DB Snorkel, less sound = more ground

[NWetRider]

I wanted to make by bike as quiet as possible. The quiet silencers I am aware of are not made for my bike so I ended up with a PC Nature Friendly which I found to be loud. I heard about the DB Snorkel and contacted the owner. He was kind enough to send me one to test. Here is my review.


This is everything that came in the bag.

http://216.165.194.66/ktmtalk/photogallery/galleries/Parts_Mods/DBContents.JPG

Before I installed it I decided to weigh everything. It came out to 1 pound 15 ounces. After I trimmed off 3.5 inches, per the instructions, it was down to 1 pound 12 ounces. Basically not enough weight on a dirt bike to make a bit of difference.

The instructions were very clear which I found quite refreshing. Installation was very simple and took about 30 minutes. For maintenance I think I could remove and reinstall it in under 5 minutes.

All the disassembly needed before installation
http://216.165.194.66/ktmtalk/photogallery/galleries/Parts_Mods/ACF95FD.JPG



Installed, after a day of “testing”
http://216.165.194.66/ktmtalk/photogallery/galleries/Parts_Mods/ACF95FB.JPG


I stopped for coffee on the way to ride and got questions about my exhaust from people on the way in and out of the store. You will get lots of inquires everywhere you go with this thing on your bike.

The bike is now amazingly quiet from the rear. I wish I had the equipment to measure it but to the ear it sounds like a stock KDX. It does what it is supposed to do.

Of course with the silencer working so well it was real obvious how much sound comes from other places. Actually when I first started my bike I did not think the DB Snorkle was making much of a difference while I was sitting on it. But when I got off and stood behind it the difference was obvious. If I walk all the way around my bike while it is running it is actually the most quit at the back!

I am thinking of some way to quiet down the expansion chamber since I think that is causing most of the noise now. I’ve thought about wrapping it with something but I know pipes are tuned to create a certain temperature so I don’t know how performance would be impacted. I think rust would also be an issue. I am going to put some foam on my skid plate to soak up some noise and see if it is good enough. Anyway, back to the DB Snorkel.

As far as performance is concerned I could not detect any loss of power. The DB Snorkel works by absorbing sound through the elastomer and putting the exhaust outlets out of phase. It is all free flowing though so it doesn’t really change power from what I could tell. My bike is jetted sharp and I am sensitive to any change in low end power and throttle response. If anything it seemed to have smoothed out the power but maybe it just seems that way because it is quieter. Since I only ride tight woods I don’t spend much time using the top end power so I can’t say for sure if it was impacted but it felt the same to me.

The only negative thing I can find about the product is it’s appearance. I don’t really care but I worry that it will keep some from trying it. The hose clamps and metal hardware are all silver and I think it would look a bit better if they were black.

Overall I am quite pleased with the product and plan to keep it on my bike.

To read more check out http://www.thedbsnorkel.com/

 

[ScottS]

Good report - very thorough !

If anyone is interested, I have this product on a 4 stroke ( not the intended use , it is for 2 strokes) but because I have an IDS 2 silencer I thought it would work- and I was right

http://ktmtalk.com/index.php?showtopic=120561&hl=

Good product and good solution to the noise issue. I am happy now to ride my bike in my yard or anywhere else for that matter.

Glad to hear your results were similar to mine NW :cool:

 

[ScottS]

by theway , in my opinon the expansion chamber is designed to create a pressure wave with appropriate delay to interface with the port timing to maximize the amount of intake charge that is burned, not lost out the exhaust port due to overlap - so adding sound insulation to the pipe should not have a huge detrimental effect.

KTM.s and Huskys have come with double walled pipes in the past and may today in some markets,

 

[Leadster]

:) NWetRider,

http://216.165.194.66/ktmtalk/photo...ods/ACF95FB.JPG

Is that a Fox Raptor knee guard I can see in the background? :)

 

[KTM Mike]

I agree on this one - good product! :cool: I got one of the "promotional" ones to provide some feedback to the manufacturer. We installed it on my son's Yamaha Blaster quad (2 stroke 200cc for those not familiar with the Blaster), with a FMF Fatty, TCII silencer (non SA) with a Cobra Sparkey SA on it. In the past sound tests at Michigan CCC events put him right on the legal edge here (94Db) or perhaps just over actually. That combo on that motor just had a real sharp bite of sound for some reason. One of the testers at a CCC event told me the Cobras often have the effect of ADDING a Db or two for some reason.

Install went perfect - done 100% by my 14 year old kid with NO help from me.

Initially, i felt it did cut sound, but not much. My opinion is much different now. Recently I started it up to show to someone, Snorkle on - then slipped it off the end for snorkle off - HUGE improvement! I agree, it does seem to make everything else seem louder though - now the biggest noise factor seems to be the noise inside the pipe - single walls on that FMF, and general normal engine internal noises. I think it was those noises that made my initial impression not so favorable. The manufacturer did tell me that as that pipe silencer combo really is not known to be particularily loud, we could not expect to percieve as much of a sound decrease. It seems that was true. None the less - it was well worth the effort and money (had we bought one) for the sound decrease we did get.

Performance wise seems to be NO difference at all. Both my son and I rode the quad quite a bit - neither of us can feel any difference with our without it.

I have been considering putting a FMF pipe and silencer on my other son's KDX to gain the weight savings for him (not for any power change), but ruled it out due to noise considerations. Now having this product, I may do it. There would still be a net weight savings of around 6 lbs or so after adding back the snorkle weight.

Apperance is the only downside, but my son has actually seemed to enjoy the comments and opportunity to discuss it with others. It has grown on me now as well, and it will stay on the quad indefinetly!

 

[KTM Mike]

oh ScottS - thats great to know how it works on a 4 stroke! Can you feel any difference power wise?

 

[ScottS]

No- I can still pull the front end up with the throttle and it starts just as easy as it did.

Quite frankly if i have 42Hp instead of 44hp I don't care. The reduced noise is worth it. I can hear my fan running now.

If everone had these no one would care where we ride.

 

[04kdx200]

where can i get one????????????????????????

 

[ScottS]

www.thedbsnorkel.com

Not sure he is in production but send an e-mail to him and get him moving !

 

[ScottS]

I have been considering putting a FMF pipe and silencer on my other son's KDX to gain the weight savings for him (not for any power change), but ruled it out due to noise considerations. Now having this product, I may do it. There would still be a net weight savings of around 6 lbs or so after adding back the snorkle weight.

Apperance is the only downside, but my son has actually seemed to enjoy the comments and opportunity to discuss it with others. It has grown on me now as well, and it will stay on the quad indefinetly!

Hopefully having one of these on your bike will be seen as a sign of intellegence in the future.

And those without - :coocoo:

 

[bikepilot]

Anything to make bikes quieter and keep more riding areas open is a winner in my book. There was a wise old man on a KTM 300 at a ride recently. He had the stock exhaust which was rather quiet, but then clamped about 10" of innertube to the end of his silencer with a small bolt and washers pinching the innertube shut at the end (so looking at it from the back it looked like and hour glass). Anyway, it made a noticeable noise difference (for the better) and didn't seem to hurt power output.

On the expansion chamber tempature. Raising the temps will not hurt the performance at all, in fact it will improve it slightly. Nickle plated pipes will not rust easily, but it is something to think about. The E-line CF pipe guard seems to help a little with the noise and it certainly keeps the pipe safe:) I had one on FMF pipe for about 4 years and the pipe didn't look noticebly worse for the wear because of it.


Off topic. I noticed on the db site that showed the FMF Q being louder than the TC II. I currently have a TC II for my 01 CR250R and before I saw this intended to get a Q for further noise reduction, but this seems to indicate that I have the quietest silencer available with the FMF TCII. Is this correct? Any comments?

 

[ScottS]

I saw the Q was varying between 93/91. The TCII was tested once at 91- probably means they are somewhat the same. Lots of variables, you would probably need to test 100 bikes and calculate average and standard deviation.

I am very interested in getting a double wall pipe for my 300.

I did the innertube thing on my son's 50 mini adventure. i actually used a front 21" innertube and brought it down to the wingarm, where I clamped a 3/4 ' copper elbow to the swingarm, so it points right at the ground. I used a piece of plastic pipe in the middle of the innertube arc and braced it to the silencer so the tube couldn't get caught in the wheel. The inner tube flexes as the swingarm goes up and down. he is not jumping etc just riding around the yard, and it is about 10 times quieter.

Hopefully there will be a future snorkel sized for the minis.

 

[SpDyKen]

I've got to get my hands on one of these! Also glad to hear that other people think racebikes are too loud. :cool:

 

[MyCR125rips]

Im working on trying to make my 125 street legal "looking/sounding" and i need to quiet down my biek as much as possible,Would the db Snorkel be quiet enough to let me fool people of its loud 2stroke ways? and is there anything else that can quiet my bike down....please help!!!

 

[SpDyKen]

Thanks, 'Rips, for bringing this thread back to the surface; I had been thinking of searching for it. So, what's up with this thing? I want to buy one! How about some info or insight. :ride:

 

[KTM Mike]

Rips - the snorkel will absolutely quiet it down. BUT depending on how loud you are currently, it may or may not bring it down to "woods legal" levels. Start with a fresh repack in your current silencer. OR, make sure you have a silencer that is known to be a quiet one - FMF TCII is a good start - many many other options out there. Then slap on the snork, and you are nice and stealthy quiet!

Spdy - some where earlier in this thread is a link to the manufacturers web site. Dunno if he is selling the publically yet or not. I put one on my son's quad (Yami Blaster 2 smoke, FMF Fatty, TC (non SA), Cobra sparky, modded motor) nice and quiet now! It is without a doubt below 94 Db now. NO power loss as percieved by my highly calibrated seat of the pants dyno, NO change in power delivery I can detect. Good product in my book. (butt ugly though - but it is a conversation starter without a doubt)

 

[KTM Mike]

9 db Reduction - Measured and for real!

At a recent Michigan CCC event (fall color tour) we had my sons quad (2000 Yamaha Blaster 200cc two stroke, on first overbore, FMF Fatty pipe, TCII silencer (non SA), with Cobra Sparky added, milled head (.010"), FMF torque reeds and moose torque reed spacer block.) tested with and with out the snorkle.

With the snorkle it came in at 89 db - rather nice, well below our 94db requirement! :cool: Without the snorkel 98 db! Now clearly his silencer needs to be repacked (I am sure it was not that loud this spring - certainly the snorkle masked the repack need!), but regardless - a 9 Db difference is HUGE!

They pretty much did the test by the book (I had explained i wanted good readings for comparison purposes) - they looked up the rpm in the book, took the reading at the specified rpm etc. (for the life of me i cant figure out how they use those thingys to determine engine RPM!) To me the absolute value of each reading is not what is significant - what is significant is the amount of reduction (circumstance between the two readings would be the same theoretically - so the amount of change should be accurate I would think).

Bottom line is - we are thrilled with the noise reduction! No detectable power differences at all - and way quieter! We ended up discussing the snorkle with several people that happened to be nearby when we tested it - every last one of them were favorably impressed and quite interested in it!

 

[BSWIFT]

Ttt

 

[Okiewan]

(for the life of me i cant figure out how they use those thingys to determine engine RPM!)

You're talking about the VibraTach (actually a Sirometer) I assume? Pretty simple, great device. Just dial in the target RPMs, and watch the wire. It'll start oscillating in a figure 8 pattern... that's your target.

 

[alligatorbling]

awesome review! thanks for taking the time to do that man! ive been wondering about this gadget.

 

[The_good_ol'e_boy]

does anyone know when he will start selling it?

 

[wanaride]

You can buy one now. I ordered one back in March and had it a few days later. Just go to his website for the number; you can order online or on the phone.

 

[Xtremesports445]

would this fit either a stock 2002 kx125 silencer or a pro circuit "factory sound" R-304 stainless shorty silencer?

 

[ctdyno]

i have an fmf pro silencer is this thing pretty much universal unless its a mini?if i understand it the one end is just a plastic/rubber tube with a hoseclamp on it

 

[ctdyno]

and does it really help cause ive tried rubber hosing and stuff and it doesnt really help