LOUD 4into 1

Hello, I have the original stock Kerker 4 into 1 exhaust on a 1980 KZ 1000 LTD B4. With or without the baffle it is deafening - it is so loud while riding, it hurts the ears even with earplugs and a full face helmet ??? Never had that happen with any other bikes with 4 into 1. WHATS GOING ON ???
Is it possible that the engine has been bored out to the max ? and this is just overpowering any silencing the pipes could provide ? Any ideas ? They could not have sold it from the factory like that. The sound is just coming right up into the ears, even when sitting and leaning forward.... Thanks !

I made a set of stainless straight through cans for my 750 LTD, and I thought it loud at first, but now I think it's kinda tame...Mine is a 4 into 2 and my cans aren't that much bigger a diameter than the pipes...

Just pull the baffle out and repack it for a start.
Also,
There are at least 3 different size baffles.
If you have a full size comp one all you can do is keep it packed while you order a street or mid.

need to know wrote: Hello, I have the original stock Kerker 4 into 1 exhaust on a 1980 KZ 1000 LTD B4. With or without the baffle it is deafening - it is so loud while riding, it hurts the ears even with earplugs and a full face helmet ??? Never had that happen with any other bikes with 4 into 1. WHATS GOING ON ???

They used to make a competition only baffle that would break windows. maybe that's what you have, or some knot head may have drilled the baffle so it's straight through.

loud pipes save lives....

I use my pipe like a horn, If I see a prob ahead or around me I goose the throttle and they hear me and I get there attention.

I run my kerker wide open and love it loud, really not loud enough for me.

The bike really runs better from 8000 to 11,500 without baffle. I run it wide open in the city and the cops never bother me. I had a cop ask me to pullover so he could look at the bike.

I asked him about loudness of pipe and he said its not the loudness of the pipe its the riders looks (if you look like a crack head, punk or trouble maker) you will get the extra attention.

Also if you are being dangerous for the traffic conditions. He said its really not louder than a Harley open pipe. Who knew...... :laugh:

I use to have my Kerker with a medium competition baffle on my first Z1. Anytime I hit the country roads for about a two hour round trip, my ears use to hurt after an hour into the trip. That's with a full face and I think I started using ear plugs. My current KZ has the Kerker with the standard street baffle. I have no issues on long trips. Do as suggested, purchase a street baffle and don't remove the packing.

4TheKZ1000 wrote: loud pipes save lives....

I use my pipe like a horn, If I see a prob ahead or around me I goose the throttle and they hear me and I get there attention.

Wow, never seen a bike with the exhaust pipe pointed forward..... or do you ride backwards? :ohmy:

IMHO, loud pipes are about as helpful as this sign. :lol:



Good Fortune!

Loud pipes do help save lives. But it doesnt stop bikes from being in accidents. I personally like my kerker with no baffle. I got a baffle for it. But its funny watching people jump and look when i start my bike, little kids holding there ears, windows shaking as i fly by lol.

bountyhunter wrote:

4TheKZ1000 wrote: loud pipes save lives....

I use my pipe like a horn, If I see a prob ahead or around me I goose the throttle and they hear me and I get there attention.

Wow, never seen a bike with the exhaust pipe pointed forward..... or do you ride backwards? :ohmy:

When my wife sits on our front porch, she claims she can hear my Kerker a 1/2 mile or more from the house. Go out a half mile and beep your horn. Just a poor comment that you cant hear the exhaust unless its pointed forward.....are you for real??????

4TheKZ1000 wrote:
When my wife sits on our front porch, she claims she can hear my Kerker a 1/2 mile or more from the house. Go out a half mile and beep your horn. Just a poor comment that you cant hear the exhaust unless its pointed forward.....are you for real??????

Let's see,,, rode for 50 years, three engineering degrees, designed audio systems and speakers.

Yes, I would say I am for real and here is why your comparison is meaningless:

Sure, I can hear a Harley with a straight pipe winding it up over on the expressway. Know why? Because the ambient noise standing in my front yard is probably about 55 dBa.

Inside a car, it's probably more like 75 dBa, plus the windows are closed, radio playing, plus you have wind noise past the glass, plus..... and here is the big one bike riders always forget:

A DRIVER'S ATTENTION IS FOCUSED FORWARD. Why? Well, it has to do with not wanting to run into traffic in front of them.


FYI: the CHP used the anechoic chambers at Sac State University to run projection plots.... what that means is the sound pattern they project. It shoots straight to the front. Why? Because they want traffic to hear them coming. A siren is designed specifically to shoot the sound forward. An exhaust pipe is specifically designed to shoot everything to the rear.

EDIT TO ADD: ask anybody who drives an emergency vehicle for a living: even with 140 dBA siren shooting straight forward, it is amazing how often cars can not hear the sound until it is upon them.


So, to summarize:

yes, your straight pipe is loud. People standing outside will hear it. Yes, it will rattle windows in houses you ride by. It will damage the hearing of other bikers you go by on the road. It will scare the piss out of cars you shoot by as they hear the blast from the back of the pipe when you go by. It will do all those things, the thing it won't do is act like a siren and send sound into the front of your path. And, no, it won't save your life.

and yes, I am for real.

Powerstroke_fan wrote: Loud pipes do help save lives. But it doesnt stop bikes from being in accidents. I personally like my kerker with no baffle. I got a baffle for it. But its funny watching people jump and look when i start my bike, little kids holding there ears, windows shaking as i fly by lol.

I guess we have a different sense of humor.