Do To Fix These Issues?

• Throttle Restriction – We remove the throttle restrictions across the board to give you the riding experience and power you wanted from the factory
• Exhaust Valve – We still utilize the stock exhaust valve to give you maximum power but also open it up when you need to make peak power gains and the sound you want
• RPM Limiter – We moved the limiter from the stock 12,000RPM to 12,500RPM to maximize your powerband
• Fueling – We program the S1000XR to target a better AFR (Air/Fuel Ratio) to make a little more power along with fixing drivability and idle issues

Benefits

• 8% horsepower gain across the RPM range (see graph below)Horsepower gained from exhaust valve management
• Cooler riding temps
• Potential cold start, hot start issues solved. Idle is smooth and consistent
• Improved throttle response in all gears
• Longer powerband from increased RPM limiter
• Better exhaust note (as bike is silent stock due to exhaust valve)

ordering mine next month. you can also opt to mail in the ecu.

2020+ BMW S1000XR Diagnostic Tool w/ Stage 1

Remove your factory restrictions with our Stage 1 2020 BMW S1000XR ECU flashing for more power, better throttle response and more!

brentuningmoto.com

alternatively the akro RR headers are a direct fit to the stock can, so i assume the optional OEM akro should be fine.

 

alternatively the akro RR headers are a direct fit to the stock can, so i assume the optional OEM akro should be fine.

Can you verify if this is 100% accurate? I’m getting ready to sell my K67 and have the 2021 XR on order. I have the full akrapovic system and if the headers work on the XR that would be amazing. However I did see that the Akra header for the XR has a few brackets welded on where the header meets the exhaust pipe.

whereas my current Akra header doesn’t.... see below.

 

hallo everybody,
Im new from italy.
I appreciate this, thanks to all.
I have s1000xr2020 with hp akra
I did the same like Flafonta: disconnect cables from valve exhaust: yes much better sound but
Engine error/failure on display after 10 second more or less
Look like servo understand they were disconnected

now riconnect but error led stay on display
I can t understand why

 

hallo everybody,
Im new from italy.
I appreciate this, thanks to all.
I have s1000xr2020 with hp akra
I did the same like Flafonta: disconnect cables from valve exhaust: yes much better sound but
Engine error/failure on display after 10 second more or less
Look like servo understand they were disconnected

now riconnect but error led stay on display
I can t understand why

update:
after some km / time the error engine led disappear and all is come back normale

 

Brand new to forum just got my xr this week. Have a bren tune on my K1600 and ordered for this bike. Talked to sales staff today. The tune will open it up and make it sound better. If
you go to the stage 2 and change the airbox valves it will bump it again

 

Don't all these mods void warranty?

I had 2016 and 2019 gen 1's and put Cobra ultra shorts (cat back) on both. The 2016 was louder, I assume because of looser factory tune than progressively newer models. 2019 was not as loud at lower RPMs, but got louder past 6K rpms.

My 2021 Gen 2, was so quiet I could not hear it going down the road. Put a Pro Race Exhaust GP-S1 slip on, which made it slightly louder, but still not loud enough.

I worried if I start messing with the valves in the cat, my dealer is gonna cry foul and not honor my warranty.

 

Frozen,

Interested in opening up the servo valve all the time. HOW DID YOU DO IT?? Do I have to unplug cables? Where does the Healtech plug into?? Do I have to adjust the servo so, it is open all the time?? If so, how do I do that part of the mod??

Please give me a step by step to do this mod.

Tried the Ben Tune 1 for my 2021 XR Sport but, the bike stalled all the time. Hot/ cold, 1st/2nd/3rd- It did not matter. Tried a couple of their tunes. No change. Eventually, Bren Tune agreed to allow me to return for refund.

Best,

Doc

 

Did some research. This is not an easy Mod. Appears you would need TWO HealTech Servo Eliminators, make sure to leave the Servo valve completely open and the servo motor is located in a uniquely difficult place. If someone has made this modification please elaborate. Best,

Doc

 

Updated:
I disconnected the exhaust valve cables, and it really did the trick for me. Much louder and great sound at low RPM. And some pops when decelerating. As expected, no change at high RPM which was perfect for me.
I am super happy with this mod and it fixed my biggest complaint with the bike.
————-end of update——-

How to Instructions please. My RR with a Remus slip-on replacement for the OEM slip-on has a respectable growl when accelerating and a nice burple (of discontent?) when decelerating; I'd love to have similar with my XR. Thanks.

 

there is a lot more room on the XR compared to the R/RR, but I only have some experience with the Prior models, can't comment on the 2020+ XR/R/RR. On the older models easiest way I found was to remover panels, setat etc remove lower bolts of rear subframe swing the whole subframe up to give you more space(this is on either the R or XR)/

 

Where is the servo motor control unit located in the K69? "Frozen" appears to have mounted his healtech ESE down near the right foot peg'ish area? But GaryColb youtube video for the K46 indicates control unit is on upper left side of frame near steering head. Am I missing something? With my previous K48 and 2 K49's I don't want to start disassembling body parts and 50 different sized screws only to be in the wrong sector of the bike.

 

I have been fallowing this thread on the other XR forum: Gen 2 - Revving of Engine at Start Up - page 2 - S1000XR - General Chat - BMW S1000XR .
It appears that all you have to do is plug in the Healtech unit and wire the exhaust valve open. The sero unit does not have to be removed. I have ordered the Healtech unit, will let y'all know what is required for this mod and what effects I notice. Wish me luck. Best,

Doc

 

Yes Doc, but my question is where is the location of the servo control unit you must plug it in to?

Furthermore, will BMW void the 3/36 warranty if you do attach it, altering the dynamics of the very hardware which the software is designed to protect?

 

53jd,

If you watch the video I posted the location of the servo motor is shown.

I cannot answer all your questions.

But, I can hook up my 911WiFi after the mod to look for and eliminate any errors.

Best,

Doc

 

Updated:
I disconnected the exhaust valve cables, and it really did the trick for me. Much louder and great sound at low RPM. And some pops when decelerating. As expected, no change at high RPM which was perfect for me.
I am super happy with this mod and it fixed my biggest complaint with the bike.
————-end of update——-

Just received my new 20201 XR, it came with the BMW optional Akrapovic exhaust.

I was hoping for a louder presence at low RPM. Plenty loud and great sound above 6k.

What are my options?

There seems to be a very short insert at the end of the exhaust with a screw. I tried removing the screw and pull it out, but without success. It seems to be secured by more than the screw. And doubtful it can change the noise much as it is so short. I emailed Akrapovic about this and they responded they can't help because of regulations and that the BMW exhaust is "tamper proof".

Full headers?

I love the bike so far, very refined and top notch. Just need a bit more audio emotions.

Mandatory picture with my 19 yo daughter, who inherited my super fun Street Triple with my new XR.

I disconnected the cables at the valve and yes, the sound is now good / normal, but I immediately got an error message and the bike is surging at idle. No good. Rides fine under power though. I'm a bit skeptical about the entire delete. I'd rather leave it in. If you've used one of the available delete .modules, can you give it a good review? If you've disconnected a 2021 without getting an error message, please let me know. Thanks!

 

I've ordered the exhaust buddy. I'll report back here on how it works.

 

I disconnected the cables and did not receive an error message while riding for over a month and 1000 miles. When I took my 2021 in to have it serviced for other error codes, they told me the disconnected cables could be effecting my module, thus throwing other error codes as a result (WHAT?...Bullshit!). So I reconnected the cables and installed a Healtech ESE. Still, no error codes other than the ones not associated with the exhaust. I have 2 aftermarket pipes from Pro-Race exhaust I use and I'll have to say the are at 123-125dB's with the valve open. I've yet to re-install stock exhaust, but am considering it because it is obnoxiously loud which pisses off my "jerk wad" neighbor, so I may have to just leave it LOUD for awhile.

 

I created a new thread because this one is so long. At least for my U.S. 2021 XR, easy solution with no error messages: 2021 Exhaust Valve solution U.S. bike