Whimpy Factory Exhausts

Bravo616

Joined
May 18, 2007
Messages
190
Location
Manchester, NH
Bike
BMW K1600GT
Is it just me or does the factory exhausts just have no "guts". Someone on this site best described it as sounding like a sewing machine. He is right!!! I realize that it's not going to sound like a HD, but It just sounds so "quiet", you hardly feel as though you're on a powerful motorcycle. Other riders think I'm on a Pacific Coast. I test drove a BMW KT 1200 GT. It had a great exhausts sound; like Porsche. Ok, there are the staintunes, etc costing almost 1000.00 for a piece of rolled metal. I do believe the ST should sound more "GT" comming from the factory!!! I girlfriend likes it because she can talk away and I can hear her mile after mile!!! I love this bike otherwise, does anyone else feel this way?
 
Bravo616 said:
Is it just me or does the factory exhausts just have no "guts". Someone on this site best described it as sounding like a sewing machine. <SNIP> I love this bike otherwise, does anyone else feel this way?
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Well, they are kinda quiet. A few folks put on aftermarket pipes but IMHO they (the ST1100 at least) just don't sound good with non OEM cans. There's just something about the engine that does not go well with the louder exhaust. Just sounds noisy without any character.
 
Someone on the site adapted a car exhaust to his a while back and they looked good. Think he had a muffler shop help him. Saved alot of money over Staintunes. Maybe someone will chime in with a better memory than mine.
 
What I can't understand is how can you hear the passenger, while traveling, if both of you are wearing a full helmet. She must have some set of lungs! I recommend you close the air vents. Good luck.
 
Lager said:
ST/SV, good memory. Yeah, someone on here did fashion a set of Stainless car mufflers to his ST.He sort of disappeared after that post.
With that idea, I bought a set of some really neat car mufflers off EBay for about $7 each.Stainless,with flame/blued tips.I still haven found a muffler shop that could adapt/fabricate them to my ST exhaust system.But then again, I DO live in a one horse town.
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It may be a one horse town but has some fine BBQ :)
 
Quiet is good, I got over having loud motorcycles a while ago, so did my neighbors. It seems to draw less LEO attention also which is really good, if you like to ride ..ummm... faster than most.
 
I definatly would like to get my hands on a nice set of two brothers exhausts. The exhaust on my bike sounds wimpy. But it's a bike for touring, so the quiet exhaust is nice. But I would rather have something that I can hear.

I love riding inside parking garages and setting off car alarms with my bike.
 
I detest loud bikes. Two old Honda twins went through town the other day looking really cool, but they had open megaphone pipes which were really loud. I heard other people walking on the sidewalk making negative comments which doesn't do the motorcycle community any good. Loud pipes are like sun tans. Something that lots of people like even though they are bad for you. Stay with the quiet pipes and get over it.

Phil
 
varglesnarg said:
I definatly would like to get my hands on a nice set of two brothers exhausts. The exhaust on my bike sounds wimpy. But it's a bike for touring, so the quiet exhaust is nice. But I would rather have something that I can hear.

I love riding inside parking garages and setting off car alarms with my bike.
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Exactly, this is a TOURING bike right? I'll stick with my stockers (quiet). IMO, slapping aftermarket pipes on an ST is the equivalent of putting flowmasters on a Dodge Caravan.

Now, for my RC51, you know I gotta hear that thumping twin :bow1:
 
My buddies that have HD's told me I sound like the Jetsons's space craft from the cartoon show. After starting it up the next morning, I had to agree. :D Of course I blew right by them later in the day (smiling the whole time :old1: ).
 
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ST13Fred said:
One of our Canadian friends did the VTR-ST cans. https://www.st-owners.com/forums/showthread.php?t=21788&highlight=exhaust+cans

:04biker: :)
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I can't bite my lip on this one. I did this procedure on my VTR and it wound up making the nice looking Honda sound like a straight pipe H-D. The people who do this procedure are doing it to get the loudest noise they can for the cheapest price and that is exactly what you wind up with. I can't imagine what that cheesy solution winds up sounding like on a 1300. :eek: (I know you didn't do this Fred, I just want to let others know how bad that mod actually sounds.)

Personally I prefer my long distance bikes to be quiet since a fair number of miles on a vacation can be spent after dark. Just don't feel the need to let everyone hear me going through their town as they try to sleep (just so I can enjoy my own noise). I did outfit my VFR with Staintunes, which are expensive for sure but they sound nice without sounding obtrusively loud. Since that bike is for local fun, it's home in the garage long before bedtime.
 
When I went to Rolling Thunder last weekend I had to look at the tach to make sure the bike was running when we left the meet point. And I have Staintunes! Jeff
 
MrClean said:
I
Some here say they can't hear you when you are behind them , oh yes they can, I can when I'm in my truck and a Harley is around , that gets my attention .
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I can't hear any bike behind me in our van (so it's an opposite viewpoint.) I'm always experimenting when cruisers come up from behind and I have yet to hear one until it was on the side of me. Look, I'm not against pipes but I think they are not effective for letting people know you are coming the way you want to believe. My opinion. :D
 
curmudgeon said:
I detest loud bikes. Two old Honda twins went through town the other day looking really cool, but they had open megaphone pipes which were really loud. I heard other people walking on the sidewalk making negative comments which doesn't do the motorcycle community any good.
Phil
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You should see what the people along the Mississippi river towns have to put up with on any given weekend. We actually get complemented by locals for having quiet bikes (hint: they are not impressed by loud bikes and wish they would disappear.)

But the most galvanizing incidents that really changed my opinions about pipes were at gas stations or restaraunt parking lots when a straight pipe would fire up and the babies in cars start crying. Next thing that happens is the pissed off parents are glaring at us, with our quiet pipes. :mad: I've said my piece, your pipes are only impressing you, and not many others.
 
An extremely fast and well made sewing machine it may be, but I agree with an earlier poster, stealth mode is great for keeping the neighbors happy and the cops away.

I know how fast it can go, don't need to make a lot of noise to impress the girls at DQ.

An even with stock pipes, at 7000 rpm, that is a sweet sound.............:06biker:
 
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