If bikes were silent?

[Cillit-BANG]

Well, would you?

I mean completely silent. All you can hear is the wind noise from the speed. Would biking have the same appeal to you, and would biking be at the same stage as it is now?

Is it likely that if they were silent, biking would have evolved into a completely different kettle of fish.

I have to say that I suspect we wouldn't be where we are now. Perhaps the biking culture would have been picked up by a different class of people and would have been developed into something entirely different to the sport we know it now.

Saturday night ramblings after coming in from a couple of hours pottering in the garage.

[McGee]

The GSXR with out that addictive voracious howl, no way it just would not be worth it
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Its pronounced Jixxer!

[Valver]

It wouldn't bother me at all. It'd be bloody dangerous though!!!

[GearboxGeezer]

Changing gear would be fun..

[colin1]

even if the engine was silent, id have to use the horn a lot for all the people who just didnt hear or see me.

v twins sound good on tick over , but with other engines, i only like the sound when its at high revs, so id be quite happy to have a bike with a silent engine
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colin1 is officially faster than god

[Sparks!]

Would be perfect for me, could stunt anywhere without any complaints!!!! all race tracks could run more races, events etc because there would be no noise.

okay it wont feel or be the same without the noise but if it means you can actually ride it'd rock!!!

only for the UK tho, most other countries dont seem to have the problems we have here

[Cillit-BANG]

But do you think that GSXR's would even exist if bikes had been silent from the humble beginnings?

Take bad-ass cruisers, trikes, choppers for example. Those things burn ear drums, do you think that these muscle bikes would have half as much street-cred if they were silent? Personally I can't see this area of the motorcycling community even being here if silent bikes were the case. 'Oi Jock, I've bin spannerin in t' outhouse all month, ere's t result, a 3 litre V-twin, chrome everything, 330 section rear tyre 'n all' Somehow there's something missing from that sentance...'Sounds f*cking awesome'

I suspect sportsbikes would have taken a different direction somewhere along the line too.

[colin1]

bikes have always been cheap speed
the sound is a bonus, but even harley riders dont buy on sound alone.
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colin1 is officially faster than god

[Ragdoll]

Tricky question but if you were profoundly deaf I don't suppose it would affect your ability to enjoy riding a bike so I suppose my answer would be no...there's more to it than the satisfying noise a bike makes.
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1st bike - Honda Rebel; 2nd bike - CBR125; next bike - husband's 'blade hehehehe
Lancashire Bikers Facebook Group

[Cillit-BANG]

A lot of a bike's character comes from the engine/exhaust note though.

2 identical bikes. 1's silent, 1 isn't. Which do you think will sell more

[Ragdoll]

[Cillit-BANG]

If they were silent, I definately would too.

I just think that I'm not sure the biking world would be where it's at now, if they had been silent. I'm sure they would still be here, but perhaps not in the same way as we have them now.

Maybe the whole hooligan aspect would never have taken affect, and they might have become far more mainstream in society.

[Ted]

Electric engines are here... but there must be a good reason why there not in bikes!

Also... how many Ferrari's could you sell if they have silent engines?

I would still enjoy riding a bike, but the engine noise does make a difference to me... perhaps I'm just shallow!

**LOUD PIPES SAVE LIVES**

Rock on loud engines

[Kickstart]

Hi

To be honest it wouldn't bother me at all. Can't say I really appreciate the sound.

Be more concerned about a boring power delivery.

All the best

Keith
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Traxpics, track day and racing photographs - Bimota Forum - Bike performance / thrust graphs for choosing gearing

[DukeRed]

[Whosthedaddy]

The powerful sound of my zorst is fantastic, or is it the vibrations put through the bike that makes it sound and feel so cool
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Current : MSX 125 Past : CBR 900RR Monkeybike : c50 LAC : ZXR750 H2 : FZR600 : ZX7R P3 : YW100 : TRX850: Trophy 900 T309 : GSXR 600 L0: Monkeybike : XJ6S Whosthedaddy

[fast_tzr]

It would be hell, I love the sound of my bike, I cant wait to get on a 600, obviously mostly for the speed, but partly for the sound aswell. If somehow engines all become silent, I shall get some kind of speaker system, rig it up and get the engine noise to match the revs(its already been done with cars that sound shite)

[colin1]

have u got a link for the kind of thing u can fit to cars to do that ?
i quite like the idea of making a fiesta sound like a ferrari from inside
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colin1 is officially faster than god

[BFG]

If cats didn't purr would you keep one as a pet?

Bikes should sound nice. I like bikes that go "blatter blatter".
(See my sig)

[fast_tzr]

Afraid I dont have a link, I saw it on 5th gear or something a few years back. They rigged it up to a nissan bluebird and it had the sound of a sportscar, a v8, and a few others aswell. May be quite good to put in your helmet if we all end up with electric engines, all the sound of a race can without upsetting anybody else. However as said surely they cant make things completely silent, as when I cross the road I use my ears quite a bit to check if traffic is coming.

[Ragdoll]

[senna_f4]

[DukeRed]

That's the one.
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Enjoy Life There's Plenty of Time to be Dead
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[veeeffarr]

I think if bikes were silent the road system today would be totally unrecognisable from what it is now.

I doubt I'd ride, it's dangerous as it is.