Sound experience on motorcycles

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Sound experience on motorcycles

Sound experience on motorcycles
The ear goes with you

Motorcycling as a sensual event starts at the top. And that is where the ear sits next to the eye.

Michael Rohrer

11/19/1997

It’s only ten kilometers home through the after-work traffic jam in Stuttgart. Nevertheless, the Triumph T 595 Daytona is preferred as a way home mobile against the poisonous scooter and the nimble enduro. Voluntarily thick wrists and tense back instead of easy auto slalom? Why just why?
Quite simply: Even at moderate speeds, the 955 three-cylinder excites the ears with its very own waltz rhythm. And if the last city exit has gone unnoticed, not entirely by chance, the triple symphony is only just beginning. With aggressive barking and yet cultivated, the acoustic arc to the six-cylinder arises. Whether the fine scream of Bavarian in-line sixes or the hoarse hiss of old Porsche boxers is more likely to be suspected depends on the mood. But one thing is undisputed: motorcycling is a sensual experience and essentially works through the ear. And the best that can be heard there is this magical triad.
Without further ado, we don’t want to elevate the 125-hp triple to the Olympus of sound. In addition to the official approval test as a legality check, MOTORRAD sent nine one-, two-, four- and six-cylinder machines as well as a two-stroke engine on the sound journey; plus four colleagues with very different two-wheeler passions and professional advice from the audio and psychological side.
They all saw Suzuki’s high-end inline four-cylinder GSX-R 750 can always scream wilder than the Brit-Pop-Trio on wheels. But loudmouthed aggressiveness is all that gets stuck with Suzi Quattro’s appearance. Devices like the 128 hp GSX-R are built for extreme driving dynamics and exorbitant cornering speeds. Your sensuality must be experienced accordingly. The deafening screams are just accompanying music. If the Suzuki drives in more civil situations, it becomes almost boring to the ear.
In this respect, it resembles the baby superbike Aprilia RS 250. Hardly noticeable at speeds that are insignificant for the 56 hp two-stroke twin, the little black girl unpacks the singing saw when it starts. The beautiful, hysterical Italian makes the pilot aggressive and sometimes decades younger. She lures him into her lively, hectic world; but hardly in the long term.
In Italy in particular there are completely different sensual pleasures. The 90 degree V2 from the Ducati 916 is considered a masterpiece of fine motorcycle acoustics. Here the melodious, British-cultivated Triumph-Hard-Rock finds competition: Mick Jagger against Gianna Nannini.
Despite all the hardness and voluminous volume, it burns Ducati their sound fireworks directly into the heart. The dull V2 staccato of the 109 hp suggests “power without end”, as test driver Rainer Wurtele is pleased, and “conveys unbelievable dynamics without aggression” in the ears of our technical manager Waldemar Schwarz.
Other interpreters of the two-part singing appear more gray-bodied. One must really regret them Harley-Davidson Road King EFI. If the accident forces the 1400 Big Twin officially to Germany, nothing remains of the All American sound. “Tractor, Citroen 2 CV, tin bucket” are just moderate disgraceful words against the castrated 60 hp forefather of the bike sound. Incidentally, the expert advisors, who are not spoiled by the Harley image, have a completely different opinion than the testers (pages 37 and 41).
The BMW cannot convince among the cruisers either – because it is a BMW. Friends of the house attest the R 1200 C “Typically pleasant BMW sound,” as senior editor Sigi Guttner said. More critical minds miss any independent sound character. The 60 hp boxer is rumbling to itself and communicates problem-free functionality; not enough for a spectacular cruiser appearance.
How it’s done, show Yamaha Vmax and Honda F 6 C. The Vmax, born in 1985 with 145 hp as the macho bike, is today a good-natured giant. The 1200 V4 grows robust, powerful in all situations and inspires all of the driver’s senses far more than expected after all these years.
The Honda F 6 C is much younger, but no less impressive. And again, the sound memories of the Porsche 911 of years past are strained. No wonder, the 1500 boxer with 98 hp screams its love of propulsion into the world according to the same principle. Unfortunately everything comes to an end from 70 km / h. Then the listening pleasure of the Honda stands in the way of its Neuschwanstein-like aerodynamics. The power bike becomes a windjammer.
The downtown boulevard becomes the stage for the incomparable Honda sound. There the F 6 captain should double-declutch as often as possible. This is the hottest sound that legal motorcycles are currently producing.
And if your wrists, shoulders and upper arms burn too much from Daytona juggling or F 6 maneuvering, we’ll take the KTM 400 LSE home. Hardly anyone is more nimble downtown, and the 41 hp enduro can certainly be heard. The little single lacks the final hammer blow that would ennoble her to a hard enduro. So we leave the “Kinigadner” jacket in the closet and look forward to the role of the city Indian, whose singing doesn’t seem so warlike to the rest of the world.

Echo or noise? – When the Harley has to go to therapy …

It is not just the ear that goes along with it, the soul in particular decides whether it is a good sound or noise

Sound is perceived very subjectively by everyone as a sensory perception. »There are objective criteria«, explains the psychologist, music therapist and trained concert guitarist and singer Cristina Peters, 38, (photo), »such as pitch and overtones. Louder noises, if they sound full and full, are more pleasantly perceived than bright, sharp sources of noise, even if they are quieter. “” But the actual decision as to whether the individual records a good sound or a bad noise has to do with previous experience, with Expectations, moods and feelings, «says the specialist. And with their assessments of our two-wheel sound virtuosos, shows what happens when these expectations are not shaped by previous experience. Except for almost 100 kilometers as a passenger without reference to motorcycles, the psychologist appreciates the Harley the most, which we put on her couch for photo purposes, not without malice. »Hearty, full, full, suggests power«, are their key words to the amazement and horror of their MOTORRAD colleagues. But Ms. Peters just doesn’t know that in view of the Harley cliche “Loud pipes save lifes” the Germany versions are considered castrated whisper-bags. The same can be seen in her assessments of the Honda F 6 C. The Honda sounds “too high for the imposing one.” , vigorous overall impression «. Not a word about the hoarse hissing of the six-cylinder boxer and the Porsche 911 longings of the testers. The MOTORRAD experts come to an agreement with the psychologist at Ducati. “Confident, animating, very pleasant,” says Ms. Peters and is also very impressed by the Italian high-end racer aesthetically.

Legal basis – when the policeman perks up his ears…

Sound is also noise. And noises are subject to legal regulations

German road approval also includes a noise test for every motorcycle, which is carried out as follows. Passing at a distance of 7.5 meters through a 20-meter-long measuring section, accelerating from 50 km / h at the beginning, once in second and third gear in both directions. The mean of these measurements must not exceed 80 dB (A); a hurdle that can often only be overcome with tricks. Even our sound artists did not easily meet the standard. In order to gain an impression of what noise can develop in extreme cases, MOTORRAD invented the “Glemseck Test”, named after the popular motorcycle meeting point on the old Solitude racetrack near Stuttgart: It simulates what often turns innocent freaks and freaks brings delight: Entering the above test section in such a way that the maximum speed is reached when exiting. Of course, the high-revving sports machines now scream much louder than the cool Crusier. A special feature: The two-stroke Aprilia and the four-cylinder Suzuki meet the approval requirements to the point, but roar all the more uninhibited when they are released on the Glemseck. Standard driving noise dB (A) “Glemseck-Test” Aprilia RS 250 80 91 BMW R 1200 C 81 87 Ducati 916 83 95 Harley Davidson Road King EFI 78 87 Honda F 6 C 82 87 KTM 400 LSE 81 94 Suzuki GSX-R 750 80 95 Triumph T 595 Daytona 82 93Yamaha Vmax 81 92

Sound engineering for the BMW cruiser R 1200 C.

Good sound is based on experience, unfortunately there is no formula for it yet

At BMW, an acoustician is part of the development team for every motorcycle. But unlike the K 1200 RS, for example, which was mainly supposed to deliver power and torque, the requirement for a good sound was high in the specifications for the R 1200 C. And that’s why Michael Schmalenberger from the Engine Acoustics and Vibration Department was allowed to really tinker with it this time until it came out what his bosses wanted to hear. A sonorous sound was wanted, of course taking into account the limit values ​​for the USA and Europe. The designers had specified two rear silencers, and there was also what acousticians call annoying noises. So the mechanical expressions of the boxer engine, which went into the cruiser almost unchanged: crankshaft and valve train, gearbox and cardan sound as usual. However, since the performance specifications – 61 hp at 5000 rpm – were quite moderate, there was a certain amount of leeway. Especially with regard to the exhaust noise, because unlike athletes, whose intake noise in the upper speed range definitely contributes to the listening experience, the silencer is the most important sound source in the cruiser. The BMW man chose competing cruisers and – an old R – as role models 90 p. “Because the engine design determines the character of the sound anyway,” he explains, “and we by no means wanted to suppress the typical boxer sound.” He approached the topic through artificial head measurements and subsequent frequency analyzes, then assembled the first prototype mufflers, which the supplier Gillet taught. The aim was to create a system that sounds good when starting, idling and starting up. “That’s what matters here,” says Schmalenberger, and he means that the sound then simply has to correspond with the driver’s expectations and the power output. Any system that failed, even if it met the 80 dB (A) required for Europe, was immediately rejected. Accompanied by constant measurements, sometimes seemingly meaningless tinkering in the resonance damper finally produced the desired result. “Experience and a willingness to experiment are what count,” is how Schmalenberger sums up the experiments, which lasted almost three years. Here a hole more or less, there a sculpted pipe, an acoustic short circuit between two chambers of the damper perhaps or – you hear and be amazed – some insulation material in the right place. The result: as many pleasantly low notes as allowed. BMW man Schmalenberger puts it more nobly: “A sonorous refinement of the given boxer sound.” But immediately afterwards he warns: “At 80 dB (A) we are at the limit. If the limit values ​​continue to fall, then it’s just a matter of turning it down. «Si

This is what the sound technician says about motorcycle sound – if the machine were a hi-fi box…

Wolfgang Feld, 45, technical director of the CD label “Phono Music”, on the motorcycle sound from the perspective of the sound engineer

After the psychologist, we are also amazed by the second independent expert. Wolfgang Feld, technical director of the CD label “Phono Music”, known for its exceptional sound quality, from the same company as MOTORRAD, is also impressed by the Harley Davidson. What sounds clogged and powerless to monophonic bikers, sounds completely different to the trained ear of our colleague Feld, who is hardly infected by the bike bacillus. »Deep bubbling at low speeds, pleasantly robust at higher speeds; not strenuous, power from the volume, ”says the precision acoustician, enjoying the Harley Davidson Road King. As with the other eight planes, Feld himself had listened to various pass-bys, recorded them with directional microphones and DAT recorders, and analyzed them with a spectrum analyzer. “Understatement sound” catches the eye, and here even Harley freaks, albeit differently motivated, would hardly contradict the acoustic delivery condition of a “German” Harley together, and explains the details. »The very strong emphasis in the bass range with a continuous drop to very weak highs is rather pleasant for the human ear. The particularly annoying frequencies between 2.5 and 5 kilohertz are almost completely absent. «In contrast, of course, to the Aprilia RSV 250. The two-stroke twin does not get off well with acousticians. “Lawnmower sound without harmony and volume,” is the devastating verdict, “screaming at high speeds, annoying despite sewing machine precision.” The Italian shouter hits the annoying frequencies and shows, according to Wolfgang Feld, “that not necessarily that Absolute volume, but rather the spectral composition of the background noise is decisive. «While the KTM, the BMW, but also those of the insider faction are acoustically very much appreciated Yamaha Vmax, Honda F6 or Triumph only dragged the sound engineer into less striking statements, the Suzuki and Ducati super sports cars were all the more conspicuous. “Power from below,” felt Feld with the Bolognese Edel-V2, but also a “harder, inharmonious sound” and above all: “not very dynamic”. After the Harley freaks, the Ducatisti also crawls. The Suzuki Power Group will hardly condemn it, despite the “deafening noise”, but also “irrepressible sound at higher speeds.” In addition, there is the “pleasant hum at the start” with which the Suzuki heavy metal orgy – to their delight Fans – begins.

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