The Best Exhausts For The Yamaha FZ09/MT09

In this buying guide we’ll be covering the best exhausts available for the Yamaha FZ09/MT09

The Yamaha FZ09/MT09 is an awesome motorcycle which looks fantastic and is a hell of a lot of fun to ride. We’re huge fans of the FZ09 or MT09 and what better way to make an already great bike greater than by replacing the outdated stock exhaust.

For this article we’re going to refer to the MT09 motorcycle as the FZ09, if you didn’t already know they’re the exactly same motorcycle.

We’ve tested and researched to bring you what we believe to be the next exhausts for the FZ09, we’ve made sure to include recommendations for a variety of price points.

We decided on this list based on our personal experience with these exhausts as well as doing research and a variety of comparisons.

We found Akrapovic’s racing system was the best full system exhaust overall, and Two Brothers S1R was the best slip-on exhaust. Although we’ve included a variety of recommendations so read on.

---

Akrapovic has a well earned reputation for being a leader in the world of motorcycle exhaust systems and have proved they compete at the highest level.

Their racing exhaust system is going to firstly cut down a large amount of weight from your motorcycle, this is done because of their exceptional build quality and compact design. Agrapovic uses a mixture of stainless steel header and mid pipes, plus carbon fibre here and there which will translate into a far lighter exhaust when compared to stock.

This top of the line exhaust utilises impeccable design, top quality materials and even hand welding, this all enables the exhaust to provide maximum output for any motorcycle and unusually these power benefits are across the entire spectrum.

You’ll significantly improve torque as you speed off from the lights, you’ll also be able to reach higher top speeds and higher revs. The improved performance of your motorcycle will also improve the smoothness of your ride.

Since this model of exhaust is designed for both speed and hobbyists Akrapovic has made sure things are still going to annoy your neighbors. It’s sound is a distinct growl, or even a throaty purr. Sounds that are all very satisfying to ride with.

Akrapovic’s race system took us about an hour to properly install for our Yamaha FZ09, it’s pretty straight forward and we found the instruction manual explained things properly, although I’ve personally installed countless exhausts over the years.

In terms of aesthetics this exhaust looks great, but a large portion of it’s going to be hidden behind the FZ09’s fairings or inner parts. When we installed it on the FZ09 we could only see the slip on part of the exhaust and not all the interesting piping that looks great out of the box.

---

For this buying guide, we’re looking to maximise the speed of your FZ09 and Two Brothers S1R exhaust system will do just this, but also improve performance across every area of your engine which subsequently will trickle down improvements for the entire motorcycle.

The S1R is an extremely light motorcycle exhaust and it’s why we believe it’s one of the best for the FZ09, the design compact and looks almost hidden when installed, it’s compact design is further improved by it’s exterior covered in aerospace carbon Fibre. This will improve both the longevity of the S1R and it’s weight.

The internals of the S1R utilize perforated core technology, meaning even more weight reductions but more importantly it gives the exhaust it’s deep and throaty sound while also improving the way gasses are funneled out from the engine.

The perforated core made from stainless steel plus the design of the piping is going to bring performance improvements in two opposite areas of your engine. Top speeds and improved torque is what you’re going to see, although it will lean more on speed improvements than torque.

You’ll know you’re dealing with one of the best exhausts on the market based on the colouring of the stainless steel pipes as you use it, the S1R pipes do turn an amber colour we can verify this as it happened on our FZ09. While some motorcyclists dislike the changing color, it’s actually a great sign because only the best stainless steel will turn an amber type color.

Last but not least the sound of the S1R is gonna make your FZ09 purr like six cats, and once you’ve got this puppy installed you’ll be purring like six cats. In all honesty this is a great sounding exhaust, the only problem is it may not be loud enough for the more audacious motorcyclist or younger riders who really want to show off.

Although we found the sound of the S1R exhaust a deep throaty putter that’s satisfying to listen to and didn’t have any qualms on our rides.

---

Finding good quality slip on exhausts that fit the FZ09 and MT09 is a lot harder than we anticipated, there’s not a whole lot out there compared to other motorcycle models, most probably because the FZ09 is relatively new and is only one model of many thousands of different motorcycles exhaust manufacturers have to adapt to.

Nevertheless M4 has done a great job producing one of the best exhausts overall for Yamaha’s FZ09. You’ll notice that on their product page M4 claims that this slip on exhaust will reduce weight by a whole 10 pounds?

We decided to test whether M4’s claims are true or not. We weighed the stock exhaust against the M4 on a large scale and there was a difference of just over 10 pounds. We didn’t test the performance increase because that’s more time intensive but a 10 pound reduction will obviously improve your motorcycle’s performance.

Something we don’t particularly like about the M4 exhaust is that it’s just a slip on, that means the benefits will never be as significant as a full system exhaust, and if you pay a little bit more money you would get a much better bang for your buck then a slip on.

Although we decided to include a slip on exhaust in this buying guide for the FZ09 because not every rider wants to purchase and install a full system.

The actual build quality of the M4 exhaust feels good in your hands and you can’t go wrong with a stainless steel and carbon fibre combination.

This exhaust is everything you want it to be, but it’s installation is tricky. You’re going to have to slice off part of your stock exhaust to properly install the M4. Although the instructions on their website are super clear and straightforward.

---