Recording motorcycle sound

Has anyone tried to record the exhaust note of their bikes whilst on the
move would love to try it myself??????
Lushy

 

Yup, did this with a microphone in a foam sock thingy cable-tied to the
swingarm next to the exhaust outlet, and a tapedeck bungeed across the
back of the seat. Took the bike wot over the Rimutakas, where Aaron
Slight used to practise before he got famous, all corners for several
miles over a range of hills. [He held the bridge-to-bridge record,
someone said, on a Yamaha LC or similar.] Tried a few positions for the
mike and several settings for the recording level, ending up very low.
Replaying the tape was like being there. Video is different, like that
mad Pommy bastard a while ago. Cheers

 

You'll have to ask JL about that...


Postman Pat (Sorry JL)

 

I've been wondering the best way to do the same thing while videoing.
I've got a guitar pickup that I think could do well. It's design for
guitars with nylon strings and attaches inside the sound box. The
pick-ups are transducers so I can't see wind being a problem. The
other end is an RCA plug so it can attach to the video camera with any
problems. The only thing I'm working on now is the best place to
attach them. From memory the pickup only cost about $15 but that was a
long time ago
__


Cheers
The Happy Drunk
K100RT

 

Do VN's make a noise??

 

But why, dont you know what it sounds like?

 

Sony minidisk, stereo cardioid electret mike, no probs ...

Cheers
Goaty

 

I'm supposed to say "I hate you Pat " here aren't I ?

JL
(actually never had a noise problem - just a sticker problem and an EPA
incompetence problem)

 

Has there been a resolution to the Bandit lack of sticker issue? Did you
replace it or make a replica? I discovered the other day that to see the ADR
noise sticker on the ZX12R you must remove the seat and the fuel tank (or at
least the bit that looks like the fuel tank).

Nev..
'03 ZX12R
'02 CBR1100XX

 

Well I've been waiting until the damn thing was actually registered before I
chanced my arm and said it was resolved. However I think we're done, I'm just
waiting to payday to have the spare $500 to re-register it (rego expired while
it was off the road) - I'll formally announce one way or the other next week.

The episode went something like this:
I got a metal tag from the exhaust manufacturer stated 94dB at 4250 rpm,
rivetted it on exhaust , and fronted up at the EPA. Noting that this didn't
happen until the NSW MCC had had a number of meetings with the EPA.... they
retested it for noise levels, yup it's still under 94 ( same as it was 5 months
ago)
"yup you now have a sticker on the muffler, but you still don't have one on the
frame",
"yes I know, as you've been advised by the MCC it's not possible to obtain one,
and your own regs state I don't need one
" errm well I can't pass it without the sticker"
"fine, give me your reasons in writing please, and the MCC will be taking it up
with the minister and your boss"
"hang on a minute, I'll go see the boss"
5 minutes later
"I'm sorry he's not available, and I've got all these others to test, I'll grab
him when he gets in and call you this afternoon"
John is about to explode and take the guy's head off - Sean a mate who I took
along to be a witness, calms me down and so we leave at that .

3 days later after about 5 follow up calls the EPA guy calls back (although in
fairness he did call back once and miss me) and he says
"OK i've sent the paperwork over to the RTA, you're clear"
Call the RTA 2 days later and they confirmed it was cleared.

So we'll see what happens when I reregister it next week, but theoretically it's
clear.

JL

 

Wait a sec? Which exhaust is this? The Magnum, or Formula 1, or whatever
carbon-fibre thing it is you had on the bike on the one occasion I saw it?

(sensing an opportunity to disawow the exhaust fine I myself got... there's
no faken way your pipe's louder than mine...)

 

Yup

Magnum is the model, Formula 1 the brand. Carbon Fibre wrap (not the real deal
but hey it's black to colour code with the bike and like anyone is going to
spend mega bucks on a real CF for a cheapo 7 year old Bandit). They're based in
Brizvegas.

Measured at variations between 93 and 94 dB on 3 occasions. Which is spot on for
the legal limit with 1dB tolerance up your sleeve.

JL
96 Bandit 12

 

On 10/11/03 3:13 PM, in article
bon3a8$1g50fg$-berlin.de, "John Littler"
<> decided to come out from under the bed and
slurred:

You woose, everyone knows that violence fixes everything. You blouse!!

No wonder you weren't interested I travelling the what 5 hours to look at a
Hornet!

You Sydney nonces!!!!

Hammo

 

Trust me, without external intervention I would have been doing my level best to
tear his throat out, bloody incompent twat. Still, I got the result without
having to go to court and explain why I assaulted an employee of the EPA.

Errm first I heard of it - did you email me ? If you sent to the iprimus address
i should have got it - the deja address is when I post from google - it's long
dead (from when dejanews existed before google took them over - but they still
honour the login

The mate who was interested in your Hornet bought an SV650 so i didn't follow up
on that one.

JL

 

For what is, as far as these things go, a pipe with a "loud" construction;
small diameter, short... and it still only reads 94dB?

If that's the case, my Akrapovic will limbo under the threshold with room to
spare... the catch will be getting an information plate like yours.

 

Not neccesarily (although it may be so) don't forget the Bandit is relatively
low revving for an inline 4 and has been tuned for a fat torque band rather than
max HP - the rpm at which your bike is tested should be at half the max HP point
as I recall (i'll have to go check the legislation again - the EPA have a list
of RPM test points for each model), but anyway point is, bikes tuned for bottom
end grunt are tested at lower revs than bikes tuned for max peak HP, and at the
MCC noise test day there was a very strong correlation between small increase in
revs with large increase in dB on many bikes (3-400 rpm over the correct point
was enough to add 3dB to a reading in many cases). Your ZX6 is the exact
opposite config and hence may fail because it has to be tested at perhaps a
thousand RPM higher. These laws are very arbitary. There were several cases of
bikes (ie Ducatis) which came in at 100dB but didn't sound loud, and some small
bores which sounded shockingly loud but tested legal.

Plate isn't actually too much of a problem - I can get you a sample of what it
should look like and you could make one yourself quite easily - not sure whether
that is legit under the current regs (but you're in the ACT now so why do you
care anyway ?)

JL
(btw send me a legit email address I've got some info to send you I'm betting
you'll like)

 

Its power peak is still at about 8000-8500 rpm, though, isn't it?

6400, If I recall what it says on my frame sticker.

At the same time, though, my muffler is_huge_compared to yours, and my motor
only pumps half the gas of yours for given revs.

In fact, if the Bandit tests at 4000rpm, then, at test revs, my engine is
putting out only 80% as much exhaust gas as yours. Couple that with my
bigger can, and...

Tell me about it. At the GP, on the dyno they set up on the main street of
Cowes, the bike that made the ears bleed the most was a CBR250...

Because that unmarked pipe fine I got last December is still hanging over my
head... I have no intention of ever paying it, but I'd prefer to make that
happen through some form of "Here's proof that my exhaust is ok. Now go ****
yourselves." rather than just through instructing my mum to pretend she
doesn't speak English in case State Debt ever comes knocking on the door of
my last known address.

 

Well it's been 5 months since I've ridden it further than to the EPA and back,
I'm not really sure at the moment <wry grin>

From rusty memory I'd suggest more like 6 or 7, redline was either 9 or 10 and
it was well and truly out of breath by the time it hit redline - like I say I've
not ridden it forever so I'm not dead sure :-(

Sounds about right - what I'd expect to hear anyway.

4250 to 6400 is a big jump.....when 400rpm on a bike made a huge diff to the
measured output....

Mmm but diameter is only one of several parameters, and in fact in straight
throughs a larger bore is louder than a smaller bore, the amount and type of
baffling is the primary key combined with length and diameter, and this *was*
selected as a quiet muffler (choice was given as "you want the loud one or the
quiet one" ? - I asked for the quiet one). At full throttle high RPM it is a bit
noisy, but it's very quiet otherwise (and as i recall I gave it a fist full the
afternoon we were up the Old Rd. you may have a somewhat unbalanced view of it's
relative noisiness)

Sounds good in theory ..... As a lot of racers know theory and practise
don't always intersect....

Reality of the MCC noise test day was there were a lot of small bore bikes
giving quite high readings - ask Big what the spada registered as - I won't
post the number to a public forum. It's only a 250 and a relatively low revving
one at that.

Your local muffler shop is supposed to have noise test equipment - easiest thing
is to get it tested. Make sure you know what the correct RPM to test at is -
give me the correct model number/year and I'll scratch it up for you (probably
be worth the MCCs while to post the entire book on the site I suspect - I'll ask
Zebee and Guy if we can). For a single pipe, position the microphone 50cm
behind, and 50cm to the side of the exhaust (for twin exhaust i think it was
50cm and at the midpoint)

Hmm didn't know you've been pinged as well.

Well if it is legit noise wise then it's straight forward - i assume you got out
of it by swapping back to the stock exhaust ? I'll get you a pic of what they
look like, Staintune will probably supply you with a blank, if not it's just a
piece of aluminium about 1cm by 7cm. You need to stamp in some specific info -
in fact have a look on the MCC website it may well already be up there. You just
need the Bike manufacturer & model, exhaust manfctr and model and the rpm and
noise level. So mine says

Suzuki GSF1200
Formula 1, "Magnum"
94dB at 4250 RPM

And it has to be fitted so that it would be destroyed if removed - rivetting is
considered acceptable although it obviously can be removed without destroying
it.

http://www.mccofnsw.org.au

And check out the ëxhausting business section

Hehe a good tactic.

JL

 

That noisy Magnum can of yours must've been drowning out all the moaning
about it I did on that Old Rd ride... the fine was a week old then...

Not that kind of party. The copper, set up on the big straight through the
trees three corners north of the cafe, had heard me wailing in from the
weighbridge and got pissed off that I coasted down for the corner which was
going to swing me into his view. Denied a speeding fine, he was going to
book me for something, and explicitly said "nah" when I challenged him to
issue me with a presnet-yer-bike-to-the-EPA-for-testing defect.

The fine was for the exhaust being something other than Kawasaki Heavy
Industries part # K-xyzq, as stencilled on the sticker on the frame.

He showed me actual offence as listed in his little book. It was in amongst
stuff about overly-loud stereos, and does state something to the effect of
"Operate vehicle fitted with non-compliant exhaust", while making no mention
of what it's supposed to comply with. An ADR? A Federal Road Rule? One of
the 10 Commandments?

Looks like just something they tacked onto the books to give the cops more
options for hassling the Hot 4's Corps into progressing from a public
eyesore to a public safety issue.

 

I don't think you mentioned it to me - we only talked at the pie shop about R1s
and TRXs and umm, not a lot else that I can recall.

Yeah that's their preferred one, the sticker tax. The one they meant to book me
for and screwed up.

So what exactly did you do about it ? Nothing and bugger off to the ACT and get
registered there ?

It's a regulation put in place by the EPA, as a variant of a reg the RTA dreamed
up, to align bikes on an ongoing basis with ADRs (which only need to be complied
with a time of import). If they didn't have these regs you wouldn't need to have
blinkers for example - as long as it had blinkers when it was shipped into the
country and first registered.

Read the run down on the MCC website

http://www.mccofnsw.org.au/a/80.html