How can one quiet the exhaust...

[admin]

I have never heard a quiet GL1200 but I have barely heard many whisper quiet GL1500's. It's the short and small power pulse that makes the 1500 so quiet. The GL1200 has larger pistons and a longer stroke so it can't help but to be noisier than the GL1500.

[olddude53]

Guess I was thinking more "back in the day" with my first 85 wing. The watercooling, shaftdrive and exhaust made for a bike that was far quieter than the aircooled chain drive inline 4's or vtwins or even 2 strokes of the day....Even when my buddy went to his first shaft drive he could not believe how much quieter it was to the chaindrive..
Then when I got my gl1200 last month I was suprised at how noisy it was compared to newer wings..
All relative I guess...

[admin]

That's the right term, "all relative." My own Wing is fairly noisy compared to a stock 1200 but I have 4" diameter extensions on my pipes which act like a megaphone increasing the sound. You should have heard my 1200 when I cut off the end of the muffler at its widest point and I had a 4" pipe all the way to the back. It sounded like a Harley with straight pipes. I loved it but I could never get my wife to ride the bike after the first time. Now that I have the stock muffler installed it sounds too quiet, so as you stated it is all relative.