Motorcycle sound is definitely one of the most talked-about themes connected to the moto world. I have never met a rider who doesn’t care what his motorcycle sounds like in my entire life, and most of them have changed their stock exhausts with adjusted ones. For me, motorcycle sound is one of the best sounds that my ears can hear, and that is what I like most on moto meetings (besides great bikes).
So how does a motorcycle sound? Many factors affect motorcycle sound, and your engine’s characteristics influence the most. Displacement and engines layout heavily affect motorcycle sound. Two-stroke and four-stroke engines have different sounds, and considering what exhaust system is installed on your bike makes the difference.
Table of Contents
What Sound Does a Motorcycle Produce?
Every motorcycle has its unique sound. This sound is produced depending on many factors such as your engine, exhaust system (entire exhaust system, not only exhaust pipes), and many more that we will cover in this section. One thing that you may already know (or if you don’t, you will love it very much after we tell you) is that it doesn’t matter what type of your bike you have. You can always change your motorcycle sound. Of course, you can’t make a two-stroke engine sound like a four-stroke one or vice versa, but you can make a lot of difference if you adjust your exhaust system.
Here is a great article about How to Repair Motorcycle Exhaust Pipes, so click on this link if you want to learn more.
We will make a list of things that have the most significant effect on your sound system:
- Clutch Type: Dry clutch (like on Ducati) has a different sound that sounds like your clutch is about to explode or fall apart. On the other hand, a wet clutch (like on my Kawasaki Z750 and most motorcycles) has that smooth and soft sound (which I prefer more than a dry clutch sound).
- Motorcycle Power: There is a big difference in the sound of motorcycles that have more HP and work on higher RPMs and those that are not very powerful. Stronger bikes have that powerful sound once you rev the throttle to the highest RPMs, while weaker bikes don’t sound so attractive (at least to me, this is my personal opinion).
- Exhaust System Specifications: The structure and design of your motorcycle exhaust system have a significant impact on the sound of your bike. Some riders like long exhaust pipes while others prefer short (like I have on my Kawasaki, short Leo Vince exhaust pipe), and its size produces a different sound.
- Cylinders: Your sound is affected depending on the number of cylinders you have on your motorcycle. Their form is also another factor that influences the sound. A bike can have from 1 up to 6 cylinders, and they can be designed as inline configuration, V configuration, flat configuration, and all of these types produce a different sound.
- Stroke: Four-stroke and two-stroke engines have a lot of differences, and their sound is one of them. For me personally, both of these engines have an excellent sound the only thing that matters to me is the occasion on which I drive them.
These were the factors that have the most impact on your motorcycle sound, but here are some other factors that also influence the sound:
- Motorcycle cooling system
- Valves
- Compression rate
- Motorcycle displacement
If you want to make any differences on your motorcycle exhaust system, maybe because you don’t like the sound of your bike, or you have any other season to make changes, these factors mentioned above can be changed, and if you decide to make any changes, please don’t do it on your own if you don’t have any experience.
Tip: Consult your motorcycle manual and contact an experienced technician or mechanic if you decide to make any adjustment or intend to change the entire exhaust system.
How to Make Your Motorcycle Sound Deeper?
Many riders want to make their motorcycles sound deeper than they initially do. To make that, you will need to make adjustments to your exhaust. You can make your bike sound deeper by removing the baffles, but this will make changes to the backpressure of your motorcycle engine.
Note: If your engine is fuel-injected, you will have to take it to a skilled technician to remap the ECU since the backpressure has been reduced.
CAUTION: Make sure to check first your state and local laws, so you make sure that you don’t break any law that could cause you problems later on, since making your motorcycle louder could lead to violating noise pollution regulations.
Characteristic Sounds of Different Motorcycle Engine Types
Inline Engines
There are four main types of inline engines:
- Single
- Parallel twin
- Inline triple
- Inline four
Motorcycles with this type of engine make a lovely sound that many riders like. For me personally, these are the best producing motorcycle sound engines.
Single Cylinder Engines
These motorcycles produce very strange sounds, like some kind of working machine. Single-cylinder engines can be found on dirt bikes and scooters, although, as I said earlier, most single-cylinder engines sound like some kind of working machine. With scooters, that is not the case. Scooters have a specific sound not only because of a single-cylinder engine but also because they have automatic transmission. On the other hand, dirt bikes sound like working machines, especially two-stroke dirt bikes (my opinion).
V-Twin Engines
V-twin motorcycle engines are among the most widespread engines in the United States. It is made of two cylinders positioned in a V pattern. V-twins produce less power than inline 4 engines of similar size, but the difference is in torque, and they have fast acceleration. Ducati has a V-twin engine, and it produces a characteristic cracking sound. Some of my rider friends say that when they see a Ducati coming, they feel like its machine is about to explode because of its cracking sound.
These are the most common motorcycle engines that have a specific sound, and you can recognize the type of the motorcycle engine type by hearing the sound.
Here is a great article about How Does Motorcycle Exhaust System Work, so click on this link if you want to learn more.
Does Motorcycle Sound Matter And If so Why?
Motorcycle sound doesn’t impact your motorcycle performance; it only matters to every rider’s personal preferences. However, motorcycle sound can help you detect any imperfections or problems with your motorcycle. If your bike produces any strange noise or sounds different, it may indicate that there is something wrong with the exhaust system, and you should check it.
Tip: If you notice something strange and assume that you need to check the exhaust system, my advice to you is to look for a professional technician or mechanic (if you don’t have any experience with exhaust systems) to check your exhaust system because you want to be sure if there is any problem at all or it may be that the bolts holding your exhaust pipes may just untighten.
What Leads to Different Motorcycle Sound?
There are a couple of reasons that may lead to a different motorcycle sound than it usually is, but we will mention two of them that are most important to you.
- Problem Indicating Sound: This type of sound means that there is something wrong with your motorcycle, and most of the time, the problem is in your exhaust system or your engine. This sound is drastically different from your motorcycle’s original sound (it doesn’t matter if you have a stock or adjusted exhaust system). You need to check both your exhaust system and especially the engine system since the engine system is far more complicated than the exhaust one.
- “Harmless” Sound: This sound is signaling that something may unloosen on your motorcycle’s exhaust system and what leads to this are vibrations that happen during rides. Although these sounds don’t point to something faulty with your bike, you need to check why your motorcycle sounds like that. Most of the time, it happens that some of your bolts may unloose, and you just need to tighten them.
Note: Make sure to check the bolts holding your exhaust pipes and other screws on your bike, just to be sure that everything is alright with your motorcycle.
Here are some of the best motorcycle sounds; we hope you will enjoy it just like we did:
Final Thoughts
Motorcycle sound is a theme I could talk about and write about all day long. What I find most interesting about motorcycle sound is that every motorcycle has its own specific and unique motorcycle sound. What that means is that our motorcycle, although the same make and model, will sound differently. If we compare two exactly the same motorcycles, for instance, I ride a Kawasaki Z750 from 2004, and if we take the same Kawasaki from some other rider, the chance of having the same exhaust system is very small.
There may be a slight difference depending on what exhaust system does the other rider has (I have a Leo Vince Exhaust system on my bike). Still, someone who has good ears and is an experienced rider (or experienced listener, haha) will notice the difference between the sound of our motorcycle.
I hope that you like motorcycle exhaust systems as much as I do and that you will like this article.