Bike sounds you love.

[Newey]

The power valves on my RD500 opening and closing when the ignition was turned on, little things I suppose.

[wheelnut]

Nice idea for a thread - couple of sounds I love

Predictable perhaps

The sound of that CBX makes the the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

[cheb]

The pinging of a cooling aircooled motor.

[Yorick]

I always loved the sound of 2t triples.

[weeksy]

As you'd expect, i'm a big thumping twin kind of guy.

Could be an Aprilia Mille/Tuono, KTM Superduke, Ducati 916, don't really mind much.

For the ultimate though, a full on 996/998 ridden by someone who can properly ride, glorious.

I'm not convinced i ever did the noise justice when racing, but i'd like to think i entertained one or two people a little.

[cheb]

The cleaning routine of a Yamaha YPVS system when the ignition is switched on.

[KungFooBob]

RSV4 Aprilia's sound quite nice on an open pipe.

[cheb]

The hiss of a clean and lubed chain.

[ogri]

400 / 4 with an Alpha 4 -1 and open bellmouths...

For those who remember.

Had an open alpha on my cb900. Wife always had a cuppa ready when i got home, could here be coming from miles away

[lostboy]

I used to get hung up on different bike noises but the moment I really discovered I loved them all was doing DB level checks on scrutineering day at Losail. Every bike that rolled up you had to place the meter mic at a specific distance, the mechs would fire the bike up, rev it to 5,500 (a ridiculously low figure) and we'd have to ensure that the noise was below the required level. Two things struck me immediately:

1. I fucking LOVE every different engine noise. Whether it's the four stroke single Moto 3, the IL4 (at the time we did it) of the Moto2 or the incredible variety of different MotoGP engine sounds.*
2. Every class is LOUD!!! Having been so close throughout the weekend for a number of years it's the thing I miss most when I watch the coverage. Whilst I have numerous videos on my phone, nothing gets close to the sheer volume and pressure that those bikes create.

*the second season we did it was 2017 and this was the debut year of the KTM. We were stood with the DB meter waiting for the bikes to roll up (there's a reasonable time window for it all to happen so it can be quiet) and Hodgy wandered up for a chat. Pretty much immediately the mechanics started wheeling the first KTM down the pit lane towards us and we were all just dumbstruck - it got to within about 20m and Hodgy turned to us and just went "fuck, that's a good looking bike isn't it". We went through the noise check and were equally dumbstruck - he turned to us again and went "well if it goes as well it looks and sounds they've got a winner on their hands". It looked and sounded absolutely stunning.

The biggest problem we had was that it was followed by a works Ducati - at which point we agreed that it was the best sounding bike on the grid, then an M1 (Tech 3) turned up and we all agreed that we were wrong and that THIS was the best sounding bike. Then Pedrosa's Honda turned up and we immediately voted that the best. They all just sounded so fucking good!!

And that cured me of being precious about bike sounds. I really do love them all. I can even smile at a potato V twin or a boxer.

[Skub]

The distant whine and the anticipation just before the full fury of 3 bikes at full chat scared the crap put of my kids standing on the wall at Glen Vine

I took them to better spots to watch after that but as a first time it was dramatic

One year at the UGP,we were standing on a bank just before Joey's Windmill. A chap who hadn't seen a road race before joined us just before the start of the first big bike race.

Same thing as with your kids,except at that point the whole field was pretty close together. The riders exploded out of the right hander and skimmed the bank where we were standing. The new chap took a leap backwards off the bank and landed on his arse in the muddy field,so shocked he could barely speak.

I'd reckon it took a boil wash to sort out his chipmunks.

[Tricky]

The distant whine and the anticipation just before the full fury of 3 bikes at full chat scared the crap put of my kids standing on the wall at Glen Vine

I took them to better spots to watch after that but as a first time it was dramatic

Similar for me and my three boys- the four of us went across to NI for a couple of weeks 10 or so years ago to revisit my childhood days- we booked our holiday around the Ulster GP and spent best part of a a week of the trip milling around the paddock and watching the racing and doing bikey things there in fabulous weather,

The first place I took them to watch was near the end of the flying kilo, just before they shut off and jam on the anchors for Leathemstown , and watching inches away from the pack barreling down there absolutely blew them away.

It was a great trip and one they still talk about now as adults - FIn (my youngest)'s hero Brucey had a brilliant week with an absolute cracker of a final superbike race which was the cherry on the top.
And we even got a little bit sunburnt






Anyway, I digress, back to the noises!

[Bigjawa]

I love the sound my BMW makes on full chat from the airbox when it hits about 8k, it's like a deep roar and it's worth keeping the standard pipe on just to hear it.

All the same, with the wee stubby can on, when you start it up and it bursts into life with that evil growl, it's pretty evil, even if does fuck up the fuelling.

[Yorick]

Hands up if you've ever been to a MotoGP?

The smokers sounded farking ace

The diesels sound as though they'll bite your ankles and soooooo farking loud!!!

[Mr. Dazzle]

I went to MotoGP back when they still had a wider mix of engine types, so V5, V4, IL3 and IL4. I think they're just down to IL4 and V4 now?

It was a right old mix for sure, the Honda V5s just sounded like nothing else...which is probably cause nothing else has a V5.

However very little matches the old F1 20,000rpm 3 litre V10s IME. Those are loud!

[KungFooBob]

After iccy did his Inty, I thought I'd try the Bullet, phone mic is rubbish, doesn't do it proper justice.

[Taipan]

Rd250/400, LCs, Gt250/380s, X7s etc with spannies on. I love the crackle and splutter coming off idle and then they come on song. Biking in a nut shell for me.

[Yorick]

The Husky sounds cool when it comes on the pipe

[Skub]

Hands up if you've ever been to a MotoGP?

The smokers sounded farking ace

The diesels sound as though they'll bite your ankles and soooooo farking loud!!!

That's one thing the tv coverage hides,the true assault on the senses when you are actually there when they kick off from the grid. The noise itself is an adrenalin rush. Even the little Moto 3 bikes sound dangerous.

[Yorick]

Hands up if you've ever been to a MotoGP?

The smokers sounded farking ace

The diesels sound as though they'll bite your ankles and soooooo farking loud!!!

That's one thing the tv coverage hides,the true assault on the senses when you are actually there when they kick off from the grid. The noise itself is an adrenalin rush. Even the little Moto 3 bikes sound dangerous.

Not sure if cars are louder, but coz the bikes are so much closer together, the cacophony of sound on the first few laps was awesome. Was impossible to talk even in grandstands well back from the track