Keeping Quiet On The Trails
There are a lot of reasons why keeping your motorcycle quiet on the trails is important. Not only does the forest service require 96 decibels and lower, but there are more important reasons. The most important reason to us is keeping trails open so we can enjoy our dirt bikes on them as long as possible. When we as dirt bikers ride, we are having too much fun to pay attention to our exhaust volume, in fact, most of us probably haven’t even thought too much about it at all. But, like it or not, other people enjoying the mountains may find it offensive. Many hikers, bicyclists, and horse riders go the mountains for the quiet atmosphere. Hearing a motorcycle may bother them, especially if it is loud and obnoxious. Right or wrong, sound is one of the biggest complaints agencies like the Forest Service get and the biggest harm to our privilege to ride. Enough complaints make it easier to close a trail to motorized use when the debate comes about.
So what can we do about it? Until we all end up on electric bikes, it is important to give this some thought. There are a few things we can do as riders to make our motorcycle sounds quieter and less offensive. Here are top 3:
1) Use a quiet muffler – if you are running an open, motocross style muffler then you are too loud (not to mention the lack of a spark arrestor could land you a several thousand dollar fine!). Invest in a quiet silencer with a spark arrestor. There are several options out there.
2) Repack your muffler – fresh packing can make a big difference. It should be changed more often than you think. It is inexpensive and easy to do.
3) Ride in a taller gear – keeping your rpm’s low and being smooth on the throttle make a huge difference on sound output. Try to ride in a higher gear than you may normally ride to keep RPMs low. Practice riding smooth. Don’t chop the throttle and shred out of berms. Not only will you be quieter, but improve riding skills while conserving energy as well. This is very important when riding around or by other users on the trails. I promise, no one will be impressed if you rip by them to show them how fast you are!
Being aware of the sounds (I don’t want to say noise because my Husky sounds sweet!) we are making and being as responsible as we can will ensure the trails stay open for us to enjoy.
So what can we do about it? Until we all end up on electric bikes, it is important to give this some thought. There are a few things we can do as riders to make our motorcycle sounds quieter and less offensive. Here are top 3:
1) Use a quiet muffler – if you are running an open, motocross style muffler then you are too loud (not to mention the lack of a spark arrestor could land you a several thousand dollar fine!). Invest in a quiet silencer with a spark arrestor. There are several options out there.
2) Repack your muffler – fresh packing can make a big difference. It should be changed more often than you think. It is inexpensive and easy to do.
3) Ride in a taller gear – keeping your rpm’s low and being smooth on the throttle make a huge difference on sound output. Try to ride in a higher gear than you may normally ride to keep RPMs low. Practice riding smooth. Don’t chop the throttle and shred out of berms. Not only will you be quieter, but improve riding skills while conserving energy as well. This is very important when riding around or by other users on the trails. I promise, no one will be impressed if you rip by them to show them how fast you are!
Being aware of the sounds (I don’t want to say noise because my Husky sounds sweet!) we are making and being as responsible as we can will ensure the trails stay open for us to enjoy.