why is this exhaust so loud

[andyturner87]

hi everyone. i just bought my first bike! a 1999 GS 125. it's been quite heavily modified and cut back to look like more of a cafe racer, not quite in the style i want but that's why i chose it, it needs work to make it mine! i have many questions, but first, why is this exhaust so loud?! it's only a 125, and it's obviously not the original, i know absolutely nothing about bikes as of yet but the end of this exhaust has a finned shape welded on, the exhaust is so loud, especially when warming up with the choke out, my neighbours are going to kill me!
i've bought a replacement original 99 style black exhaust but will that be any quieter do you reckon? is the GS a loud bike?

 

[Rob S.]

Those fish tails are notoriously loud. You see them most often on, you guessed it, Harley Davidsons. Get rid of it.

Other things being equal, Suzukis are no louder than Hondas or Kawasakis.

Welcome aboard!

 

[Steve]

Greetings and


Looking at your picture, I would venture a guess that it is loud because there is no muffler. Yeah, there is a "fishtail" on the back, but I'll bet that there is nothing at all inside.

A reasonably stock 125 should be no louder than the average lawn mower.

Help keep the peace, get a real muffler on there, your neighbors will love you. :encouragement:

.

 

[Nessism]

Looks like a straight pipe with no baffle. The fish tail has no effect on the noise. Hack off the pipe and graft on a real muffler. OEM Harley cast off mufflers are readily available, small, and cheap. Go hit-up your local harley dealer or look in their dumpster.

 

[LAB3]

Looks like a straight pipe with no baffle. The fish tail has no effect on the noise. Hack off the pipe and graft on a real muffler. OEM Harley cast off mufflers are readily available, small, and cheap. Go hit-up your local harley dealer or look in their dumpster.

Better yet ask someone who works there, if it isn't there at the shop they probably have some or know someone that does have them. Swap meets are a good place to find them too, won't have much or even anything for your bike but stock HD mufflers are a dime a dozen.

 

[andyturner87]

thanks for the advice guys. ill look at getting a muffler after it's MOT next week!

 

[Who Dat?]

Are you sure you won't need it BEFORE your MOT?

 

[andyturner87]

well i'm not sure now lol but i wouldn't have thought a muffler would be a requirement for an MOT, it's just a basic vehicle safety test

 

[Redman]

...... is the GS a loud bike?

No, A stock GS125 of any year is not loud.
A stock GS of any year and any model is not loud.
Any stock bike road bike of any make any model any year is not loud.
All bikes imported or manufacture in the US has to confirm to the same standards as cars for exhaust sound. Most Cars are well below that level just for customer comfort. Sport cars and some motorcycle maybe push the limits.

So, any loud car or bike that you encounter, that car or bike was not that loud when it was made, some loud person has changed the exhaust to be louder. In many cases they spent a lot of money for louder exhaust.

In your case it looks like they sawed off the muffler and put on a pipe (and that fish tail end).


If the replacement exhaust you bought is in fact stock original, yes, it should be quiet.

 

[Guest]

There is an 80Db noise limit at the Mot test. But the tester is not required to use measuring equipment (!), and if he does, he can put it just about anywhere he likes. So it is both ridiculous and subjective.

Hope your man doesn't have a hangover...