Re: QUIET EXHAUSTS

Posted by sgtslag on Mar 15, 2012; 4:59pm
URL: http://vintage-and-classic-hondas.81.s1.nabble.com/QUIET-EXHAUSTS-tp3824396p3829378.html

The only downside to using steel wool, is that it rusts...  Quickly.  That is why they specify using fiberglass.  Fiberglass needs to be made for exhaust systems, though.  Wall insulation fiberglass is not a good substitute.  The steel wool/fiberglass absorbs sound waves, quieting the output.  By adding in baffles, such as the half-slugs welded into the otherwise straight-through pipe, the sound waves bounce around, canceling themselves out as they hit other waves, out of phase.

We test drove a 2009 Gold Wing, three years ago.  No ear plugs, as we did not plan it.  The only sounds we heard at 55 MPH, was the wind.  That was one v-e-r-y quiet bike.  We loved the lack of engine noise, but the wind noise was still loud enough to damage our hearing.  I prefer quiet bikes.  I wish more after-market mufflers were quiet, like the Wing.  Cheers!