Triumph Rat Motorcycle Forums banner

I think I'm a noise weirdo

3K views 31 replies 20 participants last post by  TriumphLance 
#1 ·
I took the R to Ace Cafe this morning for a fat breakfast. On the way there I realised that I am not in the same camp as everybody else appears to be. You see my bike has a cat, a snorkel and the original pipes and I like it just the way it is.

Am I alone?
 
#2 ·
Nope. I've got a Scorpion can but always keep the dB killer in. Removal of SAI is a bit of a red herring and cats are on for a reason. Exhaust noise is yesterday's news. Antisocial, unimpressive and immature. Almost as bad as owning a cat. :smile2:
 
#6 ·
I've piped every bike I've ever owned so can't cast aspersions at others, but this time on the TR I'm determined to keep the exhaust stock. I don't like too loud anymore. I rode a Duc with Termis for 7 years and other enthusiasts said it sounded great but it sent this percussive shock wave that tripped car alarms even if I wasn't trying. I think I ride smoother and faster when I'm not feeling self conscious about pissing off other people.

Haven't taken delivery so won't say never, but think I'll leave as is until warranty expires. If I ever do put a pipe on this bike it won't be a loud one.
 
#7 ·
I for one enjoy drawing a bit of attention - not a whole lot - but just a bit. I find it's a delicate balance as too much noise will provoke the wrong attention i.e. piss people off - and you all know how the French enjoy sipping their coffee sitting on a terrace rather than actually working...

However and this is me being honest, the main reason for a bit of noise is to draw attention from box drivers who'd rather text their wives than actually pay attention to a bike closing up between lanes (legal here in France). SInce I can't ride around honking 24/7, I find that de-snorkel + offroad V&H w/o baffles does the job. Going decat is another story. As I see it it's about power not noise.
 
#9 ·
Rode my '14 Bonneville about 100 miles a couple of days ago. It's got a bit over 5000 miles on it and is breaking in nicely. (Still going on) It's got all it's stock stuff on it and I find it relaxing and pleasant. I can hear all of the exhaust sound I care to enjoy. Performance is more than adequate as it is but if I need more, the '13 Street Triple is sitting there at the ready. If I need more performance than that……I guess my son would let me borrow his Aprilia.

I know all about "loud pipes save lives" but I seriously doubt that having a wide open exhaust on any of my bikes would have prevented the idiots I encounter on a daily basis from turning left in front of me.
 
#10 ·
I know all about "loud pipes save lives" /QUOTE]

Complete bollox anyway. Self justification from people who think they have a right to get on everyone's **** in the mistaken belief they're getting more power or whatever. They may even think they're cool. Riding intelligently is more likely to save you. 0:)
 
#12 ·
I'll be running mine with stock exhausts for at least another year until the warranty expires.
It's clear that the cat delete brings a leaner condition. It appears that it still is in the safe range, but I'll let others do the long range product testing of those results.
In the worst case, lean running can destroy an engine. Actually the worse case is much beyond that, but we don't like to think that way.
More than likely the engines running these Cat deletes will be OK, but time will tell. Right now, for me, it's not worth the risk for a bit of power I don't need and some extra noise I don't want.
Can't believe I just said that, must be getting really old!

Glen
 
#13 ·
I agree with the OP's view. I Like a quiet bike too but my T100 was bought used; has the TORS but they are quiet enough unless I gas it. My 883 Sportster has stock mufflers (silencers) and I like it that way. I have pointed out elsewhere on this site that BMW riders, Gold Wing riders and police on bikes don't need a loud exhaust to stay safe.

I will add: If you believe that you need loud pipes to be safe, then it's possible that you don't yet know how to ride.
 
#17 · (Edited)
I have pointed out elsewhere on this site that BMW riders, Gold Wing riders and police on bikes don't need a loud exhaust to stay safe.

I will add: If you believe that you need loud pipes to be safe, then it's possible that you don't yet know how to ride.

Uh? Not sure if you believe riders of certain brands are of superior skills than others but Gold wings, and BMWs get in accidents as well.....also I've heard many loud pipes BMW's....police riders having screaming loud sirens and lights that keep them safe, so in fact it is loudness that keeps them safe.....so not sure where you were him going with that?

Those of us who believe loud pipes make us more noticeable, don't think you have to have loud pipes to be safe....we believe it's another layer of protection, like a headlight and a horn.

Cheers
 
#14 ·
Each to their own, but I'm going to hunt for more noise. I'd like to hear it a bit better over the wind noise, even with ear plugs in, its a bit too quite.
For me its part of the experience of riding it. I'm in the country and I doubt the cows will mind.
As far as accidents and safety are concerned, i always believed if I had one its my responsibility to be aware. Until the day I was approaching a car parked in the middle of the road wanting for a gap to turn across the on coming traffic. I backed of to 95km/h and saw he would wait. As I got about 50 meters from him a car run straight into the back of him and as he had his wheels turned he was pushed straight into me. We hit headlight to headlight on our drivers sides. His bull bar pealed my front guard clean off and trashed the drivers side front and back door and the tub. I ricocheted off into a drain and back on the road into the on coming traffic. Luckily no one else was coming. Moral there is you never know when.
 
#16 · (Edited)
I for one believe that louder pipes give you a better chance of being noticed than the stock ssewing machine pipes....I certainly am aware of a louder exhaust when I'm out and hear one.....once I've heard the loud exhaust, I find myself looking for the source of the loud exhaust....

Also riding around tooting the horn the whole time I'm riding seems irritating and perhaps even de-masculating?

Cheers
 
#21 ·
Loud bikes can be safer. Recently in Hanoi whilst busy arguing with my wife about something stupid and inconsequential I stepped off a curb into a 150 Honda Wave. The rider was all apologetic and I was too mad and proud to show the pain of getting swacked in the thigh by a giant silent piece of plastic. Betcha any money if that was a TR with Meerkats I would've heard it coming.
 
#22 ·
Don't get me wrong, the noise level is deafening in Saigon. I'd say even a loud bike could catch you by surprise if every one of them is loud.

It is all a matter of relative loudness. A moped in the countryside IS loud.

Meanwhile, everybody is slowly getting crazy with the noise.

(To say nothing about the pollution: the cat converter on my T120 is the first I ever saw)
 
#24 · (Edited by Moderator)
I don't think the noise helps much for safety, if at all with general car traffic. I can see where it could help with pedestrian traffic as in Steve's example.

A few years ago while a group of us were riding home from a Vincent Rally in California, a riding buddy and good friend was killed. He was on his Vincent Black Shadow which ran an open Goldie megaphone, painfully loud, so much so that I stayed either a half mile back or a half mile in front.
He was on a straight stretch of road with only one other vehicle in sight, a Jeep CJ up ahead moving slowly, same direction as him. He pulled out to pass and at the exact instant he was alongside the driver made a U turn right over top of him. The CJ occupants were a group of guys in their mid 20s, not drunk but out looking for 4x4 roads to try out.
They never heard that Black Shadow which had a hell of a bark, pretty much all of it behind the bike tho.

Glen
 
#25 ·
...to say nothing of how you may or may not hear incoming traffic if you are very loud yourself.

To answer Mackk, most are 4-stroke, some lost their whole pipes years ago, and you do find the occasional loud big bike. Not everyone's friend, though.
 
#27 ·
When I bought my Thruxton, used, it had Predators which are IMO loud, not plesant loud but annoyingly loud. I removed them and modified the stock cans to my liking. So far as best I can tell there has been no loss of life directly attributed to the removal of the obnoxiously loud Predators.
 
#30 ·
Ok i with you except the snorkel... and ill ask have you tried it WITHOUT the snorkel? Cause it's not like louder or obnoxious it just sounds divine to me... Obviously this topic is very subjective but i DO agree that im happy with the noise levels etc..
 
#32 ·
As my Speedmaster has broken in, I have noticed that the sound from the stock exhaust has gotten better...more burbles and (maybe) louder. I actually like it. The last Triumph I had I went for the TOR's which I liked, but I am not really sure I will do it here since it sounds pretty nice right now.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top