Noisier, safer, more power, more fun

[Old Steve]

OK, I'm still on my learners license so I'm limited to 250cc. I've got a Hyosung GV250 cruiser, one reason why I bought her was because I thought I'd be more visible on her - she's probably the biggest learners bike out there. However I had a young boy racer pull right out into my space on a two lane urban road (thread somewhere in here) a week or so ago, so I decided to do a little modification to make myself a little more noticeable.

Today I drilled out the pop rivets which hold in the final baffles on my bikes exhausts and removed them, the baffles that is, the rivets just dropped out. The final baffle is just a small disc about 40 mm in diameter with a short pipe which goes back into the silencer. So I now have no last baffle and a 30 mm hole/straight through into the silencer. Much noisier, definitely noticeable but not neighbour annoyingly noisier.

Took her for a run after surgery, she's got a distinct exhaust note now - my wife says she's rougher but I think she's delightfull. Bit of a crackle on throttling back, a distinct ponka-ponka sound at idle. But I feel a lot safer - well that's my excuse for doing it! I'll see if I get any official notice, but she's not any noisier than a lot of bigger bikes.

Out on the run I noticed she'd pick up faster, pull away from lower revs easier, and cruised ten or twenty km/hr faster on the flat. I put that down to an increase in power, somewhere I read that opening up the exhaust could give up to 10% more power. Briefly, I'm thrilled.

[CookMySock]

See if you can find someone with a properly done noisy pipe on their hyo. I think you will be surprised.

Steve

[Slyer]

There's no point making your bike louder for boy racers, what with them going the speed of sound and all.

[PirateJafa]

somewhere I read that opening up the exhaust could give up to 10% more power.

10%? Bah.

Painting it red will add a easy 20%.

[Tryhard]

Try air horns lol

[Old Steve]

10%? Bah.

Painting it red will add a easy 20%.



It is red. So that's 30% more power. Up to a total of 5 kW now :yes:

[BuzzardNZ]

Actually, I think having a loud noisey bike does add to ones saftey. The increased road presense lets cars know you are around. Also, freer flowing pipes will make the bike run faster, and also possibly feel a bit rougher.

Most car's can't pull in ahead of me, due to the fact I've already passed them :)

[R-Soul]

It is red. So that's 30% more power. Up to a total of 5 kW now :yes:

Now try putting a Honda sticker on it- it will blow your brains out...

[sil3nt]

Now try putting a Honda sticker on it- it will blow your brains out...Well it would at least blow you......

[R-Soul]

Well it would at least blow you......

yeah that makes me louder - and therfore safer!!

[NighthawkNZ]

Actually, I think having a loud noisey bike does add to ones saftey. The increased road presense lets cars know you are around.

Crap... if the cage has the window up... air con on... stereo blasting and the driver is yaking on cell phone they still ain't going to hear or see you...


Also, freer flowing pipes will make the bike run faster, and also possibly feel a bit rougher.
it may... but only if you have done the rest, carbs, air filter... blah blah blah free in free out... and even then what % very little... and probably not noticeable for the road... only need to start doing all that for the track

[BuzzardNZ]

Crap... if the cage has the window up... air con on... stereo blasting and the driver is yaking on cell phone they still ain't going to hear or see you...

My point was in general, not if what you said above was going on.

it may... but only if you have done the rest, carbs, air filter... blah blah blah free in free out... and even then what % very little... and probably not noticeable for the road... only need to start doing all that for the track

This is total BS, just with 2 brothers cans, I noticed a huge increase in low to mid range. After I did the air filter, plus dyno tune, EFI remap, the whole power range is more responsive. Each to his own I guess!

[PirateJafa]

This is total BS, just with 2 brothers cans, I noticed a huge increase in low to mid range. After I did the air filter, plus dyno tune, EFI remap, the whole power range is more responsive. Each to his own I guess!

Would you like a Tui with that? :rolleyes:

[Bren]

Progression I see.....so you start with a hyo, then take the baffles out to make it louder....What I see happening from here is you will decide to get a bigger bike and go for a harley cos they are noisey and have "presence" on the road, then since you now ride a mean assed hog you will start to stop waving, you will dress entirely in leather, and then you will say screw you to all other traffic and the laws of the land and pass on double yellow lines etc making as much noise as possible....pure progression!!!

[Old Steve]

Progression I see.....so you start with a hyo, then take the baffles out to make it louder....What I see happening from here is you will decide to get a bigger bike and go for a harley cos they are noisey and have "presence" on the road, then since you now ride a mean assed hog you will start to stop waving, you will dress entirely in leather, and then you will say screw you to all other traffic and the laws of the land and pass on double yellow lines etc making as much noise as possible....pure progression!!!

Hey this is OLD Steve here. 61 with his learner's plate on the back for another five months, wearing a fluoro yellow hi-viz vest, an old biker not a bold biker !!!!

Now the increased safety aspect of having louder pipes is my excuse, all you guys go and work out your own excuse to take your baffles out.

[CookMySock]

Hey this is OLD Steve here. 61 with his learner's plate on the back for another five months, wearing a fluoro yellow hi-viz vest, an old biker not a bold biker !!!!

Now the increased safety aspect of having louder pipes is my excuse, all you guys go and work out your own excuse to take your baffles out.Haha, gidday mate! :niceone:

Old fellas can do as they choose mate! You don't need an excuse any more - "excuse" days are over! Just do it! ;)

Steve

[Bren]

Hey this is OLD Steve here. 61 with his learner's plate on the back for another five months, wearing a fluoro yellow hi-viz vest, an old biker not a bold biker !!!!

Now the increased safety aspect of having louder pipes is my excuse, all you guys go and work out your own excuse to take your baffles out.

Haha, if you do progress you will be just another old fart on a harley...nothing new

[miloking]

10%? Bah.

Painting it red will add a easy 20%.

Stickers and rim tape, ....dont forget those they add at least 50hp each!

[R-Soul]

Stickers and rim tape, ....dont forget those they add at least 50hp each!

Speed stripes... because it give you SPEEED!!!! :laugh:

[Oakie]

So have you noticed any difference in fuel consumption?

If you just wanted more noise and solely used this as an excuse, that's fine. If you truly did it to increase other's awareness of you, for God's sake don 't assume it will work. Just riding like they are all out to kill you is the best way to keep safe.

[Scorp]

Hi Steve,

I'm coming to motorcycling a bit later in life like yourself, and am equally concerned about safety. I'm reading David Hough's 'Proficient Motorcycling' at the moment and he kind of turns the "louder is safer" argument on it's head. He reckons you run the risk of pissing off motorists around you, upping the risk of road rage and them cutting you off and suchlike, not to mention generally giving motorcyclists a bad name. Not me saying this I should add, but David Hough, who's kind of a safety first dude (http://www.soundrider.com/archive/safety-skills/proficient_motorcycling.htm).

[PirateJafa]

I'm coming to motorcycling a bit later in life like yourself, and am equally concerned about safety. I'm reading David Hough's 'Proficient Motorcycling' at the moment and he kind of turns the "louder is safer" argument on it's head. He reckons you run the risk of pissing off motorists around you, upping the risk of road rage and them cutting you off and suchlike, not to mention generally giving motorcyclists a bad name. Not me saying this I should add, but David Hough, who's kind of a safety first dude (http://www.soundrider.com/archive/safety-skills/proficient_motorcycling.htm).

Or you could just call him a nana.

Generally you're not riding around the same car long enough for them to "get road-rage" at you, nor for them to specifically pull out in front of you just to "teach you a lesson".

But I guess a book about the facts and common sense wouldn't be long nor interesting enough to sell, so good on him for being entrepreneurial.

[skinman]

as long as the Australian Book of Knowledge but not as long as the Etheopian Cookbook

[Old Steve]

Got a chance to use the new noise in real anger today.

Coming home from work, I saw a car up ahead that was pulled off on the left of the road as if it had backed out of a driveway and was ready to pull out into the traffic. I kept an eye on it, and sure enough it started to slowly pull out into the road as I approached it. I dropped down a gear and pulled out to the right until I was up alongside it and cranked open the throttle. Lovely, I got it quite right and she made a nice loud crackling roar right beside their driver's window. Just as well that I'd checked that there were no other cars parked on the side of the road up ahead because they jerked to the left and when I looked in my mirror they were way back down the road as if they'd stopped or really slowed down.

Bet they look and indicate next time they want to pull out.

I couldn't help but wonder what they hadn't seen, my headlight was on high beam as it was still quite light and I wear a fluoro yellow safety vest which is quite visible.

[frogfeaturesFZR]

Because bikes are invisible mate, inspite of fluoro gear, headlights etc. Most drivers are half asleep.

[Scorp]

I readily confess I know nothing about this, being a complete bike virgin. I kind of figured Hough is one of the most well respected and heavily awarded motorcycle journalists for a reason. But maybe not. Maybe all that noise banging out of the back of a bike really is going to affect the way people in front of you drive, assuming they can actually tell where the noise is coming from. I read one story about an old lady who hit a bike cos she swerved in panic after hearing the exhaust blat right next to her. Unfortunately for the hog rider, the noise was everywhere and she swerved the wrong way.

[zeocen]

Hey this is OLD Steve here. 61 with his learner's plate on the back for another five months, wearing a fluoro yellow hi-viz vest, an old biker not a bold biker !!!!

Now the increased safety aspect of having louder pipes is my excuse, all you guys go and work out your own excuse to take your baffles out.

If taking the baffles out of your exhausts make you feel safer, just imagine what actually learning to ride a motorcycle could do for your confidence around other vehicles.
And this, at 61... speechless to be honest.

[R-Soul]

I think one of the main problems with visibility of bikes is when it is at night(and I confess to this happening to me as a cage driver when I pulled out in front of a bike - luckilty not with bad consequences) , and if a cage driver looks to either side, and sees a bikes headlight, but does not understand that it is a bike in front of a car (and thinks your headlight belongs to the car behind you) . I understand how this can be deceptive.

This is why I believe that running lights or a hi-vis vest is important (at least at night) to be able to "frame" or put the bikes headlight in context.

I have even gone so far as to put hi-vis relective stickers on my helmet (actually it looks pretty cool).

[NighthawkNZ]

This is total BS, just with 2 brothers cans, I noticed a huge increase in low to mid range. After I did the air filter, plus dyno tune, EFI remap, the whole power range is more responsive. Each to his own I guess!

There is a huge difference between a SV1000 and Hyosung GV250