Loud vs quiet exhaust? | GTAMotorcycle.com

Loud vs quiet exhaust?

Drennan57

Drennan57

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How do you guys feel about loud vs quieter exhaust? I've got a D&D on my CBR and it is extremely loud. Part of me wishes it was quieter but then again I know I never have to worry about sneaking up on cagers so in a way its a safety thing. Just kinda annoying that no matter what rpm range it just screams.

How do you guys feel about bikes with loud exhaust? Good/bad. Wear plugs an forget about it?
 
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Oh god, not this subject again. This is going to get 50/50 on the responses. So let's get it out of the way.

50% - loud pipes are a safety feature, loud pipes save lives, you're a loser if you run stock
50% - loud pipes are annoying, loud pipes don't save lives, you're a loser if you run one

I like a nice sounding exhaust and loathe extremely loud ones. Personally I run stock because I try not to draw any more attention to my shenanigans than needed.

If yours is really loud it may need to be repacked.
 
Stock pipe is best pipe. If you want to be noticed, then sound like an ice cream truck.
 
The biggest downside of loud pipes is the public resentment. Only a few percent of the population rides so the love of bikes is limited to start. If you add in annoying behavior and noise you can expect more resentment. Because loud pipes can be heard for over a half mile one loud rip down a street can annoy thousands of people.

Basically you're pissing in your own well.

Expect the public to assume you are wrong in the event of a collision. Expect bans and extreme scrutiny.
 
I know my neighbours hated my bandit 1200s with full Yosh exhaust. Warming it up on choke at 5am caused some issues.
I run stock on all my bikes now, with a slip on performance gains are minute, but a nice sound is good.
 
JoeyB said:
Oh god, not this subject again.
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LOL. Reminds me of...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WNrx2jq184

This is going to get 50/50 on the responses. So let's get it out of the way.

50% - loud pipes are a safety feature, loud pipes save lives, you're a loser if you run stock
50% - loud pipes are annoying, loud pipes don't save lives, you're a loser if you run one
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If loudness didn't garner attention:
- police, ambulance and fire trucks would not come equipped with ear-piercing sirens
- you wouldn't be awakened by the sound of the recycling truck crashing and banging at ungodly early morning hours
- why do alarm clocks make the worst noise in the world to wake you up?
- cars would not come equipped with horns at all (and motorcyclists wouldn't seek to change their itty-bitty "meep meep" horns with proper ones...)
- trains would not have need to sound (or even have) those awesome air horns at crossings

and so on. Sound does get attention. Indeed, sirens on emergency vehicles have gotten louder and more obnoxious over time. These guys aren't relying solely on hi-viz (shiny red fire trucks and flashy cop cars) or light modulators (blitzing strobes, cherries, beacons etc) to get other drivers' attention.

Do they "save lives"? I don't know but if my Yoshi rousts even a single dozy driver out of near-sleep like an alarm clock then it already earned its keep to me.

I like a nice sounding exhaust and loathe extremely loud ones. Personally I run stock because I try not to draw any more attention to my shenanigans than needed.
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Interesting. So a loud exhaust would draw attention to where you are and what you're doing... :)
 
I ride a cruiser and it needs all the help it can get. Big, heavy, under powered. Stock exhaust sounds like a sewing machine. Slip ons gained some HP and sounds like a cruiser should.

Ok, it's a Harley.

But, I refuse to dress like a pirate.


The D&D on the Buell is obnoxiously loud. But, I love it.

I don't start and idle my machines or blip the throttle through the neighbourhood.
 
I've got a Two Brothers slip on on my CBR. It's not too loud around town or on the highways (I usually keep RPMs low in town anyway) but when I go on the 400 series it's pretty loud.

The way I see it loud is good. Think of the 16 year old kid blasting music in their parents car. New driver, probably doesn't pay attention like they should. Do you think a bike horn is going to be heard by them? I'm thinking not. However when I pull the clutch in and redline my bike...they'll hear me.

Here's another example. My father was riding through town one day. A little old lady was starting to pull out in front of him (obviously didn't look before she started to drive). He has a Harley with screaming eagle pipes. He revved the engine and she slammed the brakes.

Sent from my SM-G920W8 using Tapatalk
 
I like a nice tone. My cobras test under 90db and are just the right amount of loud. Quieter than a stock HD that my coworker rides and also quieter than a neighbour's Vette. So I guess you could say I like loud-ish. But that ice cream truck music idea....

Sent from a Samsung Galaxy far, far away using Tapatalk
 
Xrsman said:
Here's another example. My father was riding through town one day. A little old lady was starting to pull out in front of him (obviously didn't look before she started to drive). He has a Harley with screaming eagle pipes. He revved the engine and she slammed the brakes.

Sent from my SM-G920W8 using Tapatalk
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makes sense....it was a harley so the horn probably didnt work
 
nakkers said:
I ride a cruiser and it needs all the help it can get. Big, heavy, under powered. Stock exhaust sounds like a sewing machine. Slip ons gained some HP and sounds like a cruiser should.

Ok, it's a Harley.

But, I refuse to dress like a pirate.


The D&D on the Buell is obnoxiously loud. But, I love it.

I don't start and idle my machines or blip the throttle through the neighbourhood.
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This made me laugh out loud, good job.

Maybe i can order a DB killer in or something for mine, it sounds like a race bike and even at low revs the drone is loud. Fun when you get on it tho ;)
 
I've always found that a loud horn works better, is less expensive, and is safer than an exhaust.

Also, I didn't know that Emergency vehicles had open pipes to be heard, I thought that they had sirens.

Finally, people don't need to dress like a pirate to be obnoxious. ;)
 
Xrsman said:
Snip...
The way I see it loud is good. Think of the 16 year old kid blasting music in their parents car. New driver, probably doesn't pay attention like they should. Do you think a bike horn is going to be heard by them? I'm thinking not. However when I pull the clutch in and redline my bike...they'll hear me.

Here's another example. My father was riding through town one day. A little old lady was starting to pull out in front of him (obviously didn't look before she started to drive). He has a Harley with screaming eagle pipes. He revved the engine and she slammed the brakes.

Sent from my SM-G920W8 using Tapatalk
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In situations like that I prefer to use my brakes rather than hope a little old lady will react properly and slam hers on!
 
Baggsy said:
I've always found that a loud horn works better, is less expensive, and is safer than an exhaust.

Also, I didn't know that Emergency vehicles had open pipes to be heard, I thought that they had sirens.

Finally, people don't need to dress like a pirate to be obnoxious. ;)
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No one hears emergency vehicles. They only interrupt phone calls and folks txting.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I've had loud exhaust systems on all my bikes for my 34 years of riding. My new ZX10R has stock exhaust so I'm now trying to adjust until I get the Two Brothers Racing system I'm eyeing up. I found a throttle blip was far faster (instinctive) and effective than fumbling around for a micky mouse horn. I found it helps as the sound often gives you a good idea when to shift in lieu of looking at the tach. I have to admit I've used the noise to punish $%&# heads once I get passed them (should they deserve the wrath of the Ninja Noise) lol. The down side is that the cops hear you coming miles away before they see you. I don't give a c$%p about residential noise. Lawnmowers, dogs, chainsaws, aircraft, trucks, trains, atv's, dirtbikes... are all part of deal.
 
Loud, but not too loud. Harley with open pipes? Kill it and the owner with fire.
 
nakkers said:
I ride a cruiser and it needs all the help it can get. Big, heavy, under powered.
I don't start and idle my machines or blip the throttle through the neighbourhood.
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Similar situation for me...although I don't feel I have power problems at 1300CC.

I've been working and reworking my baffles for the last few weeks trying to get them quieter, but almost everything I've tried solves the low RPM issue (so I can get in and out of residential areas, including my own, without being "that guy"), but then it's too quiet on the highway when I like others to hear me before they typically (of course) don't see me.

I ended up going back to basically stock and just lug the bejesus out of the bike when on my own street - it's quiet this way...and when I'm in residential areas I go out of my way to avoid hard acceleration and again, I keep the RPM's low. Rumble yes, annoying loud crackle, no.

And I don't dress like a pirate either.
hehe.gif
 
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