DB Reading
 

I've noticed that my TB high mounts can be a bit loud and I have toyed with the idea of getting a different set, is anyone interested in taking a decibel reading of their set-up? Maybe we can compile a list?

AV

According to the app on my phone my max DB reading is 78.1 and that is with a TB High Mount with the phone placed close to the mufflers by the seat cowl.

AV

According to the internet, your SH is about as loud as a vacuum cleaner. Is that your max reading at idle or when revving the piss out of your Dust Buster?

I suspect your phone is not providing an accurate read on the low frequency music your Hoover is cranking out. Or, perhaps TB pipes are more of a Roomba vein of sweeper?

"Garbage disposal, dishwasher, average factory, freight train (at 15 meters). Car wash at 20 ft (89 dB); propeller plane flyover at 1000 ft (88 dB); diesel truck 40 mph at 50 ft (84 dB); diesel train at 45 mph at 100 ft (83 dB). Food blender (88 dB); milling machine (85 dB); garbage disposal (80 dB).

80

2 times as loud as 70 dB. Possible damage in 8 hour exposure.

Passenger car at 65 mph at 25 ft (77 dB); freeway at 50 ft from pavement edge 10 a.m. (76 dB). Living room music (76 dB); radio or TV-audio, vacuum cleaner (70 dB).

70

Arbitrary base of comparison. Upper 70s are annoyingly loud to some people."

Probably not too far off...

Well, we must both be right because we both obviously got our information from the internet. How is this happening? Wait, I also read on the internet that your SH is about as loud as a vacuum cleaner, so I feel that gives me the edge in this contest.

Your internet indicates that a garbage disposal is 80 db which is louder than your vaccum cleaner. Can you hear a garbage disposal a half a mile away? No, garbage disposals are in houses, so that's not fair. But vacuum cleaners are in houses too, so maybe this is right. No, wait, you don't ride vacuum cleaners unless you're a high-tech witch. I don't understand how this works. What's happening?

You know, the way you're defending your phone's erroneous output, I'll bet you're holding an iPhone, right?

If memory serves, +3dB is twice as loud and +10dB is ten times as loud, so who can figure out that math? It's all logarithmic to me, so it's no wonder I can't explain or figure this out.

Also, I was up late last night.

Lol,

There are 2 things in life that don't lie...the internet and prostitutes.... I think, maybe I got that wrong somehow,...not much experience with the internet.;)

Seems a little pointless being that "a bit loud" is very subjective. Repacking them if they're old may help slightly, but in all honesty if they're getting annoying (which once you're not 20 years old anymore it certainly can) I think you'll have a bit of a hard time finding any aftermarket pipes that are noticeably "quieter." There's probably a bigger difference in sound quality than in DB levels between different brands. The only mellow aftermarket exhaust I've ever heard on a Superhawk was a pair of "street baffle" Yoshimuras once, which were remarkably quiet. Otherwise maybe get a pair of stock pipes and start a progressive bafflectomy, stopping along the way until you get the level you're happy with. Once you remove the first baffle and punch a few holes in the next one they also become just as loud as aftermarket mufflers.

Curious if you wear earplugs when you ride? If you don't you should.

I wear protective ear plugs with holes in them that blast my jams so I can't even hear a carwash at 20 ft.

Safety first.

Mmm, subjectivity yes. If only there were some way to measure sound levels in a numeric fashion so as to introduce objectivity and thereby produce a way of comparing sound levels from mufflers...

We've already tried that.

I guess I sorta get it but for what purpose? Looks/style, weight and sound quality are just as large a factor (if not larger) in choosing an exhaust above just their actual DB level. And I'm sure unless you do them all on the same day in the same air quality with the same equipment the results are going to vary anyway... Seems like a TON of effort to put that sort of test together. I've sampled almost every exhaust made for these bikes over the years, and with only an exception or two there is a larger difference in the quality of the sound than in actual seat of the pants noise levels. Stock muffllers are the only thing that are actually legal. If you knew one was 82DB and one was 84DB and one was 83.6DB is that really going to help you choose? It's still not going to tell you anything about the quality of the sound, just how loud they are.

Also, have you considered those exhaust inserts? They're supposed to reduce the noise by a noticeable amount and even if your TBR's were originally made with them I'm sure it's easy enough to drill a hole in the underside of the outlet and slip a pair in.

If it's too loud, Ace, just stand further away.

You're welcome.

dB's are heavy and the further away you are, the more fall on the ground and don't hit your brain. I looked it up. On the internet.

Lol, thank you.

Db level is probably my first consideration, legality last. Weight somewhere toward the bottom, appearance right after tone which is just after Db. Excluding legality it sounds an awful lot like choosing women...not necessarily on that order.

AV

Your previous comments have already spotlighted your disregard for legalities when choosing women.

I recall that Valentino Rossi had a quieter exhaust system put on his Yamaha. It reduced the power, but increased his times as he was annoyed by the loud system.
When I raced with AHRMA at Barber you were pulled in if your DB level was over 104. My Ducati with Termi race pipes was 98db. Not sure how this is relevant to your question, but...

I have a db meter at work, I can test my microns with and without the silencers i fit on there. I also know another SH owner with a two brothers exhaust, maybe we can measure his too. all measurements should probably be some distance from the back of the bike (a few feet), and angle offset side of the bike, the exhaust "puffs" can throw off the readings.

I have tb carbons and about once a year I need to repack them to keep the db in check. Not sure if you have drilled the rivets and repacked but the packing is very short lived.

Louder?
 

While I realize that it's not a scientific method they use the following procedure at AMA District 37 desert races. A 10' cord to consistently distance the DB meter from the exhaust outlet at a 45deg. angle. They also have a master catalog that lists all off-road bikes and the neutral testing RPM. WARNING, WARNING! OLD MAN TANGENT!!!
Back to the point. I used a similar to test my own exhaust. as I too found my high mounts louder than my stock height cans while riding. Using the same Yoshimura cans with the db Killers installed at 5500rpm. I tried both positions. I found that the high mounts were actually 0.2 db quieter. Longer connectors possibly???? I then repeated the test, positioning the meter in the approximate location of my ears. The readings reflected a 1.8db increase with the high pipes over the stock height. Apparently the "louder sounding" high mounts may have been due to their proximity to my ears.
Summary; As has been mentioned, I like the "sound quality" of my low mounted Yoshs with the db Killers installed. Apparently so do my neighbors as I get no complaints and I ride in and out of my complex all hours of the day and night. In fact my car port is adjacent to the managers unit.
Just the musings of an old man.