82 xj550 - lowd pipes save lives, but Im suicidal

On a ride last summer one of my buddies commented on how quiet my 82 xj550 is. I realize that I kinda like the fact that I dont have screaming pipes, especially because my neighbors bedroom window is 3feet from my garage door.

Ive been thinking about trying to make my 550 as quiet as a whisper. Still have the original pipes on, and it is a very quiet bike to begin with. Wondering if anyone has any insight or good leads on where to start with making my bike spooooky quiet.

 

Install one of these:

 

Electric motor or air raid siren! Or a combo of both to wake up the idiot trying to change lanes without looking!!

 

Porque no los dos?

But, yes, that is an electric motor. Now I want one of those Stuka sirens on my bike though...

 

I think the only really reasonable way to make it quieter is to make a new exhaust collector that has some baffling in it, but that will probably cost you the center stand.
Aircooled engines will be louder than watercooled engines, even when the exhaust is dead quiet.

 

Sit in your drive way and just pretend your riding without it running .. it will be real quite then lol . Seriously Agree with K-Moe I prefer a bike that is quite , I don't buy the argument you need "LOUD PIPES" ... I have hearing loss from years of working on aircraft and these have the loudest pipes of all.

 

I'm still trying to figure out how a loud noise directed behind the bike is suppose to alert someone in front of the bike??
I have yet to see a bike where the loud exhaust arrived first!!

Must have something to do with the you can't see me flat black paint!

~Ghost

 

If any one is relying on the volume of their bike to save their life then they're doing it wrong. Just saying. In fact although a loud bike does attract attention it's not the "oh it's a motorcycle, I better be sure to see him/her and let them on by while I wave, I'm sure they're a nice person." kinda of attention, no it's the "what the f*** is this asshole doing and why is he/she an arrogant dick-wad. I'm going to pretend to be scared of them until I find myself alone on a dark road then I'm going to drive like an asshole to any other motorcycle I see cos they think the own the road - I'll show them", kinda of attention.

 

My favorite is a Harley rider pulls up to a stop light...and keeps blipping throttle. I guess they are afraid it will die? The other morning going to catch the train , guy on a Harley clearly open exhaust and jetting wrong popping and bogging out and his ape hangers he was all over place .

 

I know of two cases where a pissed off individual has strung wire across a road to stop the loud bikes from riding by. One of those instances led to a decapitation.
Loud pipes do not save lives. They just piss people off and make all motorcyclists look bad.

 

Does he also keep looking around to see his watching?

 

Don't get me wrong I do like Harleys hell I had half a Harley had a Buell..I put a Kerker pipe on only a single cylinder was louder than thunder...had to wear ear plugs. I put stock exhaust back on in the end. Much more pleasnt to ride.

 

I drive I drive a truck and if I don't happen to notice a motorcycle it's coming up beside me it's nice if they have some rumbling pipes to let me to let me know they are there. I prefer my pipes make some racket but I don't want them to be deafingly loud but I also try and be courteous with my vehicles and my bike and not stand it wide open at every opportunity. just a little bit just a little bit of rumble to make it sound good, not open exhaust

 

It doesn't, in any modern vehicle with the windows up and radio on I haven't once heard a bike before I have seen it, even the Harley riding muppets with obnoxiously loud pipes

 

I can relate to both sides of this discussion as I agree with the loud pipes save lives, but I find people who intentionally make obnoxious noise for no reason distasteful.

I agree with fellow truck driver, Marl that loud pipes often announce the presence of a motorcycle before we see them, especially in heavy traffic. Also makes it easier to keep track of them as I pay special attention to them while in the vicinity of my rig.

But on the other hand, when I lived in the city the corner bar was frequented by bikers and pretty much every night at closing time some ahole would come flying up the street full throttle with open pipes with the sound booming through the canyon of row homes. I do not understand why you would want to announce to the whole neighborhood that you are leaving the bar at 2am.

I used to have to keep revving my engine at lights to keep it running, but that was before I replaced my throttle shaft seals. Maybe there are alot of Harley's that need new shaft seals.

 

V twins are out of balance, hence the "potato potato" exhaust. What Harleys need is a naturally balanced engine. In line 4 or 6, anyone? Someone should swap an xj engine into a Harley. People's heads would explode!

 

I have to disagree with being albe to hear loud pipes in time to be able to do anything safety-wise. I too was once a professional driver (though only in a one-ton service van) and have never heard a loud bike before it was at least even with my rear bumper (while being passed). I can see that as an advantage if your mirrors aren't set to cover your blind spot, but otherwise the noise isn't a help, and is a hinderance for the rider being aware of what's going on around him (I ran open pipes long ago).

The loud pipes proponents are a large part of why motorcyclists get pulled over en-masse on the way to Laconia, Daytona, and (to a lesser degree) Sturgis every year; "random" safety and noise checks. It's also a part of why some legislators are continually working to limit what owners can do with their motorcycles in terms of aftermarket parts and service.

 

Sorry not a fan of loud pipes if you have to wear ear plugs not real cool. Of course you' ve heard what is difference between a Hoover vacuum cleaner and a Harley rider ? The location of the dirt bag. Lol

 

There's a whole lot more to it than just that........

 

Wind noise causes a lot of hearing damage, regardless of the pipes you run hearing protection is a good idea

 

V-twins have near perfect primary balance. What makes the famous HD cadence is the common crankpin and the forked connecting rod, and the intake design, and.... there's more to it than that.

 

I think you'll find that depends a lot on the angle

 

"In a V-twin (balancing) is especially important, as these motors are inherently out of balance due to the irregular nature of the firing impulses, and movement of the components. "

"The reciprocating components of a V configuration behave quite differently from those of an single-cylinder, in-line or opposed (180°) motor. Using the Harley-Davidson 45° twin for example, let’s begin in mid-stroke (90° BTDC) with the pistons rising towards TDC. Both pistons (and the other reciprocating components, as listed previously) are moving in the same direction (even though not in the same positions or at the same speeds). However, as the front piston reaches 45° BTDC the rear piston has stopped at TDC. As the front piston rises to 44° BTDC, the rear piston is at 1° ATDC (the 45° separation angle is still present), and has begun to move down. The pistons will continue to move in opposite directions for 45° of flywheel rotation, until the front piston reaches TDC (rear piston is at 45° ATDC), after which both will be moving down.
A similar effect occurs approaching & passing BDC. The relative directions of the pistons are the same, but the exact positions are different due to the difference in piston speed at the bottom of the stroke (the TDC motion vs. BDC motion speed differential and exact piston position are functions of the rod-to-stroke ratio). Only at 22½° from TDC and BDC are the 2 pistons in the same absolute position.
From front piston position 45° BTDC to TDC and 45° BBDC to BDC, the front and rear pistons are moving in opposite directions.
The selection of the “V” angle itself adds another complex factor to motor design. The narrow V angles (42°, 45°, etc.) have a relatively short period in which the reciprocating weights of the two cylinders are moving in different directions - the same as the V angle (45° is only 12.5% of the full 360° rotation of the flywheel). However, the out of balance forces are relatively high, and balancing is generally successful only over a narrow range of engine speed. As the V angle widens (60°, etc.) the periods in which the reciprocating weights are moving in different directions increases (60° is 16.67% of the full 360° rotation of the flywheel), which appears to make the problem worse, but the wider V angle motors appear more tolerant of wider and higher RPM ranges, and the net effect is an improvement."

From victorylibrary dot com

So of course I simplified...

 

"Boxers are one of only three cylinder layouts that have a natural dynamic balance; the others being the straight-6 and the V12. These engines can run very smoothly and free of unbalanced forces with a four-stroke cycle and do not require a balance shaft or counterweights on the crankshaft to balance the weight of the reciprocating parts, which are required in other engine configurations. Note that this is generally true of boxer engines regardless of the number of cylinders (assumed to be even), but not true for all V or inline engines. However, in the case of boxer engines with fewer than six cylinders, unbalanced moments (a reciprocating torque also known as a "rocking couple") are unavoidable due to the "opposite" cylinders being slightly out of line with each other."

From quora dot com

Guess I was mistaken in including the i4 and v8

 

Yes. 90º is perfect, every angle narrower is less so.

 

We're talking about sound, and the balance of forces in the rotating mass contribute very little to the HD V-Twin cadence. The closest mimick of that sound you'll find is in the Honda Shadow 1100 ACE. The earlier 45º HD V-Twins (Pre-Flathead) sound dramatically different from the later 45º V-Twins from HD.

 

This is all very intetesting.

So...what I take away from this is... If I want quieter pipes on my xj550, dont ride a harley with loud pipes. Okay. Check.