Snuff or unsnuff, exhaust decibells?

A while back we were discussing the possibility of quick release baffles. I have been investigating exhaust note modification lately. The other day I found this:





Old advert - obviously quietening your bike temporarily and quickly is not new idea. I like the idea of leaving home 'snuffed' and then when out in the open 'unsnuff'. I understand at considerable cost, some cars have a remote controlled exhaust daiphragm control enabling infinitely variable exhaust volume depending on where you are driving - now that would be worth having on a motorcycle - from near silent (hello officer) to straight through thunderous, at the touch of a button. I personally would pay quite a bit for that luxury.

In the meantime, perhaps a little DIY is required!

Now that's bloody clever
The simplist idea's are usually the best & that definately in the best catagory

That's flippin ace, great find Mr Blues Sir

This diverter valve from National Cycle seems just what we have been talking about! They ahve some simple rotating end pieces as well!

Diverter valve

Very clever, that could be an extremelly usefull mod but for some reason I can't seem to watch the video

Mr Intruder wrote:

Very clever, that could be an extremelly usefull mod but for some reason I can't seem to watch the video

I couldn't watch it either - shame I was quite interested in that. I agree, that could be one of the most useful additions on any bike.

you can make these yourself bluesman not my idear so i wont make out it is go online and serch bobs vs800 intruder page then when on the page go down to solving the big streetability problem with drag pipes has pics and step by step on how to do it with some nuts and bolts and a washer all you need is a welder or use a mates (what i normally do ) he seems like a good bloke have spoken to him via email hope this helps and could save on shiping charge if getting from the us

fat intruder wrote:

you can make these yourself bluesman not my idear so i wont make out it is go online and serch bobs vs800 intruder page then when on the page go down to solving the big streetability problem with drag pipes has pics and step by step on how to do it with some nuts and bolts and a washer all you need is a welder or use a mates (what i normally do ) he seems like a good bloke have spoken to him via email hope this helps and could save on shiping charge if getting from the us

Yes I have seen that mod. I have been thinking that I might have a go at something like that. I would try to do it myself without a weld first like this:



A weld would be a proper job of course. They call these lollipops in the USA I believe.

I like the idea of being able to vary the back-pressure and exhaust note. I was only looking at my pipes today and thinking it's about time I buggered about with them again! Thanks for jogging my memory!

yeh its a lot to do with the back pressure if just chuging around have it turned so that its bloking the exhaust if hitting the throtal twist it so its not (drag pipes work best at high revs as in drag raceing or so iv read ) or try different sizes of washer till you have the sound and performance you want could save haveing to ajust it wich is were your idear about not welding the washer comes in reely handy could just find say your fave three sizes of washers and have a sound to suit all acasions

just loked at your diagram again would be a puka job if you could do all three file the thred flat saw a slot in and have it drilled be best to drill it before you put the slot in i supose triky to drill it though be easyer if you could use the drills that you wind down onto what your drilling

I will be very interested to see how this may come along

Whats the difference between this peice and an adjustable end cap?

Bunso Steel wrote:

Whats the difference between this peice and an adjustable end cap?

Which sort of adjustable end cap were you thinking of?

Hi John had a look at your diagram and set about doing the mod, intriuged more than anything else.What I found was it was a lot easier making a flat on the bolt first for the washer to sit squarely plus easier to drill in bench drill.The negative side to it was I found that the main bolt would have to be around 8/10 mm to get a decent 4/6 mm hole in to attach the the temp bolt holding the washer.I will certainly have a go,but personaly feel a good tack weld from washer to main bolt is the way to go.I wish to end saying cheers for post as this is what these forums are for,and we all benifit in the end.

alfie92 wrote:

Hi John had a look at your diagram and set about doing the mod, intriuged more than anything else.What I found was it was a lot easier making a flat on the bolt first for the washer to sit squarely plus easier to drill in bench drill.The negative side to it was I found that the main bolt would have to be around 8/10 mm to get a decent 4/6 mm hole in to attach the the temp bolt holding the washer.I will certainly have a go,but personaly feel a good tack weld from washer to main bolt is the way to go.I wish to end saying cheers for post as this is what these forums are for,and we all benifit in the end.

You are probably right about the weld. The washer would need to be a good fit for the short cuts because they are bloody loud when too much gas escapes! Anyway, with this in mind, I found a ring off an old door handle - fits the inside of my pipe exactly by chance. Made bracket:



I fitted this in the pipe with a bolt and wing nut. It will not rotate but is very firm. With a smaller hole and a rotation this would give a lot of sound options. Not sure where I will go from here. I will try it out tomorrow and see how it sounds as it stands. I seem to set out doing one thing and end up somewhere different

I can see the logic ie: wing nut in place,get out of town and take it out x two,but were I live it is built up areas for miles,then the thing would be to hot to mess with anyway.Keeps you off the beer whilst you try these gadgets out though,so thats a good thing.Some one out there is scatching their heads now,thinking there must be an easier way out of this situation,we will have to go on Dragons Den.

what size are these drag pipes 1 and a half inch 2 inch i dont have em on my bike allthough i am going to be messing around with my exhaust i want to make one of these lolly pop things now have an idear of what ill use im going up the farm were i keep my boat at the weekend or should be and think i could borrow a welder when im there if anyones about

fat intruder wrote:

what size are these drag pipes 1 and a half inch 2 inch i dont have em on my bike allthough i am going to be messing around with my exhaust i want to make one of these lolly pop things now have an idear of what ill use im going up the farm were i keep my boat at the weekend or should be and think i could borrow a welder when im there if anyones about

Mine are 60 mm diameter.

Reminds me somewhat of a carb butterfly valve. Isn't there some sort of linkage that could join two of these
together; so with one movement you could open up both exhausts. The original picture seems to have a large knurled knob
fitted. What you might need is a small threaded hole (bit like the lambda sensor boss) in the end of each exhaust pipe
for fitment. Haven;t got the time to think about it now (not enough coffee yet).... put my late-night brain to it tonight!

Bluesman wrote:

Bunso Steel wrote:

Whats the difference between this peice and an adjustable end cap?

Which sort of adjustable end cap were you thinking of?

]that is the sort of thing I thought of LINK

Looks very pretty but it would seem to be very restrictive even in a fully open position

Bunso Steel wrote:

Bluesman wrote:

Bunso Steel wrote:

Whats the difference between this peice and an adjustable end cap?

Which sort of adjustable end cap were you thinking of?

]that is the sort of thing I thought of LINK

I lilke that! Expensive but if you have paid big money for a bike I suppose not.

Mr Intruder wrote:

Looks very pretty but it would seem to be very restrictive even in a fully open position

Yes I think the idea is good but needs to go from nearly fully open pipe to teeny small holes. The more I think about this idea I wonder if the ultimate adjustment from the handlebar would be the real holy grail - see a cop, flick - quiet exhaust - see your mates, flick - the full monty. I suppose the next best option is the 'get off and fiddle for a few minutes' gadgets like we have on this page.

I am going through a phase Mr.I just like you did wanting quiet baffles. My reason is because my V-Strom is so quiet, the Intruder with it's short cuts is getting louder and louder to my ears! Today I fitted stove rope around the baffles so they are definitely snuffed! I can't do much about my HD SEII's nor would I want to so will just have to keep it for rides when I want to be heard. There is no doubt about it that pipe volume is a very subjective issue. I do want a throaty Intruder sound and not wimpy but as I ride it a lot, even I am getting fed up with the constant sonic boom!

Ah well - moving on...............!

agree with mi looks reel nice but even at full tilt still not very open

My baffles do not by any stretch of the imagination make my bike quiet, they are still loud. The difference is that on tickover it is considerably quieter, if your careful on the throttle & rev range you can get around without to much disturbance but when you give it a handful she is still loud and pleasing to the ear.
I can see why so many bikers recommended these baffles, I am really impressed with them. They have taken the bark out of the exhaust but still have a nice volume & tone.

Hi John have you looked at db killers on ebay,there are plenty of baffles to consider,you may be able to get a patern to work to if you want to do the mod yourself.

alfie92 wrote:

Hi John have you looked at db killers on ebay,there are plenty of baffles to consider,you may be able to get a patern to work to if you want to do the mod yourself.

What I like about the stove-rope mod is that is deadens the sound as well as lowering the volume. Also by adding more or less rope you can have a variable amount of sound to suit your requirements. I know a lot of guys fit commercial db killers. I quite like the rope approach because the mod is inside the baffle rather than visible at the end. Different ways to achieve the same end I suppose. It would be a boring world if we were all the same!

Sound reply John completely agree with you,the good thing about forums like these is that others can look in and get some tips from a different range of people.

I'm hoping some one will still make an adjustable one as it would be really interesting to see how the finished mod is done

I am thinking of the thumbwheel. Any ideas on how to make one - water stop cock maybe? A bit big - need something smaller - maybe a modified bolt head? Thinking aloud now!

cc will be making one sorry said i would try do it at the weekend bin roped in to decorating my sister in laws flat but when i get a spare minit will be makeing one of the lollypop ones seen all the stuff ineed for it was going to use a m6 or m8 size bolt thred and have some washers that will fit 60mm exhaust but still let of a good sound

Made this prototype today with a tin lid, bolt and wing nut. Okay one ordinary baffle is still in place so quite a bit of noise still coming from the top pipe. But you can still hear the effect when the valve is opened (even better if you have a good sub speaker!). There is only a little air escaping round the edges so with two of these in place is should be pretty quiet. It is very quick to alter. Moving on from here I will need to:

Find a stouter tin or something

Make one for the other pipe!

Spray with engine black

Test it running.

PS The noise you can hear at the beginning is the crappy camera I used today!

Hi Blue, very creative. Is it ok to block the whole pipe off like that?

Bunso Steel wrote:

Hi Blue, very creative. Is it ok to block the whole pipe off like that?

Good point but it's not completely blocked off - there is about 2mm round the outside. Most baffles only have little holes; you don't need much gas to escape. If I find it does not run too well then I will make a bit smaller or add a hole. I want to try to get the 2 extremes as full bore and as quiet as poss with all the steps in between. I would dearly love to get a control (cable or even servo) to adjust on the move but I'm afraid my Heath Robinson skills wont extend that far (yet!)

A cable control like a bicycle gear change or throttle could do the job but I honestly think it would be cumbersome and the current control method is probably the most practical - we'll see!

Very interesting

Hi John you certainly are taking this seriously,good on you.If you go to your plumbers shop,look around for the chrome gas shut off valves,they may have some in 10mm fairly small,these will give you the twist control,then look for some 60mm washers,these should be around 2-3mm thick, enough meat to play around with for your fittings,there should be a way of fitting these in your pipes,I am very intriuged now and am going to look into this a bit more(keeps the old grey matter alive)I have seen Vaseline used for some things but thats a first.You could mount an old choke cable on the handlebars to make your idea work in theory they worked on minis and the like for years.Just a couple of thoughts for you to ponder over,whilst we wait for Spring to arrive.

Looking like this thread is really starting to go somewhere I think you would need to drill both pipes on the nearside so that you could join them and have one control to work them both

ippikin wrote:

Reminds me somewhat of a carb butterfly valve.

We had a show driving team in Australia that did just that. As the cars were required to drive on the road between shows they were fitted with a straight through exhaust for show time and had a butterfly fitted to both pipes for baffing. In the 80's this was done with a cable. musch the same as a choke set up and later they were actuated with a solenoid from a button on the dash.

It reminds me of a really old Hells Angels UK documentary from the 70's that I saw. One of the members had been told off by a freindly policeman because his pipes were too loud, and so he "ad to do a bodge job wiv a peanut butter lid", which he stabbed holes in and glued to the end of the exhaust. If I can find that vid again I'll post it in the relevent area. It doesn't help with the snuffing, but its funny :)

'Snuff' by Slayer

bluesman had a spare bit of time this morning so i got some m6 size thead and weldid 2 sizes of washer to them ( 2 sets of lollypop one bigger one smaller ) makeing the lollypop as you started the thread if you think you could use them or they might come in handy for the plans you have there yours if not anyone else that may want them can hav em as it took about 5 mins to make them i can allways make more if i change my pipes i used bits i found at the farm so cost nothing and im sure the post wont cost a lot as they dont way alot and will fit an envalope

fat intruder wrote:

bluesman had a spare bit of time this morning so i got some m6 size thead and weldid 2 sizes of washer to them ( 2 sets of lollypop one bigger one smaller ) makeing the lollypop as you started the thread if you think you could use them or they might come in handy for the plans you have there yours if not anyone else that may want them can hav em as it took about 5 mins to make them i can allways make more if i change my pipes i used bits i found at the farm so cost nothing and im sure the post wont cost a lot as they dont way alot and will fit an envalope

Cheers mate! I've shelved the idea of a snuffer for the moment - I'm in a no baffles phase and lovin it! I think I'll just have to use my quiet bike when I feel like keeping the peace! Those lollipops you made sure might come in handy for someone on here who needs to vary things a bit - they sound like a proper job with the welding. Keep up the good work!

no wurrys mate looks like there up for grabs if anyone wants them saw ya utube clip bike sounds good after seeing that maid me think my bike sounds a bit tame got 3 plates in my exhaust 1 at the end another about 5 inches douwn then 1 about a foot into it going from the back towards the engine gunna have my carbs set up next week fit some new plugs see that shes running sweet get the tickover rite then take my drill to the exhaust think ill start by drilling a 6mm or 8mm drill bit 3 times in each exhaust through the first and second plates and take it from there dont want it to loud but should let it breath a bit eazyer part of me thinks i may need to get new pipes if i get the money though

Pictures always go down well Morgan, might inspire as well

fat intruder wrote:

no wurrys mate looks like there up for grabs if anyone wants them saw ya utube clip bike sounds good after seeing that maid me think my bike sounds a bit tame got 3 plates in my exhaust 1 at the end another about 5 inches douwn then 1 about a foot into it going from the back towards the engine gunna have my carbs set up next week fit some new plugs see that shes running sweet get the tickover rite then take my drill to the exhaust think ill start by drilling a 6mm or 8mm drill bit 3 times in each exhaust through the first and second plates and take it from there dont want it to loud but should let it breath a bit eazyer part of me thinks i may need to get new pipes if i get the money though

Should sound good!

CC sorry mate im just shite on computors i did borrow a camera to take some pics of my bike to put in the galleri looked at the bit on the site that tells you how to put them on here so people can see them and it was explaned well but it dont help me im that bad on a computor will take some pic off lollypops and my bike and go round my dads house and see if he can do it for me hes pretty good on a computer . thought john may of had them as hes good at doing photos / utube clips and likes haveing a go and makeing stuff so could of seen them in practise but hes a bit of a reble i recon and wants to see people turn round as he approches with that what the hells that look on there face or the odd car alarm go of as he thunders past and who dont .Still stands anyone can hav em but i will try and sort some photos out