Exhausts

Lumen

I have a 2016 XSR700 with stock exhaust.

It is too quiet.

There are three Akrapovic options:

Racing Line (Titanium)
S-Y7R3-HCUBTBL
EC type-approval is valid only when catalytic converter is installed.


Racing Line (Carbon) XSR 700
S-Y7R2-AFC
THIS PRODUCT DOES NOT MEET EMISSION COMPLIANCE REQUIREMENTS FOR STREET OR HIGHWAY USE.


Racing Line (Titanium) XSR 700
S-Y7R5-HEGEH
It is EC/ECE type-approved. No remapping is required and it is easy to fit.


The first one seems to stick out which could cause problems with pillions (see here).

This leaves me with two options: the non-compliant one which is presumably very loud, and the compliant one which is presumably fairly quiet.

I really don't want to blow a load of money on an exhaust and then find it's the wrong amount of noisy.

Or I could get something much cheaper, so that at least I can afford to change it if it's not right, but I have no idea where to start with suppliers.

I don't currently wear earplugs but think I probably ought to purely to protect against wind roar.

Suggestions?

Is there some sort of exhaust with adjustable baffles so I can fine-tune the noise?

frozenfrozen

number 2 every day of the week

GBX

I think the first one looks class with that bike.

Lumen

frozenfrozen wrote: »

number 2 every day of the week

Hmmm.

So I searched for "S-Y7R2-AFC" and found this.

The Carbon sleeve aftermarket system, S-Y7R2-AFC, is a Race system.
There is no catalytic converter in the system so therefore it will be marked as a Race silencer and not Road legal( ‘cat’ is needed for emission test).

i have the akra carbon fitted and it is loud as F!"#€, driving around in town ull get headache, but outside of town its great if u dont care about other ppl

I guess the cat is a non-issue if I keep the current exhaust for any future NCT tests that get introduced.

But I'm guessing it'll be too loud.

Lumen

GBX wrote: »

I think the first one looks class with that bike.

I'm guessing that "EC type-approval is valid only when catalytic converter is installed" means that the catalytic converter is this separate part you have to buy extra:

Yamaha XSR 700 2017
Catalytic converter
P-KAT-051
https://www.akrapovic.com/#!/motorcycle/product/road/16382?brandId=41&modelId=774&yearId=4520

I've also come across references to a "db killer". Not sure what that is.

Do you think the position would be problematic for a pillion?

GBX

Lumen wrote: »

I'm guessing that "EC type-approval is valid only when catalytic converter is installed" means that the catalytic converter is this separate part you have to buy extra:

Yamaha XSR 700 2017
Catalytic converter
P-KAT-051
https://www.akrapovic.com/#!/motorcycle/product/road/16382?brandId=41&modelId=774&yearId=4520

I've also come across references to a "db killer". Not sure what that is.

Do you think the position would be problematic for a pillion?

Baffle. It could be loud all right for a pillion. Ear plugs?

galwaytt

#3 for me. I bet it's not as quiet as standard, with a better tone, and no remapping means the bike will probably run better too.

A plain loud exhaust is grating on anything over a short trip - my H-D had Screamin' Eagle pipes on it when I got it: was fun for about a week, and I sold them on DD to the first caller.

Visually, coincidentally, I think #3 - I don't rate #1 at all.

Lumen

OK, thanks for the opinions and suggestions.

I think the third option seems most sensible as it's less likely to cause issues with cooking passenger leg or fitting panniers in future. Shame it looks like a prolapsed bowel.

It also looks like I could easily modify the "db killer" in that exhaust to give a bit more sound if necessary:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bThJ4V8Bg9A

Lumen

Hmmm, SC Project do an exhaust with matt black option for €780 incl. shipping or €650 for stainless.

But "power unit" (power commander?) is "recommended".



Black version on a Tracer.

frozenfrozen

That sc would be very loud I reckon

Lumen

frozenfrozen wrote: »

That sc would be very loud I reckon

Based on the skinnyness of the pipes, or SC's reputation?

frozenfrozen

Lumen wrote: »

Based on the skinnyness of the pipes, or SC's reputation?

sc's reputation but looking at this and reading the comments the baffle in there can not be removed (don't know if that's a plus or a minus for you) and the guy says it's loud without plugs but fine with them

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1Fjl_NV29k

galwaytt

The other thing you need to bear in mind, even with option #3, is that you can't actually see it on the bike in real life.

By which I mean, the pics above are all taken at a distance, with your eye line centred about the mid-height of the bike. In real life, your eyeline is way higher than that - to actually see some thing's in that area on a bike you'd have to bend down, or walk 10 metres away.............just sayin'..........

Lumen

OK, well I got Akra #3 fitted today. The sewing machine noise has largely gone, replaced by a lovely burble.

Sounds subjectively about a third louder than stock. I'd have liked it a bit louder, but it turns out the baffle on this one is non-removable so I'll have to live with it. It probably suits the bike, the "angel of death" noise can wait until I get myself a S1000RR or whatever. At least I don't need earplugs.

As galwaytt pointed out it looks fine from normal angles.

Thanks for the advice and opinions.

Kat1170

Lumen wrote: »

OK, well I got Akra #3 fitted today. The sewing machine noise has largely gone, replaced by a lovely burble.

Sounds subjectively about a third louder than stock. I'd have liked it a bit louder, but it turns out the baffle on this one is non-removable so I'll have to live with it. It probably suits the bike, the "angel of death" noise can wait until I get myself a S1000RR or whatever. At least I don't need earplugs.

As galwaytt pointed out it looks fine from normal angles.

Thanks for the advice and opinions.

Take it from someone who wishes they started wearing earplugs sooner, its not the exhaust noise that will damage your hearing its the wind noise.

Lumen

Kat1170 wrote: »

Take it from someone who wishes they started wearing earplugs sooner, its not the exhaust noise that will damage your hearing its the wind noise.

I just ordered some expensive noise-cancelling bluetooth earbuds (Bose Quietcomfort 30) after dithering over whether to buy an equally expensive Sena system.

I've used Bose noise cancelling products for a long time and they're great for stopping white noise, and I'm hoping they will block the wind noise but keep the engine noise.

Now I've admitted to it here I'm sure I'll find out they're rubbish or the wrong choice, as is usually the case with boards.

Kat1170

I just use cheap foam ones. I admit to not liking wearing them in the beginning. But like when you go from summer gloves to winter, or get new boots (or any new gear for that matter) it just takes a short while to adapt. I now find I can hear my engine better as there is far less wind noise to drown it out.
And to anyone that says they don't like ear plugs because they make everything harder to hear, (or any of the hundred other excueses' I've both heard and used myself), from experience, hearing loss and tinnitus is far, far, fecking worse

Lumen

The problem with cheap earplugs is that you can't use earphones. My commute is boring apart from the traffic light grand prix; I like to listen to talk radio.

I tried to find cheap earphones integrated with earplugs but ended up walking myself into an expensive solution instead, like an idiot.

The SC pipe will be very loud, the can is too short, it's style over performance really. It has no cat either so as said the fueling will be affected, it might need a power commander or else there might be a cheaper method of mapping it. You'd have to stick it on a dyno so they could check the fuelling, it might be fine without doing anything

galwaytt

Lumen wrote: »

The problem with cheap earplugs is that you can't use earphones. My commute is boring apart from the traffic light grand prix; I like to listen to talk radio.

You sound like me

I tried to find cheap earphones integrated with earplugs but ended up walking myself into an expensive solution instead, like an idiot.

Oh ? - do tell - by PM if you prefer - I was just about to go down this route - tell about the expensive versions and the pro's & con's.

Rourkey85

Definitely number 2. Some money

Lumen

galwaytt wrote: »

Oh ? - do tell - by PM if you prefer - I was just about to go down this route - tell about the expensive versions and the pro's & con's.

OK, so if I had any sense I would have bought a Sena 3S and some cheap earplugs. That has basic controls on buttons which attach outside the helmet.

But I started reading about the newer, more expensive Sena devices like the 10R/10S/10U which supposedly had:

- FM radio
- Better quality audio (bigger speakers)
- Bluetooth 4.0 for improved battery life
- Handlebar mounted controls and/or jog dial which are supposedly easier to operate (I've had problems remembering Bluetooth button combinations before).

I started with the 10R, a mid-range set which supercedes the SMH10R, because it has a separate (and therefore replaceable) battery, so would last me a couple more years. But the separate components make it complex to fit, there are a lot of parts, and it still has only very basic buttons which might be awkward to operate blind with gloved fingers.

The 10S has a jog dial but no replaceable battery, and the unit is quite chunky. I don't really like adding weight to a helmet.

The 10U is really neat but only fits certain helmets (which I don't have).

Then I read a few reviews. Although most reviewers said the Sena had great audio quality, this seemed to be relative to other helmet intercoms, and reviewers who made a comparison with earbuds said that the quality for music listening was worse than even the most basic wired earbuds.

The combination of expensive + not great audio + having to wear earplugs was pushing me to an earbud solution.

So I considered in-ear "monitors" like musicians use.

e.g.
JH Pro Music Series In-Ear Monitors
http://www.cycleworld.com/2011/04/22/jh-pro-music-series-in-ear-monitors-product-evaluation

Motorcycle Earz
http://motorcycleearz.com/

ultimate hearing protection systems
http://www.ultimateear.com/motorcyclist.php

..and so on. There are loads - search on "motorcycle ear monitors".

The main downsides are that you have to have them moulded by an audiologist (possible awkward in Ireland), they're expensive, and they use passive noise reduction.

This means that I'd be cutting out the lovely exhaust noise I'd just paid a grand to put in.

The same applies to helmet headset + earplugs. I'll cut out the wind roar and the bike noise.

I've had good experiences with Bose noise reducing headphones in the past, particularly on planes, and they seem to deal best with constant white noise, like wind noise or the droning of an exhaust on the motorway, but not one-off sudden noises like car horns or fast revving. That's perfect for my purposes.

Reviews of the Bose QuietComfort 20:

http://www.webbikeworld.com/r5/bose-quiet-comfort-20-review/
http://www.i-bmw.com/showthread.php?t=48604

Ir seems that in regular mode they drown out everything (including bike noise), but they also have an "aware" mode which cuts it back a bit.

However, the Quietcomfort 20 has a big battery/control unit near the plug end, and my other use is for cycling where my phone goes in the back pocket. I don't really want more boxes and cables.

So I ordered the QuietComfort 30 as they are wireless (they use a neck band) which means fewer boxes and fewer cables. I can get dressed and then put them on immediately before the helmet, rather than threading everything through clothing (my leathers don't have a chest pocket I could use).

This is possibly an expensive wrong decision. I'd have saved loads of money by getting the Sena 3S, and could have intercom functions in case I take a pillion or do a group ride, but I'd still have nothing for cycling which I how I mostly commute in summer.

It's a shame the Quietcomfort 30 don't have replaceable batteries, but I've found Bose good in the past for service - they sent me a free replacement set of over-ear headphones a few years back when they were years out of warranty.

So feck it. Quietcomfort 30 it is.

Gavin

Similar thought process plus more money than sense, so I got this a Schuberth M1 helmet which takes an integrated bluetooth set.