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Annoying the neighbours: which are louder 2T or 4T?


boner
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Morning Chaps,

In your opinion which bikes are louder, 2T or 4T ?

I’ve got (nice) neighbours who don’t hugely appreciate motorcycle noise - can’t understand it myself!!!

Obviously, no trials bike is going to be as loud as a crosser, but still worth considering.

Cheers Boner.

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1 hour ago, boner said:

Morning Chaps,

In your opinion which bikes are louder, 2T or 4T ?

I’ve got (nice) neighbours who don’t hugely appreciate motorcycle noise - can’t understand it myself!!!

Obviously, no trials bike is going to be as loud as a crosser, but still worth considering.

Cheers Boner.

Way back I owned both a Honda TL  (four stroke) and a Kawasaki KT (two stroke), whilst the KT wasn't overly noisy ticking over, once it was moving it did sound louder, although not overly so; The TL, on tick almost silent, and once moving very quiet,  Both on standard exhaust systems, etc.

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The year....1967. The location....a council estate, somewhere in Hertfordshire. Next door nieghbour was a gas fitter and ran various bikes as his transport. The bike a new Sprite Trials fitted with a 37A and Sprites expansion chamber exhaust with tail pipe ( this was the standard fitting) .

Morning 1 push bike out of shed, strat bike up in the passageway between each house.....face at window with look of thunder...” turn that f#*~ing thing off” ...leap on bike and cladang..bang bang..cladang..bang bang my way down the road toot sweet. That evening when arriving home, next door neighbour in his shed, comes out....”that dammed thing is so noisy, you woke me up. Can’t it be quieter?” 

Morning 2 push bike out into the street, start bike up ...cladang..bang bang etc.Look up only to see curtains pulled back and neighbours face as black as thunder...remember this is a bloke that runs bike himself!! Ride off sharpish like.

Get to work, remove tail pipe and start to work out how to make bike less noisy. Cut two slits in the top side of tail pipe, cut two more in underside but staggered. slip in sheet metal strips so exhaust gas has to work its way down, up, down, up and finally out to atmoshere.....refit tail pipe..start bike...hmmm sounds quieter?.

Morning 3 push bike out onto street...start bike....wince a bit...look up....face at window?and?sign...result.

Saturday afternoon, go to Val-U Motorcycles, Luton. Buy alloy square barrel, piston and exhaust (which they take off a DOT trials bike in the used bike showroom) wallet lightened by £20 ( a lot of dosh in that time). Fit piston and barrel etc to Sprite and mount exhaust with twin outlet pipes from flat shape silencer box. 

Monday morning push bike out onto street, smirking as I kick my now (supposedly)  more powerful but hopefully quieter Sprite into life.....muffled two stroke noise from tail  pipes...no sign of nieghbour...get halfway across estate and bike getting slower and slower....push bike back home...head off...barrel off ?cylinder bore deeply scored and plated bore resembling a crinkle cut chip...piston knackered and rings shredded. Nieghbour comes out shed to see what I‘m up to....takes one look and I learn an expensive lesson...don’t put chrome plated piston rings in a chrome plated bore? 

I was so annoyed that I threw the square barrel, piston and exhaust ( flange fit nor screw) in the dustbin and refitted the iron barrel and dreaded expansion chamber exhaust. As I was an apprentice mechanic and still learning my craft, youth enthusiasm or stupidity call it what you like didn’t register that those parts now binned could have been salvaged☹️Lesson learned!

 

 

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Some friends had practiced trials for 20+ years on their couple of acres on two-strokes (twinshocks and moderns). The closest neighbouring house is about 150 metres from their riding area. The neighbour had never said anything to them about their riding there until one day when a friend came and practiced with them on his 4RT and the neighbour came over and complained about the noise.

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I would agree that the electric is the bike of choice if your going to ride in your yard a lot.  

On the 2T to 4T side, its all about the person... I have had some people tell me that they don't really like the sound of the 2T and don't mind the 4T.  I have also had others say they don't like the 4T and are ok with the 2T.  And I have had one that just hates them both.  So in my experience its a mixed bag.  

If you really want a petrol/gas powered bike you can also consider putting a 90 degree silicone elbow on the end of a 2T pipe (From my experience the 2T pipes don't get as hot) and it will direct the sound into the grass and can change/muffle the sound a lot as the grass doesn't reflect it like the walls and fences do.  

Edited by jonnyc21
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