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Ever since 2018 when A&R first caught wind of the Aprilia RS 660, we knew this twin-cylinder sport bike was going to be a class killer.

Up until its introduction, the middleweight twins segment has been full of either outdated legacy machines, or bikes that serve a price point above all else.

There is nothing wrong with that per se, but it left the door open for a brand like Aprilia to come in and mix things up with a cutting edge motorcycle.

That is where we are today with the Aprilia RS 660, with its high-power, high-revving parallel-twin engine, its advanced electronics, and its track-tuned chassis.

Last week we brought you a report that said that the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-25R made over 40hp at the wheel at a recent dyno test.

The report attributed no source, which made that horsepower claim a bit hard to verify, but today we seem to have found where that power figure came from, thanks to our friends in Indonesia at the TMC Blog.

Slovenian exhaust maker Akrapovič briefly listed the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-25R on its website, showing both the stock horsepower and torque figures for the quarter-liter four-cylinder monster, but also the gains made from the company’s racing exhaust line.

This video is a bit of marketing piece (a bit might be putting it lightly), but we can’t help but drool over the exhaust that Akrapovič made for the Ducati Panigale V4 R superbike.

Mixed with a race ECU, the serpentine twists of the Akrapovič pipes help coax 231hp from what used to be a 217hp machine in its stock form.

That is a proper WorldSBK level power figure…all from a street bike. It might be a $40,000 street bike sure, but it still runs on pump gas and comes with a two-year warranty and 7,500-mile service intervals.

For a long time, the name “Termignoni” was synonymous with “Ducati exhaust”, with the popular scarico-maker being a constant fixture in the Ducati Performance parts catalog.

So prevalent was the brand, that if you see a turn-of-the-century (21st century, that is) Ducati clacking down the street with its dry clutch, chances are the exhaust you are also hearing was made by Termignoni.

But that has changed in recent years, with Slovenian marque Akrapovi? supplanting Termignoni in Ducati’s good graces.

To find out why, all one had to do was examine the products themselves – where Termignoni’s pieces were poorly fabricated and over-priced, Akrapovi? was infinitely better built and often cheaper.

In the past years, Akrapovi? has done a proper job of branding as the exhaust of choice for motorcycle exhausts (note the company’s many B2B marketing deals in MotoGP and with OEMs), with Termignoni seemingly all but forgotten…until today.

Do you ever go for a ride in the woods, come home smelling like pre-mix, only to lose that sweet scent once you finally take a shower? Has the move to four-stroke machinery greatly reduced your ability to woo a worthy partner to make “brap brap” noises with throughout the night?

Never fear dear reader, we understand your plight. Behold, 2 Stroke – a manly cologne that has been scented from the smell of two-stroke machinery, with hints of pine and spruce. Your braplife needs this.

Judging by the amount of traffic the story is getting, we imagine the sight of the 2016 Ducati 959 Panigale at the EICMA show has ruffled a few feathers.

That’s understandable, since the Euro4 emission standards have forced the Italians to give the Ducati 959 Panigale an exhaust system that we’ve previously only seen on the Japanese-spec model of the Ducati 1199 Superbike.

While the shotgun exhaust isn’t as gawdy as one would think, it’s certainly a stark departure from the underslung units we are used to. We imagine it’s a moot point though, considering how many 959 Panigales will get some sort of slip-on or full-system exhaust from their new owners.

Just the same, the issue seems to be isolated to European soil, as the US-spec version of the 2016 Ducati 959 Panigale exhaust is just how we remember it. Check out the photos, after the jump, and compare it to the European-spec model (the first photo in the gallery).

Known better for its fine exhausts, Akrapovi? is starting to get into the habit of making some intriguing concept motorcycles as well.

So far the Slovenian brand has kept these bikes to a cruiser theme, perhaps to amplify the company’s message to the Bar & Shield realm that other options exist outside of their Screamin’ Eagle©®™ Patriot-Freedom exhaust cannons that are so ubiquitous in that segment.

In contrast to the current trend, Akrapovi?’s designs have been sleek, and this weeks’ latest, the Akrapovi? Full Moon concept continues that ideal.

It’s hard to fault the current Aprilia Tuono V4 R APRC ABS, except perhaps the sport bike’s alphabet soup name, which the Italian company seems to grow longer with each passing year and added feature.

That being said, the Tuono V4 R is easily our pick for the best streetfighter on the market — it packs a punch with its V4 engine, has the industry’s best electronics package, and is just downright fun to ride.

Noale, Italy isn’t resting on those laurels though, so accordingly the 2015 Aprilia Tuono V4 R APRC ABS is getting some minor updates: namely a bump in peak power (170hp) and torque (83.3 lbs•ft), thanks to a new exhaust system.

Despite being five years old, the BMW S1000RR remains one of the best sport bikes you can buy on the market. This is do largely to BMW bringing a bevy of European top-tier features to the superbike, but pricing it inline with its Japanese counterparts, thus creating tremendous bang for the buck for sport bike enthusiasts.

For the 2013 model year, the Bavarians raised their game with its more exclusive BMW HP4 offering, which brought semi-active suspension into liter-bike mix. Now with the Bosch MSC cornering ABS module, BMW continues to raise the game in what was once a segment that lived solely in the Land of the Rising Sun.

Now for 2015, it seems that BMW is set to update the S1000RR, as a revised version of the bike has been spotted in Germany, sporting noticeably different bodywork and other features.

If you’re in the market for a Ducati 899 Panigale, and have the misfortune of living in Japan, the above is what you will be forced to buy. You see the Ducati 899 Panigale, like the Ducati 1199 Panigale and MV Agusta F3, is too loud in its stock form for the Japanese market.

Compounding the issue, the Island Nation is too small of a market for Ducati to revamp its design to meet homologation in its stock form, so an obvious quick-fix has been implemented instead.

It’s a bit of an eyesore on any model; but on the Panigale, the long carbon fiber pipe detracts from the hard work Ducati designers and engineers put into the attractive under-slung unit on the middleweight sport bike. Also of note is the revised big black plastic clutch cover, for added sound dampening.

We’re told the eyesore can be easily removed, with most dealers taking that liberty for an owner at the time of purchase, but still…somethings just aren’t right. A big hat tip to loyal A&R reader Trane for snapping these photos. The sake is on us.

Remember when the Ducati 1199 Panigale hit the shores of Japan, and the Bologna Bullet got an ugly mid-pipe and exhaust can welded into place, whiled the underslung exhaust cans welded shut? It was such an affront to the senses of some of our loyal Ducatisti readers, our comments section was flooded with the word “hoax” and the cry to burn it with fire.

Unlike Santa Claus, the Japanese-spec Ducati 1199 Panigale is very real Virginia, and it features other changes beyond its monstrous exhaust to help quiet the beast that resides within its fairings.

Ducati is not alone in the list of brands that have seen the gorgeous lines of their machines ruined by the strict noise and emission standards of Nippon. Committing yet another crime against motorcycling, we have for your viewing terror official photos of the Japanese edition of the MV Agusta F3 675 — yes, the exhaust can of doom makes a return appearance.