Loud pipes and ear plugs

[TheArchitect]

I installed a new can to my GSR recently. Reason was partially for aesthetic reasons and partially because I wanted to make the bike louder.

Now I've notice that with the baffles the bike is too quiet, and without the baffles it's far too loud. Loud to the point where I end up with a headache and ringing ears by the time I finish my journey.

The can has two out pipes so I tried with one baffle in and one out. It's kind of bearable now.

Is there any mods I can do to find some middle ground in terms of sound? A friend suggested drilling holes on the face plate of the baffles, starting with one or two holes and increasing as required. Has anyone done this and does it work?

Oh, and on ear plugs - I have an appointment with specsavers tomorrow to get some custom earplugs made up. got a voucher so will get them half price, normally £125 I think.
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GSXR 600 K6 - Stolen
GSXR 600 K6 - Stolen
MT09 - Almost stolen

[Minty]

I have a dbkiller cut to about 3 inches long for days I go out to bike meets (not giving popo easy pull) and they supress it a smidge, not much. Maybe try that, x2?
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My fingers smell of your mum.

[TheArchitect]

[Minty]

[chickenstrip]

What?! Speak up, I can't hear you!

A lifetime of loud rock music and equally loud bikes hasn't hurt my hearing too badly
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Chickenystripgeezer's Biking Life (Latest update 19/10/18) Belgium, France, Italy, Austria tour 2016 Picos de Europa, Pyrenees and French Alps tour 2017 Scotland Trip 1, now with BONUS FEATURE edit, 5/10/19, on page 2 Scotland Trip 2 Luxembourg, Black Forest, Switzerland, Vosges Trip 2017
THERE'S MILLIONS OF CHICKENSTRIPS OUT THERE!

[Motorhate]

[MCN.]

This is why loud pipes are shite. I did 30 miles on my 350 the other night without earplugs and had tinnitus for an hour after. Standard is always best.

[TheArchitect]

to be honest i'm less worried about the feds as I am about the health of my ear drums! Hence the appointment with the hearing specialist tomorrow to get some custom earplugs.

Also don't want to be seen as antisocial so trying to tame the sound a tad bit but still being loud enough to have a presence on the road.

And to think I was considering decat to make it even louder!!
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GSXR 600 K6 - Stolen
GSXR 600 K6 - Stolen
MT09 - Almost stolen

[Motorhate]

[TheArchitect]

[Matt B]

Decent earplugs, or any earplugs, are the way to go

I use the Moldex Comets now. Not exactly custom made £125 jobs but better than the foam ones.

Interested to know what you think of the custom ones when they are done.
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stinkwheel: He had an animated .gif of a cat performing fellatio. It's not socially acceptable. It can have real life adverse effects on other people.

[Northern Monkey]

Foam ones block more noise than the expensive ones.

Foam ones are rated in excess of 30db sound reduction. It is unusual to find custom made expensive ones which give a sound reduction of 30db, most I found were nearer 20-25
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Fisty: after polishing the tank with the glistenng beads of sweat from my full hot scrotum, I filled the headrace bearings with 10cc of my manmilk

[TheArchitect]

[Sable]

[SofaBear]

had the same thing myself. bought a 200x pack of foam ear plugs from screw fix. they are a bit uncomfy when they aren't sat right as they squidge in and out of my ear. but when they are in its great.

First time i went for a ride with out them i was like FUCK ME WHAT HAVE I DONE TO MY BIKE!? ITS SO FREAKING LOUD!

But london commutes + loud pipes = get the fuck out of my way without me waiting for you to see me.
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Yamaha YBR125(gone) -> '12 Kawasaki ER6F in pearly white mmm

[stevo as b4]

Standard is only best for the best balance of all factors combined.

Personally I've always though changing pipes for sound only or even for looks is a bit pointless.

There's lots of scope for exhaust system design and tuning for bhp/torque gains, and bigger numbers or more shove is the only reason I would be changing an exhaust on any vehicles really.

My car has a very different character in the way the power is delivered, how well it picks up etc and in transient throttle response with a full exhaust system changed to something performance orientated. It's also a gain of 20bhp on a std engine and more low down/earlier power delivery at the expense of top end delivery etc.

I'd change a pipe on my KMX125 for another 1bhp+ at peak or over a couple of thousand rpm.

other better examples would be bikes like Bandit 1200's and XJR1300's where a full performance exhaust system can with supporting changes to fueling add 25bhp in some cases. With gains like that it's just rude not to change the exhaust system IMO.

Big motors like ZX14's Blackbirds and Busa's can have really nice double figure power or torque improvements with the optimal exhaust systems fitted.

Even a Vauxhall Corsa 1.2 would have far better throttle response and a bit more performance with the optimal manifold-tailpipe exhaust configuration.

[Accuhaler]

£125 on earplugs are you crazy?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Industrial-Earplugs-3M-Blue-Tracers-Detectable-Reusable-Silicone-Ear-Plugs-32db-/111382772367?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item19eeee3a8f

we use these on the airport.....

[ferrisio]

[mattyfattyboo...]

I tried ear plugs last week for the first time. They seemed to reduce the volume of some frequencies but others such as the exhaust were louder. Had to take them out in the end they gave me a headache. Sounds like it's worth me trying some better ones (these we're crap foam ones)

[Albigularis]

[Northern Monkey]

[talkToTheHat]

If it's so loud if gives you hearing damage can you hear other vehicles approaching?

Ringing ears afterwards is permanent hearing damage.

16 years of loud environments as musician/recording studio trained monkey/denizen of the music scene, a false start in engineering and hobbyist time with artillery and light infantry has given me an appreciation of my hearing and mouldex sparkplugs are almost always to hand.

I find foam plugs kill wind noise really well, but touch the bass boom of my exhaust less, so with earplugs in I hear exhaust symphony, plugs out at motorway speed is mostly wind noise.

A twin tone horn has plenty of presence and is more likely to be perceived as a noise made because you have not been seen. That's a pile of super-loud that you don't have to endure whether you need it or not and is less likely to be seen as anti-social.
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Bandit. does. everything.