As per the above update I went and collected the first test header last Friday
The brief had to been to make as close a copy as possible (within in their manufacturing capabilities) of the Akrapovic header
The Akrapovic has a slightly bigger bore than the stock header and will not require the graphite bush at the joint to the end can
The Akrapovic is made from titanium but as already advised these ones are made from stainless steel
They have managed to do what I think is a very nice job
The stainless header had to be made in three sections rather than the five that the original Akrapovic was made in , as trying to do it in five sections in stainless was putting too much heat in the tubing and distorting it
I have test fitted it and it is a perfect fit and the original metal heat shield also fits nicely so you will be able to re-use your existing one (the one in the picture is just a standard one that I have had powder coated satin black)
Only thing I have fed back is that I would prefer the heat shield bosses to be TIG welded on rather than MIG tack welded - I know it is hidden under the heat shield and not seen but I still think it spoils the overall quality look of the header
I have also now got the exhaust header studs in stainless steel and copper nuts
So thats the good news - we have a confirmed source of a quality replacement headers
The not so good news is that during the manufacturing process the pipe bending mandrel reached its wear limit and only two of the tight 90 degree bends that are used to make the first section on the header were usable
The rest ended up looking like wrinkled up socks :-( . New tooling is already on order and will be here by the end of the month so we are looking at delivery of the headers by mid November
I do have the header in the photos plus by the end of next week I will have one further one so if anyone is desperate for a header I have two which I will be able to post out earlier
So I'll let the photos tell the rest of the story