Got a problem with noise sensitive complaining neighbours.
My 1957 B31 has been rebuilt by a previous owner and the silencer looks new but will be a pattern part.
The bike has a real bark when pulling hard and even cruising is very loud.Trouble is,the estate where I live is on a hill and even trying to be gentle on the throttle,it's still too loud.The glares and snide comments I am getting are wearing me down,to the point where I am thinking of selling and if I am to keep biking,buying an LE Velocette!
I have seen bolt on exhaust fishtails for custom bikes,or is there an alternative silencer available for the B31?
Has anyone else had this problem?
A normal B31 if you are restrained with throttle should be a soft duff-duff and not unpleasant (DBD with 'Twitter silencer'is, on the other hand, very loud with harsh top end). I have an old B31 system from Armours, that I need to put up on fleabay, which is straight through but the tube is perforated all along and I guess wadding outside this.
Do you have a sticking brake or something dragging if you have to work the throttle hard close to home?
A soft "duff duff" would-be very nice!
The silencer looks new and is straight through with a perforated tube running through with I assume insulating material behind. Brakes have just been relined and are adjusted properly.
Started the bike once on the drive with wife standing about three yards behind and she nearly jumped out of her skin,not with the noise,but because of the exhaust blast on her legs.It certainly is a powerful pulse.
I am thinking along the lines of fitting a Velocette fishtail silencer,I'm sure with a bit of "farmyard engineering" I could make it fit.Had a couple of Venoms in my time,and they had "duff duff" exhaust notes.
Quote from: Janacek on 27 Jun, 2026, 21:33 A soft "duff duff" would-be very nice!
The silencer looks new and is straight through with a perforated tube running through with I assume insulating material behind. Brakes have just been relined and are adjusted properly.
Started the bike once on the drive with wife standing about three yards behind and she nearly jumped out of her skin,not with the noise,but because of the exhaust blast on her legs.It certainly is a powerful pulse.
I am thinking along the lines of fitting a Velocette fishtail silencer,I'm sure with a bit of "farmyard engineering" I could make it fit.Had a couple of Venoms in my time,and they had "duff duff" exhaust notes.
It may well be that the previous owner liked a loud pipe and so there's no silencing material around the perforated pipe. If so, it's sold on Ebay; just search for "motorcycle exhaust wadding". Actually, if you have any fibreglass matting you can try that first.
The wadding works by changing the energy from the exhaust pulses, which causes the fibreglass to vibrate and rub against itself, into heat. I've used it on bikes in the past so I know it works. It mostly removes the higher frequencies, leaving a nice deep tone.