Excellent
Very impressed and pleasedTakegawa Sports Exhaust (STD Look Style):I purchased this particular exhaust system to replace the factory system I really don't like. The original Monkey catalyst and loop-pipes hang very low, reducing ground clearance, not to mention it just looks awful. It's also heavy. The Takegawa standard-look is the only aftermarket performance exhaust that maintains the designed-in retro character of the Monkey, which is really great. From the exhaust discharge port on the bike's cylinder head, the Takegawa's header pipe runs directly over to the muffler pipe. This routing saves a lot of pipe length and weight, too. It eliminates the catalyst. 1. Design and quality: Build quality is excellent. Welds are clean, consistent, thorough, and solid. Brackets and mounts are all precision located and line-up with the mating features on the Monkey. Threaded welded-on nuts and other fastening features fit identical to the factory Honda counterparts. The brackets and all fitting on the muffler and pipes are excellent grade workmanship; as good as or better than Honda factory. Overall, a very complete, well designed, quality exhaust system. 2. Installation and fit: I installed in about 30 minutes. Everything lined-up and fit great. The rubber grommets and rubber tab caps from the factory exhaust all get transferred to the Takegawa, and fit just right. 3. Appearance: If I didn't know, I would think this system was made by Honda; it's that good. Gone is the low-hanging, unsightly piping and catalyst. Adding the Takegawa results in a nice, clean look to the Monkey. Of course the header pipe heat shield and the big chrome side shield fit on the Takegawa exactly as they did on the factory system.4. Sound: A big concern I had was the Takegawa would be too loud for my taste. I'm not a big fan of loud pipes and aftermarket performance exhausts. I actually really liked the quietness of the Monkey's engine and exhaust to begin with. So my ears were pleasantly surprised to hear the Takegawa isn't loud; it's deeper tone, not raspy or obnoxious in the least, and has a really nice note to it. Compared to the Yosh (which I heard on a Monkey at the dealer), it's considerably quieter and more of a mellow-deep sound. The Yosh has a bark to it; the Takegawa just sounds deep with a muffled quiet growl. When I ride around the neighborhood and pass by pedestrians and folks in their yards, I don't feel intrusive or noisy. It's pretty quiet, just deeper. 5. Performance: Honestly, I can't detect any power gain using the butt dyno. Bike feels the same, as far as I can tell. The I.D of the tailpipe is marginally larger than the factory's, and it' obviously not as restrictive. Conclusion: The main reasons I bought the Takegawa Sports Exhaust (STD Look Style) were a) improve ground clearance, b) get rid of some unnecessary weight, c) jettison the ugly catalyst & piping beneath the bike - I really hated looking that mess, when the rest of the Monkey is designed so tastefully. If I ever do some real performance improvements to the engine (BBK, cam, etc.), then the Takegawa would probably compliment those well enough. Overall 5-stars! View Detail