TL;DR: got it, love it. Pics attached.
So, finally got mine today. It’s Euro5 black coated, they said the Euro5 ones where delayed more than planned due to homologation services burnout this year… I guess the coating could add a bit as well. The
dealer (in France, but they ship worlwide it seems) sent me the package same day that he received it from Zard, even before he got my money… First time I ordered to him, so I have to salute this..
Awesome finish, definitely lighter than factory, perfect black coating - I had pipes from Vance & Hines, Scorpion and Akra before, I must admit this is the most expensive ever, but finish is a whole other level, and they definitely try to do something original that to my opinion fits the bike quite well (even if original is almost perfect to this regard).
Setup is not hard, but it is quite a long way - lots of different screws, bolts, nuts and washers; and instructions are YouTube only, which make them very clear but not convenient to navigate through while handling tools with crappy hands… Almost everything is provided though (even a funny hook to setup a spring between down pipes), you just have to take 2 bolts from the original setup.
The catalytic converter (in Euro5 variant only) is very well integrated (I mean, compared to the giant and heavy box they put at factory… these are 2 worlds). I really wanted Euro5 this time, not only because regulators in Europe have bad ideas about mandatory regular bikes inspection for the near future, but also because you know, noise emissions compliant (read: cop proof), and gas emissions savvy.
Enough said, pics (****ty but timely):
The dead donkey we replace:
The pipeless bike (in case you wondered, but I guess not):
Zard catalytic converter in down pipe:
Close views of Zard pipes while setting up:
Final render right side, left side and back :
Then as regards sound; and once again I have a Euro5 variant with cat and baffles - it’s perfect. I could not have dreamt better; it’s significantly louder but not too loud (I have had too loud - I went numb after 100km, and getting older I’m pissed by too much loudness everywhere from radio music to streets now
). It’s a more mid-low/bassy ranged sound than original, warmer, more pleasant to my ears and that I believe better fit the bike. Still have to test on road and with revs (too late here to piss the neighbors).
I have a before/after idle sound recording from my mobile, but this is a bad quality take by design, with probably less than a third of sound range, and free saturation: this would not do justice, to the pipe, Triumph, our ears or the phone. Wait not the phone - it’s their fault.
Hope this short overview will be useful to your minds and choices fellow riders.
