Mental exhaustion: Best aftermarket exhausts for your motorbike

A great example of a performance can for machines other than sportsbikes, in this case Honda's Rebel 500 cruiser, and also one from one of the less-known American brands; others include Vance and Hines, and all are worth a look.

One of the biggest names in motorcycle exhausts, on one of the most popular 125s. Slovenia's Akrapovic has become the virtually undisputed World #1 for motorcycle exhausts in the past 20 years or so for its quality and reputation and this is a good example of its wares.

If you can't afford or don't need the maximum performance gain a full system offers, a bolt-on silencer or can is a very popular option, as typified by this example from reputable Italian brand Arrow.

Although two-stroke powered two-wheelers are now few and far between due to tightening EU emissions regulations, they're still popular and available among scooters and lightweights and the power-enhancing 'expansion chamber' exhausts that can significantly boost performance remain popular.

Japanese brand Yoshimura can rightfully claim to be another of the world leaders in motorcycle exhausts with a huge variety of both road and race full systems, slip-on cans and more with this R-11 model typical of its top-quality wares.

Here's another example of a decent, mid-range can, this time from the more affordable Italian brand, GPR, and also one that usefully retains the exhaust catalyser. It's street-legal with a black finish. On the downside, due to the MT-09's one-piece stock pipe, the original needs to have its silencer cut off before you can fit the GPR version.

Scorpion is probably the leading British aftermarket motorcycle exhaust brand and, like its larger rivals, offers a huge range of exhausts, cans and more both for road and race.

Another full system, this time from quality, but lesser known, French brand IXIL. The downpipes are in corrosion-resistant stainless steel which then fit to a separate, slip-on and stylish twin outlet, black finished silencer.

Another British exhaust/accessory brand, but this time one at the more budget end of the spectrum. This race (not road legal) can is fairly simple, straightforward and typical of its products. It's a straightforward oval design in stainless, is easy to fit and simply slots onto the standard header pipes with no need to re-adjust the fuelling.