8 proven ways to make a motorcycle Quieter without losing performance

Motorcycles are generally louder than any other vehicle on the road. The loudness of it has its benefits and drawbacks. But one thing is sure that it makes your neighbor awake as you start your motorcycle, and you get some unwanted attention while riding that some riders may like or hate. So, in this post, I will share with you some proven ways to quiet down your motorcycle exhaust noise.

Here are the 7 proven ways to quiet down motorcycle exhaust sound:-

• Fix all the leaks and damage in your exhaust
• Try wrapping the motorcycle exhaust
• Upgrade to better mufflers
• Use dB killers (silencer) in your exhaust
• Use catalytic converter
• Make sure to keep your exhaust clean
• Switch back to stock exhaust

Let’s get into the details to quiet down the motorcycle exhaust:-

Fix all the leaks and damages of your exhaust

There are many reasons your exhaust can get a hole in it. The most common reason behind these leaks or holes is rust. As you have a hole in your motorcycle exhaust, it doesn’t affect anything in performance, but one thing is sure to increase, and that is loudness. The noise of your exhaust will get high. Thus, it’s essential to seal the holes or leaks of your exhaust for a quieter experience.

In order to seal the small holes in your exhaust, you can use exhaust tape around it.

But, what to do if you got bigger holes in your motorcycle exhaust?

Larger holes can be the big culprit behind making your motorcycle louder than smaller holes. Thus, it’s essential to seal the holes completely. 

For medium or bigger holes in the exhaust system, you will need a patch and epoxy to seal it completely. The whole process of patching the bigger leaks in the motorcycle is the same as patching tubes (if you have even done it). You will be pretty familiar:-

 Here are the instructions (steps) to seal medium or bigger leaks in the exhaust:-

To seal the larger exhaust leaks, you will need some additional components. You will need a patch and epoxy and some patience to seal the larger leaks of the exhaust. 

• In order to seal the bigger leaks of the exhaust, you will need first to measure the hole size to get the required patch for the area of leaks. So, first, start by measuring the hole size (radius) of the motorcycle exhaust.
• Now make sure to cut out a larger patch than the measure of the hole to cover it thoroughly so that it can overlap fully to the spot. 
• Now, apply the epoxy on the patch and leave on the leak for a while to fully heal the exhaust leak.

Make sure to give the patch it’s time to fully heal the leak before you start riding as early exposing the exhaust to temperature will undo all your work.

Try wrapping the motorcycle exhaust

Wrapping the motorcycle exhaust can help you to dampen the sound. So, you may be thinking, “how can wrapping the motorcycle exhaust reduce the exhaust noise?”

As we all know, vibration makes the sound, and exhaust makes lots of vibration while riding a motorcycle. Thus, wrapping the exhaust reduces the constant vibration that helps to minimize the sound coming out of it.

With the help of good-quality wrap such as titanium, you can significantly decrease the vibrations and frequency of the exhaust, which in return reduces the noise and make your motorcycle quieter. 

Exhaust wraps are pretty affordable and easy to install; you don’t need any expertise or hire someone. With some basic instructions, you can wrap your motorcycle pipes quickly.

If you want to know more about exhaust wrap in detail, then read this article where I have discussed everything in detail and in easy language.

For instruction on wrapping the motorcycle exhaust, you can watch this youtube video.

Consider upgrading to better mufflers

Mufflers are the critical component of the motorcycle exhaust responsible for quieting things down. But as it turns out, stock mufflers don’t provide that level of noise reduction that we need.

Although, nowadays, most factory-manufactured motorcycles are compliant with the noise level decided by the EPA (Environment Protection Agency). But, if you further want to reduce the motorcycle noise, you can go with new mufflers replacing the stock one.

If you buy mufflers of unique features like resonators, bafflers, or material like fiberglass, it will tremendously quiet the motorcycle noise.

There are three main muffler style types of chambered, turbo, and straight-through. Each muffler has its pros and cons, but I will be discussing two types of mufflers; chambered and straight-though.

Chambered mufflers are designed to reduce the exhaust significant-frequency noise to a decent level. There are two types of chambered mufflers, single-chambered and dual-chambered mufflers. The noise reduction will be better in the dual-chambered muffler than the single-chambered muffler. Thus, depending on your preference and the level of noise you want to reduce, you can go with any muffler.

There is another muffler style type which is known as “straight-through.” These mufflers are designed to allow maximum flow of the gases from the exhaust and horsepower. These mufflers are straight, perforated pipe wrapped in noise-absorbing material such as fiberglass. This “Straight-through” muffler setup allows the exhaust gas to flow freely through the pipe, with less sound reduction than chambered mufflers.

That’s the reason these mufflers are ideal for racing motorbikes, as they provide full performance while quieting things down.

Use dB killers (silencer) in your exhaust

dB killer is a ‘decibel killer’ used to reduce or kill the sound (decibels levels) of the exhaust in motorcycles. It helps to reduce the noise of exhaust and brings down the noise level to the legal permission level. 

dB killers are mainly required for those who use aftermarket exhaust. But even if you are running stock exhaust, you can install dB killers in your exhaust to reduce most of the vibration and make your motorcycle quiet.

dB killers can help to reduce the exhaust noise as it is used inside the exhaust to block the noise coming out of it.

For more information on dB killers, please read this article where I have discussed essential questions regarding dB killers.

Does dB killer affect motorcycle performance? Explained with Pros and Cons

Use catalytic converter

Catalytic converter’s primary function in motorcycle exhaust is to reduce and control toxic gases. The catalytic converter is placed between the engine and the exhaust pipe /muffler. It also reduces the noise up to some extent as it sits close to the engine. Thus catalytic converter is exceptionally eco-friendly as it converts toxic gases like carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide into non-hazardous gases and reduces toxicity.

Make sure to keep your exhaust clean

When it comes to cleaning the exhaust, most people generally do not seem to be aware of it, and some are too damn lazy like me. But, if you want to make sure that your motorcycle remains quiet after following all the tips mentioned above, then you need to clean the exhaust weekly.

Because a dirty exhaust system makes a shrill and loud noise that is very unpleasant to our ears, if you don’t clean your exhaust, it will become less efficient, with dark smoke being emitted from the exhaust.

Make sure to clean your exhaust often if you ride off-road often as it attracts dirt, debris, etc., more often.

If you don’t take care of the exhaust, it will start to rust and finally result in leaks. Thus, make sure to keep your motorcycle exhaust clean.

Switch back to stock exhaust

If you are running on aftermarket motorcycle exhaust, then it will be loud. In this case, the most sensible option will be switching back to the stock exhaust as stock motorcycle exhausts are configured to be quieter decibel levels below 80 dB. In comparison, aftermarket exhaust generally produces a decibel level above 90 dB to 120 dB. Thus, switching back to the stock exhaust will help dampen unnecessary noise without causing any performance loss or issues.

Also, If you have bought any second-hand motorcycle, then there are chances that the owner may have swapped out the original stock exhaust with an aftermarket one which can be noisier. Thus, the best practice will be to switch back to the stock exhaust as they are configured to make lesser noise.

Summing UP

These seven above-mentioned will make your exhaust considerably quiet. But, even none of the above-mentioned methods work, then you can switch to brand new quieter pipes,” and you will have to buy OEM pipes because most of the aftermarket exhausts are louder than the stock exhaust. But aftermarket exhaust can give your better performance and sound. For more information, check out this post. You can tell me further in the comments or in the email which worked for you. Till then, ride hard, ride safe and follow the rules.