I'm pretty sure most people prefer to keep their hearing, there's simply no need to make the vehicles as loud as some are. Use a race track if you can't do without such defeaning noise.

Just take the batteries out of your hearing aid, problem solved.

I did, but my neighbor says it doesn't improve his hearing.

When you want your motorbike to be more noisy but controllable, leave the exhaust alone but open the intake. Will make a beautiful noise when you give lots of gas, but will remain silent when going a steady speed.

When doing this to an old Guzzi at idle it'll sound like an old steam engine... i miss my LM3

Why not get speakers inside your bike helmet that blares the sound at the only person guaranteed to enjoy it?

Does that mean less growling, more whining and the occasional miaow?

I have DB killers in all of my big bikes except for one of the LMIVs, and pretty open intakes in all, three with stacks. Definitely some nice intake noise!

Tom

Funny thing this - in the UK I have a Ducati with OEM straight through exhausts. Came like that from the dealer, and is road legal (gets MOT'ed every year - and in one case got stopped by the police looking for a stamp on it).



That said, I wasn't allows at brands hatch with it, as it was (substantially) over their noise limit...

Does the UK have something like a definitive noise limit that applies at all times, regardless of speed etc? Perhaps subject to pitch?

Officially, yes. 80dB is the limit (driveby test) this applies to new motorbikes. I haven't seen a single MOT garage with a dB meter.

That said, if your bike is pre-1983, no noise limits apply and you're free to do pretty much whatever you want.


If you fit an aftermarket exhaust, it must comply with some standard (can't remember which) and not make "excessive noise".


On race-tracks, the owners don't want to upset their neighbors (nor the local council)... so they have noise limits measured at the entrance.

I live on the Ammersee where there are prime roads for bikers to ride on. Yesterday was a typical bank holiday and bikes were out in their hundreds.
You know the kind, bikes that have sat in the garage all winter and only get aired when the conditions are perfect and ridden by riders who dismount at a traffic light to polish the chrome.
It´s not the individual bike that is loud it´s the hundreds of noise conform bikes spiced with a few louder ones. For that to be under control you would need to ban all bikes.
But then, as we have noticed you have to ban, sports cars, SUV´s Trikes, quads and three series BMW´s with a tuning kit. Oh why not ban all vehicles with a combustion engine and get the electric car bugaloo going.

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Back in Bavaria, god´s own belly button.

Noise rarely an issue for me but the serpentine roads going up/down a mountain apparently paradise for racing motorbikes while a nightmare for everyone else

If they're a nightmare for everyone else I would have no problem if they didn't use them. Or at least if the camper vans didn't use them.