Forum

[25Tom]

Hi, I ended up taking an unexpected 700 mile round trip to my son in Falmouth in the summer, on my C5 classic EFI (Euro IV). The previous owner had fitted a 'goldie' end can, which honestly, I think sounds great pottering around town. But at the end of a 6-7 hour ride home, mostly at 50-60 mph, I've had tinnitus. The doctor thinks it is probably more to do with ear plugs pushing wax against the ear drum, and I'm having some drops to deal with this. But I just wonder if anyone has had any bad experiences with the goldie being 'too loud' for sustained riding. I'm thinking about getting it replaced with the standard EuroIV can, but quite like the look and sound of the goldie for every-day riding. Cheers, Tom.

[Mark M]

Tom, you could try using a baffle or mute with it first, see Exhausts in the Accessory Shop. You'll have to click about a million buttons to get to them (I don't like this new website,) but they are there.

REgards, Mark

[stinkwheel]

I've got some pretty loud exhausts. I'd say if you're already using earplugs, the bike noise is unlikely to be the problem. The choice of earplugs may be the issue.



You can buy "selection packs" of earplugs to see what suits you best. Or if they are pressing wax against your eardrum, you might be better with a set of the moulded in-ear silicone putty ones that sit a bit further out. You can even make these yourself, plenty of guides on the internet and you can buy a pack of 2-part silicone putty for a few quid. Some people even build ear-buds into them for listening to music. You effectively mix the stuff up then pack it into your ear (remembering to leave a wee tag to help remove it) the stuff sets in about 5 minutes. From experience, marking which is left and right is a good plan.



https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3-PAIRS-OF-D ... SwZjJU9GDa

[ric]

I reverted back to stock after a 3,000 mile tour with a performance silencer fitted for the same reason - too much noise for too long a period. I intend to fit something I recently 'won', a brand new £99.99 stainless steel Motad silencer (liquidated stock) which shouldn't be much noisier than the stock unit but will come with other benefits. It's part of an on going winter project that's started early!

[Adrian]

Tinnitus? That has a familiar ring to it... Sorry. I think I can blame ridding with open face helmets for mine.



I would argue that an un-tamed Goldie loudener IS too much for prolonged exposure, careful pottering around town is one thing, but that's not why you have a 500, even a RE Bullet, and once you open the throttle a bit all discretion is gone. There are different makes with different noise levels, our hosts' used to be straight-through jobs which relied heavily on the extra tail pipe baffle to make them anywhere near acceptable in normal use. There are some Indian suppliers who offer another version which has "the look" but is a bit quieter.



Having said that my Not A Fury has an Autocycle Engineering Goldie loudener which is a lovely-looking piece of kit and has at least got a little bit of baffling, which is just as well since it spat out the additional tail pipe baffle I had fitted a little while ago. The bike does run more happily without it, though for the sake of others, not to mention what's left of my hearing, I really ought to replace it.



A.

[Super45]

I removed the goldie silencer my 350 came wih as soon as it could wasnt so much to do with any hearing problems just thought it was too loud for the bike iot was fine at tick over but when up and running it was embarasingly loud

settled with a bottle silencer I won on ebay which although not much queiter overall at tick over its amore consitant sound across the rev range so you dont get people ging you death stairs when you pull up on town

[25Tom]

Thanks guys. On the helmet front, I've got a Davida but mostly wear this with a visor (unless just pottering to the shops etc.) and like that, I don't think it's much louder than most of the full-face helmets I've had, possibly quieter than some. I think I'm going to refit the standard silencer. I'd rather be safe than sorry on this one. I'm tempted to get some professionally made moulded earplugs, but again the doctor seemed to think if it was wax, these might make things worse.

[Rattlebattle]

I have a Davida as well as a full face. The Davida is pretty quiet, better in fact than my Shoei. I also have tinnitus. This is from years of riding sans ear plugs, which I have now worn for 30 years or so. It is the blast of air on the helmet that mainly causes tinnitus, not loud exhausts, which "benefit" those behind you rather than the rider. Faired bikes in particular can be atrocious for wind noise. I used to have our host's British chrome silencer on my C5. That was pretty loud and got on my wick after riding for a while. For me, if one has a loud exhaust at least have it on a bike that has the performance to match, otherwise the sound offends unnecessarily rather like an open exhaust on some miserable 125cc that makes a helluva racket and takes ages to pass by. FWIW I also bought one of the last of the stainless Motad silencers from our host (Motad went bust IIRC). It has a more pleasing sound than the original, but is actually e-marked, so cannot be much louder than the original, unless you remove the baffle, which produces a surprisingly large increase in noise considering that the baffle only restricts the diameter of the outlet. It sounds just right to me. As a former Goldie owner IMHO there is only one single that the Goldie silencer belongs on.....same applies to a Velocette fishtail.

[Adrian]

Er... a Matchless G80?














I'll get me coat.

[Chris Tindal]

I have a goldie on my Bighead Bullet and find the noise level just right. I love the way it booms off walls and buildings and is actually quite mellow. For me big singles sound in character with a 'reasonably' loud pipe. Its certainly nothing like the annoying antisocial racket of quad bikes and loud twist a go mopeds.