Alex from LaBaron's Powersports tested out the new Suzuki RM-Z450 full single exhaust from Barker's Performance and provided his feedback below as well as the Dyno results.
"Very recently, we at LaBaron’s PowerSports have had the distinguished pleasure of testing the new Barkers exhaust system for the RMZ450. We had an opportunity to test the bike on our in-house chassis dynamometer. We were able to compare power output and air-fuel ratio back to back between the stock exhaust and Barkers’ full system to determine exactly how much power your dollar will buy you when installing a Barker’s system on new RMZ450. The following is a brief play-by-play commentary of what transpired in our dyno-cell.
The near brand spankin’ new 2014 RMZ450 was rolled onto our dyno, clad in fresh street tires so that our testing could be as accurate as possible. After a few warm-up runs, we discovered that the stock RMZ was making 46.87hp at 8750rpm and 30.46ft/lbs of peak torque at 7500rpm. The RMZ had smooth power delivery and crisp response, despite its excessively rich fuel ratios.
Once we had our data, we installed the Barker’s exhaust system on the yellow thumper. As always, the system installed cleanly, and just emanated quality from every square inch of beautifully crafted stainless steel tubing. The bike came to life with crisp exhaust tone that very obviously outclassed what we had experienced just moments before. The Barker’s exhaust increased power dramatically with a peak of 50.04hp at 8900rpm and 32.11ft/lbs of torque at 7500rpm. Not only were peak numbers increased substantially, but rear wheel horsepower was up over 2.5hp nearly everywhere! There was literally nowhere that the stock system could even come close to matching our new found power levels, save for a very small area just below the rev limiter. Thanks to the rich fuel mapping of the RMZ, there were no areas of the rev-range that experienced excessively lean air-fuel ratios. That being said, we have determined that the Barker’s system can be installed on the 2014 RMZ 450 without changing any fuel management settings. Even after installing the available quiet core insert, we continued to be impressed with what we saw. The quiet core yielded a noticeable drop in exhaust noise and delivered even more peak power! A 3/4hp increase for a total of 50.76hp at 8750rpm to be exact! This increase in the peak output did come at a small cost in the form of reduced mid-range power output that still trumped stock numbers everywhere.
Not being the type to rest on our laurels, we decided to install a Power Commander 5 and build a precision fuel map to see just how much better we could make the mighty RMZ. The tuning increased peak numbers by about a half horse-power, but gained as much as 2.5hp in the midrange and over-rev. Although it is not always necessary to re-map an EFI equipped bike to safely run an aftermarket exhaust, it will always yield increases in power, and is highly recommended.
In short, what we have seen out of Barker’s Exhaust is nothing short of amazing. If you are looking for a new exhaust system for your RMZ450, or any other motocross bike or ATV, look no further than Barkers."
-Alex Galeczka
Sr. Technician
LaBaron’s Powersports LLC
