Of the 250+ cc trials bikes made between 2005 and 2010, which is quietest? How does it stack up performance-wise? Or, what aftermarket silencer is the silent-est? And how much does it affect performance? I am having the time of my life on my kid's new-to-us Beta 80, and am about to go all-in, but I like my stuff to be quiet--the reved-up sounds of this sport are bugging me a bit (granted, I do know that forcing an 80cc 2-stroke to lug a 190# man over logs and up mountains is gonna make some noise ). Thanks, Pete
My opinion is the that all the full size trials bikes compare equally in decibel level. The stock silencers are good, as long as they have good packing. On a full size bike, most riders average club riders are not revving their bikes all that much. I used to routinely ride in my yard, when I lived in town and my trials bike made less noise than a lawnmower. From what I've seen, it's the small bikes, 80cc and under that are obnoxious. I don't know why this is, but the kids riding around on the little bikes are louder than the regular trials bikes. My guess is any of the bigger bikes are going to be quieter than yours, unless their muffler is in need of repacking.
+1 The kids bikes are obnoxious. The big bore bikes (290, 300, 321 etc.) aren't any louder, and they can be run at even lower RPM, though whether this effects true decibels or only a perception there of is a question. Compared to the other bikes in your sig line, any of the modern rigs will be nearly silent....
Pete, Any trials bike 2005 & up will generally be pretty stealth. If you are new to trials any bike 2005 & up has great performance. Just need to ride a few to decide what feels right. Where is Lakemont? We are riding in Dallas, Ga nearly every weekend if you want to join us. Larry
Silencers are repack-able, you remove the rivets on the gasgas to get the cap off, 4 of them, clean the screen, stuff it with FMF or whatever you find gauze looking fiberglass, if you pack too tight or filled with stuff, might be louder. I seem to have had to re-pack after maybe 3 or just under 4 years on the 04 & same on 06, haven't had to pack the 10,11, or 12 yet. Biiger the engine the less throttle to do same work, you as a beginner wont be doing those wind it up and dump the clutch manuvers, anytime soon. At any rate, the sounds dont travel that bad, in Kansas City on new years day, we ride at a guys home that is in town, up near 300k or more, houses are, the neighbors don't care, in fact they come watch and eat chilli or whatever is cooking in the garage. I ride at the farm, 99% of the time you have to get within 100 yards, to find them in the woods... but granted, I dont have mountains to ride on, so have to take your experiences in to play there... Honda is really quiet, the 4rt's, in STOCK FORM, or what I mean is, UNTIL you remove all 3 or is there 4 restrictors in the exhaust system? Which many people have done, if you keep em in (cant recall which one makes it the loudest difference either, although I was told once) it sounds like a trail 70 ish... one guy in our club has only removed one of the 3, and still is quiet. Not sure how repackable the sherco's are now that they have fancy "matching the gastank" for exhaust, type silencers...
+1 on the Beta 4t for stealth. I think the GG and Sherco 2t's are fairly quiet, while the Beta seems alittle louder to my ear. Of course if the GG electric ever shows up, that will be the ultimate.
Thanks for the help, everyone. Larry, I am in the NE tip of GA. Thanks, I may take you up on it at some point. But for now, after 40 years of dirt riding, I seem to have found a vertical learning curve with a stick of firewood and an 80cc bike. Not quite ready for an audience .
Naaaah, YouTube is humbling. If not for YouTube I would be convinced I am world-class already . But alas... I'm 30 minutes east of Hiawassee. I've taken my family to watch the trials at Trackrock twice.
My daughters beta 80 is the noisy est bike in our club. it is because it is small and she has to run it at higher RPM's. go all in and you will be hooked
There is an "EVIL" side of being too shy for an audience, if left unattended... Trials skills, they are very specific. I'm not talking about "routine" as Olympic Gymnatics does, where they are forced to do a routine that everyone must do exactly. But what I do mean is, just like any other sport, there are techniques, that sure, at the lowest level of competition, I could do 'how I wanna do it" like golf using a baseball bat grip, and maybe do fairly well. Trials really is going to punish some, for developing bad habbits, or more importantly not getting the basics down, down correctly, and honestly to where you dont even realize you do it without thinking. Beginner's and novices always suprise me, especially the ones I teach or help with any skill building. They'll come over after practicing either what I told them, or something they saw. Problem is, if you dont do your practicing in a mirror like a ballerina, or on video so you can see what you "felt like was bent knees, hips in the right place, all that" doesn't even come close by comparison. Hell I fight it too with techniques I try to learn. Biggest thing is to be watched and shown. Get with some trials riding buddies, do it sooner than later. that is, if you want to really have fun at trials, IMHO. ooops didnt mean to hijack
I agree about the kids' bikes. My daughter's 50cc GasGas has got to be one of the most annoying motos I have ever heard. Geared low, with a torque converter auto clutch, it has to rev to make any forward motion, but the silencer (like most kids' bikes) is so short as to have very little effect on actual noise output. As for the full-sized bikes, I've heard Montesa 4Ts with aftermarket silencers that reach very close to the point of obnoxiousness. I don't find any of the stockers too loud, and as someone else noted, the Beta four-stroke is very quiet.
The Shercos we ride with are loud MoFos. So loud that is one thing that would keep me from owning one. It's a real high frequency tak-tak-tak-tak. I couldn't ride one in my backyard without pissin off some folks. YRMV.
Any exhaust pointing upwards will sound louder than one with a downward angle. Those little bikes seem to be like this and that's another reason for the loudness. The little curved outlets on exhausts went out of fashion years ago but in my opinion they helped with noise.
I ride over at Larryland every six months or so, and those guys are great. I am a total noob and have done my fair share of get offs without too much ribbing. Larry, I appreciated the invite last week, but its volleyball season now; maybe next week.
Has anyone experimented with putting a temp mod on their bike to point the exhause towards the ground with any success? I am trying to get my bike, 2003 Montesa 315, as quiet as possible so I can practice in yard and not tick-off the neighbors. So far I have repacked the silencer without a significant impact on noise level. The next step is to make a temp pipe that will point towards the ground to redirect exhause down. Thoughts?
