Alright, folks, gather ’round. Today, I’m gonna walk you through how I slapped a Leo Vince full exhaust onto my 2023 MT-09. It wasn’t exactly a walk in the park, but hey, what good project is, right? So, let’s dive in.
First things first, I got the bike up on a stand. Gotta have that thing stable, you know? You don’t want it tipping over mid-wrench. Then I got all the tools out. Honestly, it’s your basic socket set, some Allen wrenches, and a torque wrench – a must-have, don’t even think about skipping that.
Disassembly
- Remove the stock exhaust I started by taking off the stock exhaust. This was pretty straightforward. A few bolts here, a few brackets there, and off it came. It’s heavier than you’d think, so watch out.
- Disconnect O2 sensor Then I removed the seat and some fairings to give me space to work. I disconnected the O2 sensor carefully, made sure the connector was clean, and plugged it into the new system.
Installation
Next up, the fun part – putting on the shiny new Leo Vince. It came in a few pieces: headers, mid-pipe, and the muffler itself.
- Headers first. I loosely fitted them, making sure not to cross-thread anything. Patience is key here, trust me.
- Mid-pipe After the headers, I slid on the mid-pipe. Again, everything was just loosely fitted at this point. You want some wiggle room to get everything lined up just right.
- Muffler Finally, the muffler. This was the easiest part, just slid it on and secured it with the supplied clamp.
Once everything was in place, I started tightening things up. This is where that torque wrench is crucial. I looked up the torque specs for each bolt – gotta make sure you don’t over-tighten and strip something, or under-tighten and have your exhaust fall off mid-ride. Not good.
Finishing Up
After everything was torqued down, I gave the whole system a once-over, made sure nothing was rubbing against anything it shouldn’t be. Then I reconnected the O2 sensor, put back the fairing, and put the seat back. Fired up the bike, and man, did it sound sweet! That deep, throaty growl – music to my ears. The whole process took me a good few hours, but it was totally worth it.
So, there you have it – my little adventure with the Leo Vince exhaust. If you’re thinking about doing this mod to your MT-09, I say go for it. Just take your time, double-check everything, and enjoy that sweet, sweet sound.
