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Wind noise v Tuono sound

Daz1966

Daz1966

Joined Jul 2015
307 Posts | 12+
North Shropshire,England
Hi all, I have open cans on my gen 2 T and would love to enjoy their fruity sound more however I wear ear plugs to reduce the terrible wind noise I get above 60MPH,My question to you all is related to my choice of crash helmet, I have a HJC IS-16 and wonder if other helmets are more resilient to wind noise ?

What's your experience on this subject please.

The bike came with a laminar lip screen. I discovered this was directing the wind blast directly to head height and made the noise worse, I have since fitted the standard small screen and this has improved it but not to a volume that will allow ear plug free riding.
 
If you want to hear the exhaust swap a ride with a buddy and follow him, sat on the bike the induction noise is more apparent than the exhaust note. Helmets!, I have always had Shoei x spirit which tbh are not the quietest helmet. GT air Shoei are reported to be quieter. I always ride with ear plugs, studies have shown that above 30mph wind noise can cause hearing damage.
 
LOL !!!!!! nice one hs2300 I called all my biker buddies but none fancied riding my way to work just so I could hear my own bike. Standard air box still in place on my bike so induction roar is no where near as loud as the cans.Thanks for the advice regarding your helmet experience though.
 
Daz1966 said:
LOL !!!!!! nice one hs2300 I called all my biker buddies but none fancied riding my way to work just so I could hear my own bike. Standard air box still in place on my bike so induction roar is no where near as loud as the cans.Thanks for the advice regarding your helmet experience though.
Click to expand...

Standard air box and ackras without db killers on mine and I still hear a good percentage of induction roar with ear plugs. maybe your deafer than me. :)
 
The type of padding fitted, thickness of shell, etc, all have an impact on how noisy/quite a helmet is, as well as airflow from the bike screen.

I once heard of a rubber fitment, that slipped over the base of the helmet, held on by friction, with a smallish neck hole. This stretched over riders head, and basically sealed around his neck!

Result?
- Ride was massively quieter, but...
- Riders head sweated like a pig (except pigs don't actually sweat!)

OK in very cold climates though!

Point being, seems that most wind noise travels up from under helmet, which is obvious, really! So, the better the helmet seals around the neck, the quieter it will be!

Which is why I always ride with a neck muff, that looks like what Ann Boylen wore! :lol

Re. Hearing damage.
Absolutely. Any exposure to sound over 85dBA for 20+ minutes, will result in longer term hearing damage. And that level is easily exceeded riding a bike with open exhaust plus wind noise.
 
I've got Agv 4 s/v, newish Hjc rpha 10 and an 2002 Shark something and the shark is the best at stopping wind noise and the agv the most noisy , do luv the HJC tho, it's pretty quite!
 
Sites like Revzilla have a rating system for helmets which include loudness; they may offer some guidance.
 
I wear a shoei nxr with chin curtain and ear plugs in , nice and quiet but I can still hear the engine roar but not a lot of wind noise .
previous lid was a shoei raid 2 which is virtually identical .

when on the odd occasion I ride without a lid ie across agarage forecourt etc , I am shocked at just how much noise my bike makes , gen 2 +akras !!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have mate of 25 years , ever since I have known him he,s had countless bikes and probably an equal number of helmets , he has always claimed after a while he cant get comfy on the bike so changes it . same with the helmets always complains of wind noise and buffeting . mind you he is a skinny **** with a peanut shaped swede !!

he,s currently got an xjr 1300 and wears an aria chaser v , --- for now !!!:lol thing is he will not wear ear plugs .
 
I got plugs made for me which has helped a lot. I'm currently using a xlite carbon. It's light and comfy but still noisy without the earplugs
 
tuono kid said:
Head shape is a factor. Try different lids to see which is best for quietness
Click to expand...

Agree. But you ideally need a suitably loud and consistent background noise source to do objective testing.

Proguard do custom ear plugs for around £16, made up of two plastic compounds the user mixes together, then pushes into each ear, to form a perfect fit before the plastic hardens. They are washable too, so cost effective. Specified to reduce noise by 24dB, but I prefer soft foam disposable plugs claimed to reduce noise by 30dB, (which is better).

There are more expensive moulded earplugs, made up by specialist companies, but doubt they are much better than soft foam when fitted properly, but around £100. I'm told they last for around 10yrs, as our ears change shape over time, hence the fit will eventually fail.
 
Ive got constant ringing in my ears , 22 years in army shooting and shelling lol, ive not yet found a helmet that reduces the noise only ear plugs will but still only to a point i start getting lots of pain, I'm looking for a different type of screen to help fancy trying the laminar lip !

just got a hjc rpha 11 and thats helped a little, had a arai that was horrid made it 10 times worse,
 
Jack,

UK Noise at Work Act requires employers to ensure hearing protection is used where sounds exceed 85dBA.
Have you checked if you can claim for hearing damage?
 
Paul D said:
Jack,

UK Noise at Work Act requires employers to ensure hearing protection is used where sounds exceed 85dBA.
Have you checked if you can claim for hearing damage?
Click to expand...

I tried this at work to claim for years of using "listening devices " having slightly damaged my hearing ( what ) lol , the company made it quite difficult to do this and if using an outside mediator would have meant that the company would have found ie fabricated a means of dissmising me .

after that little wild tangent , the company do issue ear defenders and more interestingly ear plugs that some years ago were proved by " ride magazine " to be the best on the market

guess what I use on the bike ????????????????

still earplugs are no fookin use when you are listening for 50 hz ident tones in communication systems .
 
same as army . I joined with Lvl 1 hearing after working on tanks with engine turbo's and the constant radio hiss plus being in conflict zones my final exam was a high lvl 2 nearly 3 on the scale.. unless you are deaf or a lvl 3 your classed as ok !! as they just say ear protection was issued.. regardless of the early years it being crap.

so i just have to put up with loud tinnitus,,
 
Appreciate the challenges. Always a tricky issue trying to sue an employer. There are probably time constraints on how long after an accumulated (or other) injury that a person can issue a claim... but you could always talk to a lawyer after you leave the company and check your options. Lawyers are making a fortune out of 'vibration white finger', which is much the same principle as accumulated hearing damage.

Anyway, I'm certainly not one to promote a litigious society, but if an employer is negligent that's a different story. For reference, the UK/EU 'Noise atWork Act' law requires companies to provide hearing protection if background noise exceed 80dBA and enforce the wearing of hearing protection if 85dBA or over.

All I can say is ear, ear!
 
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hs2300 said:
I have always had Shoei x spirit which tbh are not the quietest helmet. GT air Shoei are reported to be quieter.
Click to expand...

+1 I'm just about finished with my 3rd X-spirit...great helmets.
But I've just bought a GT Air as a replacement...doesn't have the ACU gold sticker, wee bit heavier, ...but still seems a nice lid with some very nice features.
Good value too, when imported from Italy.
Anyway, my reason for change was the x-spirit was a really noisy bastard, so you deffo needed the foam plugs,
the quieter GT Air should work way better with the moulded, which should in turn work way, way better with comms. (less need to wind the volume up to 11 ! lol)
We'll see.

OP...you can't have your cake and eat it fella......you have to choose between listening to your exhausts......or just being able to listen in several years time.
pain in the arse isn't it? lol
 
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