This product review was written by Peter Hawkes, a VFR Lister and he has graciously allowed me to post it here.
I have just fitted a Remus EC legal high level titanium can to my UK '99 VFR800FI. Remus do not figure much in this VFR List so for what it is worth, here's a report.
The instructions were in German and the line diagram showed the bracket hanging straight down, when it needs to angle to the rear of the bike. But it was all fairly intuitive.
Contruction and Finish
Excellent. The can is a silky finish titanium with S/S end caps welded and finished to match the skin of the can. There is a welded S/S plate to keep boot heels off the connecting pipe. The bolts supplied are all S/S allen bolts, two to replace the footrest hanger bolts (spacers go behind the hangar to move it clear of the can), two to mount the can to the bracket and one as a pinch bolt to the collector pipe joint.
The inside of the can has baffling plates and varying length pipes, said to be stainless steel (but coated with some black material). The connecting pipe end has a large diameter perforated tube with absorbent material behind it. No additional >baffling in the 54mm diameter elbowed connecting pipe (some Remus race cans and the standard mount VFR can apparently use 76mm tube, but with some baffling there).
The can itself measures (approximately despite spurious implied accuracy!) end cap to end cap 460mm max, width 95mm max, and height 123mm.
Installation
I have an NWS hugger and found I needed an extra step as the pinch bolt at the collector was just touching the hugger. Optional - Remove hugger, file notch to clear (works on grp, may be a problem if carbon fibre) and refit.
- Remove seat and rear cowl.
- Remove original can and throw away the gasket, which is not needed. Keep the original footrest/can mounting bolt with the old can, not needed for this installation.
- Remove passenger footrest hanger, stow the original mounting bolts - no longer needed.
- Cut a slot in the black plastic inner mudguard to allow the bracket to pivot to the rear. I used a craft knife. The material yields easily to a really sharp knife and so do fingers, so keep them out of the way.
- Put bracket against the rearmost footrest hangar mounting point, angled face pointing inwards, refit hangar using the longer allen bolts and the two S/S spacers. Sequence is subframe, bracket, spacer, hangar at the rearmost point, and the same but without the bracket for the front mounting point.
- Slip the elbowed connecting pipe onto the collector. Or, in my case huff and puff, use lots of copperslip, and it will go on all the way eventually.
- Wriggle can onto the elbowed pipe using lots of copperslip. Sounds easy, but like the elbowed pipe to collector, it was a tight fit.
- Fit bolts from the inside of the bracket to the can. Attach mounting springs from the can to the elbowed connecting pipe.
- Tighten all bolts, replace rear cowl and seat.
- Transfer centre stand bump stop from original can.
- Ride and then check bolts after about 60 miles.
What the instructions don't tell you. If you are not lucky in aligning the can mounting bolts it will be quicker to remove the rear wheel (and hugger if fitted). Otherwise you may find it takes a long time to line things up on the blind side.
Appearance
What does it look like? Very neat installation, nicely follows the line of the bodywork. No visible mounting bolts on the can, and the bracket is mainly hidden by the can and the rear cowl. If you have a red VFR, the Remus sticker matches the bike.
Sound
What does it sound like? Mine was an EC Road legal version, so it makes no more measured noise than the OEM can - they say, and there is the paperwork and etched ec4 mark to prove it! But it doesn't sound like that at all. A more noticeable bass beat at tickover, and while the OEM was near silent at low revs - drowned out by gear whine - this one is always audible, but not offensively so. There seems to be ittle difference at the top end, though perhaps the Remus screams a bit more. In mid range the Remus growls much more than the stock can. It is as audible with ear plugs in as the stock can was without.
My son noticed the difference in sound immediately. A friend I ride with and I were approaching the meeting point from opposite sides of the road this morning, and there was a high wall on his side of the road. As we both arrived to pull in on my side of the road, I changed down quickly, and he quickly looked round. When we had both stopped, I asked him why and he said he heard the sound of another bike bouncing off the wall and was looking to make sure it wasn't about to collide with him. Then he saw the new Remus.
Performance
What does it go like? Remus make no performance claim for the EC model, but the UK Importers said I would notice a slightly improved throttle response. I think that's about right, the bike picks up off the throttle at around 3-4k more smoothly - no stutter. It may have a slightly better mid-range response, but there is not much in it, if anything. But I have been caught out a couple of times looking for a 7th gear when just pootling along, it was that much smoother.
Summary
Oh, and it sounds so much better. And all-up weighs around three and a half kilos. So that's better too. Recommended.
Price in UK listed at £345, got mine for £312 delivered.
Peter
'99 800
Bath, UK
