Listening Experiment for Electric Motorcycle Sounds

[Chrispy]

OK, let's just keep it friendly.

Glad to. Just a weird viewpoint as to how that works....

 

[Blumlein 88]

Recently finalized regulations will start to force that choice beginning in 2028, and tightening the noose over the 5 years after that. Actually, I don't expect the new rules to survive.

For E motorcycles? Kalofornia had a hearing about it this year, but no bans issued yet I don't think.

 

[Blumlein 88]

Okay, cannot find the results of the hearing in Kalifornia. The proposal was large motorcycle manufacturers must be at 50% Zero Emission motorcycle sales in 2035 and beyond. The requirement is 10% starting in 2028 which is I presume what Ron Texas was thinking of.

https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/sites/default/files/barcu/regact/2024/onmc/isor.pdf

 

[sam_adams]

This guy could have used a warning sound . . .

 

[Blumlein 88]

This guy could have used a warning sound . . .

Warning sound does no good without a brain. He would appear to lack one considering what he did in the location of the video.

 

[EJ3]

Living in North America, I've heard the argument that motorcycles being loud makes them safer since other motorists can hear them. I made a point of noticing when I begin to hear a loud motorcycle (Harley Davidson) approaching me from behind on the highway traveling at least 60 mph. The bike was practically at my rear bumper before I noticed any sound. If you ride a motorcycle please know that you can't be heard in this situation.

I drive an electric car. If anyone asks me what I think about it. I simply cite the superior torque and driveability. It's been said "you buy horsepower but drive torque." Maximum torque at zero rpm makes for some exciting driving.

The noise is mostly for lower speed city encounters & pedestrians, not for people driving cages on the interstate. (But also for on the higher speed roads, at times: explanation coming in a later post)
The noise that my 2000 Nisan Frontier makes through the mildly modified exhaust (about 3 Db louder at low speeds, less so at higher speeds [due to the exhaust scavenging & exhaust pulses of the 2.4 L. 4 cylinder engine being smoother]) kept someone at the Medical University from stepping out of the sidewalk to cross the street in front of me a few days ago. In a 20 MPH zone, they stepped of the side walk onto the surface street, heard my truck (I was trundling along at the speed limit, in a lower gear & only about 25 feet form where they started to step out in front of me. I had my windows down, looked at them & said "See, loud pipes do save lives, They just saved yours".
In addition to that, the truck has better emissions performance, better acceleration/pulling power & has gone from 18/19 Miles per Gallon to 21/22 Miles per Gallon.

More safety, less emissions, more economy and more power, what's not to like?

For those of you a bit more technically inclined on ICE engines: I also ported the cylinder head, at the same time, as I had the head off to install a new timing chain.
So all of the gains were from a combination of the work done, not only changing to stainless steel exhaust headers with a better, larger stainless steel catalytic convertor, a more free flowing muffler & 2.5" exhaust pipe instead of the original approximately 1.75" factory exhaust pipe.

 

[Sal1950]

Warning sound does no good without a brain. He would appear to lack one considering what he did in the location of the video.

The damn thing just overloaded his senses.
I watched an idiot do the exact thing in my parking lot on a Suzuki Hayabusa.
Now get this, it was a borrowed bike and he was going to show us all a big burnout.
So he revs the motor into it's torque band and slides out the clutch.
The rear tire breaks loose and he's into a great burnout when he lets the throttle down, the tire hooks up, and he shoots forward like he was coming out a cannon.. Then about 75' in front of him is a big parked Ford van that served as his backstop. OUCH
I can laugh now because he wasn't seriously hurt, but the same couldn't be said for the Suzi.
Big performance bikes can be very scary and do things so quickly you don't have time to react.
Specially when it's not yours and your completely unaware of its capability.

 

[EJ3]

I think the artificial sounds would be for low speeds for pedestrians. Say 20 mph and less in parking lots and residential streets. Not for motorcycle at highway speeds to be heard by those in cars.

No, many of those in cars, when everyone is going at higher speeds, just don't look (or use blinkers) when they suddenly decide to change lanes. They may have looked before doing this, just well enough to see a truck or a car but did not notice that there is a motorcycle there.
Why we need to be heard. And why I have a pair of high & low tone FIAM electric horns in place of the stock horn(s) on every one of my vehicles (as well as my mother's & my wife's). These horns put out 133 Db. When you hit the horn button, they may not be looking for a motorcycle BUT THEY WILL BE LOOKING FOR WHAT MADE THAT NOISE!
the point is THAT THEY WILL BE LOOKING FOR SOMETHING!
Which is a damn site better than finishing initiating a lane change without paying attention to their surroundings.

 

[Sal1950]

No, many of those in cars, when everyone is going at higher speeds, just don't look (or use blinkers) when they suddenly decide to change lanes.

Turnsignals and stopsigns are only suggestions, aren't they ???

 

[Prana Ferox]

The noise of a motorcycle is not going to be sufficient to alert nearby motorists or pedestrians, it doesn't work on the highway and it doesn't work in city streets. "Loud pipes save lives" is a joke some cyclists forget is a joke. It doesn't even work for cars beyond parking-lot speeds, especially in urban environments. There's a reason your horn sounds completely different.

If you want to make every vehicle out there constantly make the sound of a trash truck backing up, that works for the very brief period until your downtown is constantly filled with that noise and everyone starts ignoring it again.

 

[EJ3]

Warning sound does no good without a brain. He would appear to lack one considering what he did in the location of the video.

Supposedly he designed & built it. And has been with it at a dragstrip, so knows it's performance.
Somehow there was a HUGE gap in common sense. Maybe he wanted to show off for that women? Who knows?
I was happy to see that he was still breathing.
He should have stuck with his original instincts (don't be the rider): be the engineer & builder, let the test pilot (whoever he is, he has got a handle on what it does & when, through the EMPIRICAL knowledge of actually doing it to find out on a track designed for such endeavors.

 

[Blumlein 88]

The noise of a motorcycle is not going to be sufficient to alert nearby motorists or pedestrians, it doesn't work on the highway and it doesn't work in city streets. "Loud pipes save lives" is a joke some cyclists forget is a joke. It doesn't even work for cars beyond parking-lot speeds, especially in urban environments. There's a reason your horn sounds completely different.

If you want to make every vehicle out there constantly make the sound of a trash truck backing up, that works for the very brief period until your downtown is constantly filled with that noise and everyone starts ignoring it again.

I sort of agree and I don't. I've almost been surprised a few times by hybrids that are going around the Publix parking lot silently. Some kind of noise would be helpful for pedestrians. I think some of that is there are ICE vehicles creating some low level noise and the hybrids get lost in it. I think research into what works would help us come up with an effective noise that is noticeable without being overly loud or as annoying as trash truck backing up signals.

 

[EJ3]

Turnsignals and stopsigns are only suggestions, aren't they ???

Around here, the biggest automotive parts warehouse (a local company that has a bunch of stores in the area and where you can actually get the higher tier of parts for your vehicle, should you want them), actually has an aisle with a bottle labeled "Blinker Fluid" on one of the shelves.

 

[Blumlein 88]

The damn thing just overloaded his senses.
I watched an idiot do the exact thing in my parking lot on a Suzuki Hayabusa.
Now get this, it was a borrowed bike and he was going to show us all a big burnout.
So he revs the motor into it's torque band and slides out the clutch.
The rear tire breaks loose and he's into a great burnout when he lets the throttle down, the tire hooks up, and he shoots forward like he was coming out a cannon.. Then about 75' in front of him is a big parked Ford van that served as his backstop. OUCH
I can laugh now because he wasn't seriously hurt, but the same couldn't be said for the Suzi.
Big performance bikes can a very scary and do things so quickly you don't have time to react.
Specially when it's not yours and your completely unaware of its capability.

I've seen the same thing myself a few times. A GOOD friend loaned me his Ducati and said "go see what it will do". He did warn me it has very sensitive brakes. Great feel for modulation, but there is just no slop in them so be aware. They were much tighter than other bikes I've ridden. So a good warning and I tried them out a few times before doing any real speed. And yet, on a deserted back road at about 110 or 115 mph a darn bird flew out and committed suicide against my knee. Left a bloody spot on my knee. I did see it prior to it happening and ignored the result until after finishing the ride.

Nothing like this fortunately, but at the same speed.

Well now I'm off here to watch the Tissot Sprint at Mugello. So a good topic.

 

[Sal1950]

The noise of a motorcycle is not going to be sufficient to alert nearby motorists or pedestrians,

Sorry but that's not correct. I've been riding for 60 some years and couldn't count the number of times I've eye'd a driver
in a cage that was looking the other way at an intersection. Normally a quick blip of the throttle a few times will get their attention and then they'd be looking me right in the eyes.

 

[Ron Texas]

I want to clarify that my comments apply to all plug in vehicles. Current US regulations aim to have 66% of all new passenger car and light trucks BEV or PHEV by 2033. California is aiming for a complete ICE phaseout by then or shortly thereafter. California will limit PHEV's to 30% of sales and require a 50 mile battery only range. The last time I checked only an upcoming Range Rover model had that range.

Presently there is a lot of consumer resistance to EV's. Ford lost over $4 billion, Lucid is on the verge of shutting down, Tesla has layoffs. Automakers are shifting future production plans from BEV/PHEV to hybrids. Hertz, which recently emerged from bankruptcy, is back to the brink of insolvency due to a big bet on EV's. Given a choice, only a small percentage of the car buying public wants them Cubanizaton of the fleet with ICE cars being kept on the road for extended lives is likely. Despite the availability of $7.5 billion in subsidies in the IRA only 8 charging stations have been built. Long waits to charge and broken chargers are the norm. Thieves steal the cords because they contain valuable copper. Utility experts say there will not be enough electricity to run EV's and meet expected growth in data centers. World copper mining capacity can't provide enough output to make EV's and additional transmission lines. Overall, the plan to rapidly transition from ICE to EV has not been thought out.

 

[NiagaraPete]

I'd say give up on it. Loud and proud for me.

 

[Doodski]

 

[MattHooper]

If E-motorcycles would mean we wouldn't have to deal with obnoxious Harley riders or other ear blasters….where do I donate?

 

[EJ3]

What about the sound of the VW Beetle that he managed to get going in?