TNC, you're undoubtedly familiar with Harley's tag line: "the most efficient means of converting gasoline to sound without any of the adverse side effects of horsepower!"

 

har har. haven't heard that one b4. so true!

 

What he said ^^^ The TBR slip-on is one of the louder pipes available for the KLX, but there's no way it approaces the sound level of a Harley (or metic cruiser) with staight pipes. I have stood blocks away from them and felt like my ear drums were ripping apart. There's absolutely no reason to have your bike that loud. It's my personal opinion that people who get ticketed for running straight pipes deserve it.

 

I have some recent empirical data which I thought was worthy of reviving this old thread over. I previously stated, "I run the Two Brothers Racing VALE M-7 Slip-On Exhaust on my SF. It came with the P1 power tip which resulted in an unreasonably loud exhaust noise. I define “unreasonably loud” as making it difficult to hear a straight-pipe Harley in the adjacent lane....I therefore purchased the P1X tip, meant to reduce the noise of the M-7 by 7-8db".

The municipality I live in (Calgary AB) in implementing a bylaw to fine any vehicle which emits exhaust noise over 96dB, and they are currently allowing vehicle owners amnesty to get their vehicles' exhaust measured prior to enforcing the bylaw. I took the little KLX with TBR pipe & measured 105dB! Keep in mind that is WITH the P1X sound-reducing tip!

For reference, I also had my Buell XB12Ss with Drummer aftermarket exhaust tested at 'only' 96dB.

Potential purchasers of the TBR M-7: you have been warned, it's LOUD!

 

I had an 2bros m7 vale slip-on that I purchased from Kawasaki Thailand. I had to wait over a month for it to be delivered to my dealership & in the down time i ordered a P1x tip from ebay just to be on the safe side, if the pipe was to loud!! Thought I was being clever.

OMG had the pipe fitted & did about 20miles with the ridiculously loud exhaust fitted, it could drown out a Harley running straight thru screaming eagle pipes!! My neighbors hated me & was unable to ride after 10pm in built up areas!! Day 3 fitted my stock exhaust back on, 1). to keep the m7 looking new for re-sale & 2). it was toooo bloody loud!!

After one day I thought great, I can fit the P1x tip & loose 5+ decibels of noise......NOT SO, it made little to no difference!! Still 100+ decibels with a P1x sound suppressor fitted & it was IMHO totally unacceptable.

Luckily for me, there was stilll a 4 week waiting list at kawasaki for the 2bros m7 & Kawasaki sold it onto another unsuspecting customer for a 10% commission off the retail price......RESULT .......Can you imagine that happening anywhere else in the world, the salesman took 10% off shelf price & paid me the cash when the next guy had paid his cash!! Supply and demand I guess, with no usual dealership red tape that happens in the western world.

This is the reason that made me join this forum & big thanks to the many members on here that responded with well informed replies to my post.

The feedback from this forum prompted me to get the FMF Q4 with a mega bomb header & I am very happy with the power, torque & noise levels........Lesson learnt & lost very little money on my ill informed first decision.

 

I was shocked by the dB reading of 105 being so much higher than that of a big V-twin, but as you point out, the KLX with TBR pipe is capable of rendering a nearby Harley inaudible!

The methodology of the test was a ride by at 50km/h. My actual speed was actually closer to 60 km/h for both bikes. On the KLX, this translated to 3rd gear, 7000 rpm, 7/8 throttle. *On the Buell, it translated to 1st gear, 4500 rpm, 3/4 throttle (any more throttle and the front end is coming off the ground!).

The only substantive difference in the two bikes with respect to the noise level test is the outlet location of their exhausts. * The noise meter is located on the right curb of the driving lane. *The KLX's right exit exhaust provides a more direct sound path to the device than the Buell with its underslung pipe with outlet tip angled to the left.

None the less, it was a real eye (and ear opener) for me...

 

I just picked up a sound meter and will be testing mine today or tomorrow. I stayed away from the 2B for that very reason. DG has a GREAT priced pipe, but same thing... it was one of the louder one's available. No thanks!

 

@rgoers: please keep us informed of your results!

 

Sure will... will be taking readings 20" from the end of the exhaust pipe with the engine @ various RPMs (maybe do it every 1000).

The spec says 1/2 max HP engine speed. For the KLX that should be around 4000-4250 RPM. Does that sound about right?

 

I just sold my 2B with P1X tip after I measured it at 117dB max and 123dB decel pop. It had a few thousand miles on it, so the packing was degraded some, but still, with a P1X tip. This was with a high quality industrial sound meter. FMF Q4 is a world better.