Yoshimura GSX-R1000 R-11Sq Slip-On Preview

$909 Metal Magic slip-on sheds 2.4 pounds off the Gixxer

Summary: The Yoshimura R-11Sq Slip-On with Metal Magic muffler (part number 180-50A-L12G3) fits the 2017-22 Suzuki GSX-R1000 and GSX-R1000R and costs $909. Built in Japan for the U.S. market, it drops muffler weight from 8.3 to 5.9 pounds and claims up to 2.1% more horsepower and 6.2% more torque.

Some pairings just work. Coffee and donuts. Track days and empty wallets. And, for roughly as long as anybody can remember, Suzuki GSX-Rs and Yoshimura exhausts. So when Yoshimura R&D of America says the 2017-22 Suzuki GSX-R1000/R “just got a Metal Magic upgrade from Japan,” our ears perk up the same way they do when someone starts a cold superbike in a parking garage.

The new piece is the R-11Sq Slip-On with Metal Magic muffler, part number 180-50A-L12G3, and it retails for $909 through Yoshimura R&D of America. Yoshimura’s own product description says it best, and with more sandwich energy than we expected: the R-11Sq and the current-generation GSX-R “go together like peanut butter and jelly.” We’d argue the GSX-R is the bread here, but we won’t fight Yoshimura over sandwich metaphors.

What Is the Yoshimura R-11Sq Metal Magic Slip-On?

The R-11Sq is a Yoshimura Japan (YJP) muffler with the angular, square-edged profile that’s become one of the brand’s signature looks. According to Yoshimura, it’s the same iconic profile used by the Yoshimura Suzuki World Championship Endurance Team (SERT), and the company says the design “has been refined in the crucible of Endurance racing.” In plain English: this shape was born to run long and hard, which is exactly how most of us ride a liter bike for the first five minutes after installing a new pipe.

This version wears a Metal Magic sleeve and is capped with the R-11Sq carbon fiber end cap. In Yoshimura’s product photos, the sleeve shows a dark, checkered finish wrapped in polished hardware, a red-and-black Yoshimura Japan R-11Sq badge on the side and that sharply angled carbon fiber tip out back. It’s a look that reads “factory race bike” even when the bike is parked outside a coffee shop.

Because it’s a slip-on, the R-11Sq replaces the stock muffler and leaves the rest of the factory exhaust in place. Yoshimura classifies it as a Street Series exhaust system, and the company says all Street Series systems are slip-on or bolt-on applications “that do not require tampering with the vehicle’s emissions control system.” Yoshimura’s page doesn’t publish a separate material breakdown for the link pipe or internal construction, so we’re leaving those details at N/A rather than guessing.

Weight Savings: 2.4 Pounds Gone

Yoshimura lists the stock system at 8.3 pounds (3.8 kg) and the R-11Sq at 5.9 pounds (2.7 kg). That’s a claimed savings of up to 2.4 pounds (1.1 kg), and Yoshimura’s description says the slip-on “removes up to 2.4 lbs. of weight from the GSX-R 1000.”

Is 2.4 pounds going to turn a GSX-R1000R into a featherweight? No. But it’s weight coming off high and toward the back of the motorcycle, and anybody who has flicked a liter bike through a fast chicane knows every bit of mass you shed out there is welcome. It’s also roughly the weight of the lunch we probably shouldn’t have eaten before our last track day, so there’s that.

One note for the spec nerds (we see you): Yoshimura’s product page labels the 5.9-pound figure as “Yoshimura R-11Sq stainless,” while both the product title and Yoshimura’s newsletter describe this part as the Metal Magic muffler. The newsletter explicitly ties the 5.9-pound figure to this Metal Magic version. We’re reporting the 5.9-pound number as Yoshimura published it and flagging the label difference so you can confirm with Yoshimura if those last few ounces keep you up at night.

Claimed Horsepower and Torque Gains

Yoshimura claims the R-11Sq adds up to 2.1% more horsepower at 13,300 rpm and up to 6.2% more torque at 3,800 rpm. Yoshimura publishes those as percentages, not as raw horsepower or lb-ft numbers, and it didn’t share a dyno chart, so we won’t invent one.

What those numbers tell us is interesting, though. The headline gain isn’t at the top. It’s way down low at 3,800 rpm, which is the part of the rev range where you’re rolling through town, trickling out of pit lane or feeding throttle off a slow hairpin. A 6.2% bump down there is the kind of thing you feel in the seat of your pants on the street. The 2.1% at 13,300 rpm is a smaller number, but this is a GSX-R1000. Top-end power has never been its problem.

If you want to know how the stock bike already behaves, our 2027 Suzuki GSX-R1000R Track Review covers how the current Gixxer engine pulls on the racetrack, and our Honda Fireblade SP vs. Suzuki GSX-R1000R comparison shows how it stacks up against Honda’s best. (The 2027 bike is newer than this pipe’s 2017-22 fitment, but the engine character story is a useful baseline.)

Sound Levels: Loud, but Not Obnoxious

Yoshimura rates the R-11Sq’s sound using the SAE J2825 standard at 6,600 rpm. Without the dB killer, it measures 104 dB. With the dB killer installed, it drops to 101 dB.

Three decibels may not sound like much on paper, but decibels are logarithmic, so the difference is noticeable to your neighbors, your riding buddies and the track-day tech inspector with the sound meter. Yoshimura’s description also promises that “the performance and sound of the R-11Sq is like no other.” We’ll reserve judgment until we hear one at full song, but we have yet to hear a Yoshimura-equipped inline-four that made us wish we had stayed home.

Yoshimura also separately lists a $42.95 Sound Insert Kit for specific R-11Sq mufflers (part number INS-YJP-03-K), described as a replacement low-volume insert kit for applications that need different sound restrictions. Yoshimura doesn’t state on the GSX-R1000 product page whether that kit matches this exact muffler, so call Yoshimura sales at 1-800-634-9166 to confirm before ordering.

Made in Japan, Spec’d for the U.S.

This is a Yoshimura Japan product, and Yoshimura says the R-11Sq is “designed, developed and manufactured in Japan.” Yoshimura R&D of America says it is the only authorized North American distributor for its sister companies, Yoshimura Japan (YJP) and Yoshimura Asia (YAT).

Here’s the part we find genuinely interesting. Yoshimura says it works with YJP and YAT to develop and test components that are less restricted than the “choked-down systems” required for markets like Japan and Europe. Yoshimura says this imported version is specially configured for the U.S. marketplace and isn’t available in any other market. In other words, it’s built for U.S.-spec bikes rather than being a European version with a passport stamp.

Buying the U.S.-spec version through Yoshimura R&D of America also gets you the following, according to Yoshimura:

• Made and marked for the U.S.
• In-house warranty and technical support
• Certificate of authenticity
• Full 12-month warranty

The product page describes the warranty as a limited one-year warranty against defects in workmanship and/or materials for all Yoshimura of America, Inc. exhaust systems, and the company also offers factory maintenance and crash repair services for its exhaust systems. That last one is nice to know, though we’d rather never need it.

Is It Street Legal?

Yoshimura lists this part under its Street Series, and the product page carries an Emissions Compliance Declaration of “Qualified Manufacturer Declared ‘Replacement Part.'” As noted above, Yoshimura says Street Series slip-ons don’t require tampering with the bike’s emissions control system.

Short answer: yes. This slip-on is street-legal in the United States. The page also carries a California Proposition 65 warning. Our standing advice: be cool, keep the dB killer handy, and don’t make the neighborhood HOA newsletter.

Yoshimura GSX-R1000/R R-11Sq Metal Magic Slip-On Specs

Who Should Buy It?

If you own a 2017-22 GSX-R1000 or GSX-R1000R and want the classic Yoshimura look with a Japanese-built muffler, this is the one to look at. You get a claimed weight savings, a claimed low-rpm torque bump you’ll actually use on the street, a sound you can tune with the dB killer, and a muffler shape tied directly to Yoshimura’s SERT endurance design. It’s also a bolt-on job rather than a full-system teardown, which means more riding and fewer skinned knuckles.

At $909, it’s not the cheapest way to make a Gixxer louder. But it’s a Japanese-built Yoshimura Japan piece with a carbon fiber end cap, made for the U.S. market, and Yoshimura backs it with a 12-month warranty and in-house tech support. For the GSX-R owner who wants the bike to look like it came out of the Yoshimura race shop, that’s the price of admission. You can order it directly from Yoshimura’s product page.

Shopping other Yoshimura hardware? Check our Yoshimura AT2 Exhaust Review, our Yoshimura Honda CB1000F Cyclone Slip-On Preview and our Yoshimura MT-09 AT2 Speed Series Full System Preview. And if you’re curious how Suzuki’s latest liter bike feels up close, our 2027 Suzuki GSX-R1000R Garage Talk walks around the newest model.

Yoshimura R-11Sq GSX-R1000 FAQ

How much does the Yoshimura R-11Sq Metal Magic slip-on cost?

Yoshimura lists the R-11Sq Slip-On with Metal Magic muffler for the 2017-22 Suzuki GSX-R1000/R at $909.

What years of GSX-R1000 does it fit?

Yoshimura lists fitment for the 2017-2022 Suzuki GSX-R1000 and GSX-R1000R. For other model years, contact Yoshimura to confirm fitment.

How much weight does it save?

Yoshimura says it cuts weight from 8.3 pounds (3.8 kg) stock to 5.9 pounds (2.7 kg), a savings of up to 2.4 pounds (1.1 kg).

How loud is the R-11Sq?

Tested to SAE J2825 at 6,600 rpm, Yoshimura rates it at 104 dB without the dB killer and 101 dB with it.

Where is it made?

Yoshimura says the R-11Sq is designed, developed and manufactured in Japan, and this version is configured specifically for the U.S. market.

Is it street-legal?

Yes. It’s a street-legal Street Series slip-on in the United States, with a “Qualified Manufacturer Declared ‘Replacement Part'” emissions declaration.