Advise for Tackling VTR Riding Noise

[keepy]

I’ve had my Firestorm a good few years now, but haven’t ridden it so regularly (daily) as I have the past few weeks. Which is starting to affect my hearing pretty bad.

I’m looking to reduce the ‘noise’ and obviously looking at the screen, helmet and exhaust as a main areas for improvement.
Questions are..

1) Screen.. is this the standard screen (see link below)? Thinking that swapping it out for one suitable for a 5’8.5” short rider

2) Exhaust – I’ve got the Scorpion can on, with no baffles. Presumably inserting these back in will help with bike noise? Will I have to retro jet the carbs?

3) Helmet.. currently rocking a 6 year old Arai Condor, which I’m looking at replacing for a Shoei Qwest

I have it listed at present, but if I can sort my noise issues I certainly wont be selling! (link is for screen image reference only not meant as a plug, as I'm at work and cant get access to my image store!)

http://www.gumtree.com/p/cars-vans-moto ... to-content

I do already wear 39snr rated earplugs (E.A.R. FX), and try to keep the stage volume down to a minimum in the rock band I play in.. now it’s the bikes turn to lower the volume..

[AMCQ46]

ok, I know how you feel, as I have got older I find riding noise levels harder to live with so here are a few things that worked for me.

1) i bought a variety pack of ear plugs and tried them all till I found the ones that worked the best.
2) I swapped my Shoie X-Spirit for a Schoberth helmet because it was rated as one of teh quitest on the market
3) I swapped the screen to a flip screen
4) I went back to debaffled std pipes [from full race cans]
5) I bought a strange neoprene ring that fits to teh base of your helmet and seals all the gaps to your neck.

out of that lot
#1 was the winner as I found an ear plug that realy worked well compared to my usual ones I borrow from the test lab at work.......and even then I have to fit them with a bit of spit on them and make sure they go all the way in [not like lloydies avatar ]
#2 the helmet didnt make that much difference, but #5 the neoprene bit did help a lot, but gave up on that as it pulls your ears and nose off when you put the helmet on and off
#3 the flip screen helped as it has moved the position of the turbulent air so it is not at the base of my helmet
#4 didnt help much once I had sorted the others, as it is mostly wind noise and the good ear plugs made everything OK........so I am back on race cans again

[ebenviljoen]

ive got scorpion cans on with no baffles too. Bought mine without baffles, (cans fitted to the bioke when I bought it). Went to silverstone last weekend for world superbikes and i was deaf by the time I got back home. It does sound quality though.

Not sure if you need to re-jet the bike to put the baffles back in. Carl told me that the scorpion cans do not need re-jetting. I am sure he will confirm on this. He knows everything on these bikes.

[AMCQ46]

i dynoed my bike with and without the dB killers in [VIPER cans] and it hurt the bottom end a bit but was better on mid range and same on top end, fueling wasnt too badly effected, so I will happily run mine on the same settings.

[MacV2]

This is the ....

''strange neoprene ring that fits to the base of your helmet and seals all the gaps to your neck.'' that Al refers to...

http://www.proline-sports.co.uk/acatalo ... er_49.html#

I bought one of these & found that it did cut a lot of noise out & more importantly kept the helmet stable at speed, KBC VR2 rattled around on me noggin at speed. It was new & tight so not wrong size... Only downside I found was me sun glasses steamed up almost instantly due to lack of air circulation despite venting on the lid, so if you wear glasses it may be no good.

I always use ear plugs & had some moulded ones that you buy as a two part putty.

As your lid is 6 years old your due a change anyway IMO, the linings will have compressed over time making it loose.

I also found that Arai's are not the quietest lids due to the turbulence around the visor pods, after changing from an Aria to the KBC I noticed a marked reduction in wind noise.

[keepy]

That’s really good to know thanks guys! Didn’t think I’d have been the only one wanting to ‘tame the beast!’
AMCQ46 – Really good to know that you’ve pretty well much already tried all the things I’m thinking about, which is great.

I got a multi pack of ear buds myself from Lucy Dell and found the EAR FX fit me really well, which was good as they were the highest rated as well.

I know what you mean about that neoprene ‘rim’.. I had one some years back when I was riding a Honda Hornet a good stretch down the M62 each day.. like you I gave up after about a month as my ears couldn’t take much more! Especially if I’d been in the sun that weekend, and my baldy nappa had caught a glow!! It just accentuated it!

I do tend to wear a Shemagh as a scarf which helps with the lower lid buffeting a lot, and keeps the wet weather drip from going down my neck!
http://www.military1st.co.uk/products/1 ... tAodHU4Aig

Good to know that the Cans had the least impact, as I do love the sound of the bike, especially as you roll off on the way to some lights and you get that GREAT barble!
Ebenviljoen – even better that I don’t have to fettle with the carbs! Which means I could try sorting the baffles myself, as they’re just sat on a shelf in the garage.

MacV2 – I think your right, time for a new lid, and exactly the same.. with the screen I have, I find the ‘protectors’ on the side of the visor mechanism act as air scoops that make even more noise. I didn’t have this issue on my Hornet which had no screen, so I assume the redirected air is only amplifying this.

[keepy]

forgot to say.. can anyone tell my if my screen is a double bubble or standard.. I think its standard, but does have a raised centre point..

[VTRDark]

Not sure if you need to re-jet the bike to put the baffles back in. Carl told me that the scorpion cans do not need re-jetting. I am sure he will confirm on this. He knows everything on these bikes.

Oh please...leave it out I far from know everything.

As for jetting Scorpian cans don't require re-jetting to suit but would benefit from jetting. Which is pretty much a quote from Scorpian themselves. But It's like anything, it depends how fussy you are for absolute perfection. Any changes you make will have an effect elsewhere. Jetting which by the way is a horrible term for what we are talking about here which in fact is tuning. Jets are just one component of this. Jet kits have got to be the biggest con on the market. Give people a load of old sales blurb, throw a dyno chart at them with some figures and is if by magic by purchasing and installing this it gives you more power. If done correctly you may gain a few BHP top end if your lucky. The biggest benefit of a jet kit is having adjustable needles.

Adding a slip on exhaust is not going to affect things that much. An aftermarket higher flowing airfilter will upset things more. And as for tuning this is something that should be done at service intervals anyway. It's not something you do and then just leave as is as even weather conditions will affect the way the bike runs. Before making changes you need to have an understanding of carbs and what does what and be prepared for a learning curve which will involve a bit of trial and error and pulling the carb off many times.
http://www.vtr1000.org/phpBB3/viewtopic ... 14#p238567

For noise pollution I recommend the following.


(:-})

[MacV2]

forgot to say.. can anyone tell my if my screen is a double bubble or standard.. I think its standard, but does have a raised centre point..

IMO that's not a standard screen but an after market one. However it's not a DB by the look of it, it may well be a different shape to standard. The only way to really tell is to hold true standard one up against it & compare...

[VTRDark]

It's not standard. The standard ones have Honda on the front not VTR1000. Looks like a Powerbronze screen to me.

Here's a standard screen


(:-})

[MacV2]

Compaering the two Keepy, your one dose seem to be raised in the middle section, so it's a bubble of sorts but not what I'd call a double bubble...

[Wicky]

High speed wind noise will account for most of the volume

so decent earplugs are a must http://www.boots.com/en/Boots-Pharmaceu ... -_1121441/

and get the exhaust baffled, and plushier lid.

[keepy]

thats great thanks Carl.

Looks like your right.. powerbronze screen...



I'll see if I can get hold a Standard screen and a flip up one and compare the lot.. because the one I've got really doesnt fit me :-( Experimented on the way home from work with head height and if I was a few inches shorter it'd be perfect.. or about 1ft higher! :d

[keepy]

Anyone had any experience with the MandP Flip up Vs the Skidmarx flip up screen?

Does one ‘flip’ more than the other?

Wicky – am I right in thinking you have the MandP screen?

AgentPineapple – did you stick with the SkidMarx screen?

Just trying to decide which to plump for.. and I’m having trouble finding any pictures of them on a Firestorm :-)

Both are similarly priced

[bazza696]

I have been going through the same problems as you, I use the bike for long trips(VTR meets) and I have just bought a Shark Pro-R and it's noisy as fcku, so I have just been to Ultimate Ear to be fitted for some squiggy ear plugs because I have problems sealing one ear with foam plugs.

also purchased an MRA sports screen

http://www.bikehps.com/acatalog/MRA_X-c ... ector.html

i will find out on the wales trip if the plugs and defector makes any difference.

with regards to the cans I have Vipers like AL and have baffles in always had them in to help with some back pressure for the bike when tuned.
The cans are noisy if you don't have any protection. It seems to resonate around the lid, but with plugs in cause their a low frequency noise the plugs cancel then out very well, It's the higher pitched wind noise that does me.