Idea's to quiet down exhaust on my 2011 Voyager w/ CSC Kruze trike kit

[trikerbiker634]

Just bought trike with 8000 miles on. Dealer who sold it gave me a bag of baffles from the mufflers that the owner had removed. The bike was loud but didnt seem obnoxious on the road test. but after 130 miles the bike is ear numbing loud. I figured putting exhaust back to original would cure the issue so I repacked the mufflers, put all the 12 baffles back in as to Super Trapps website. The mufflers/exhaust according to CSC are made by Super Trapp for them.

Its a little quieter at cruise speeds but if you are doing twisties and shifting accelerating alot 2-3-4 gears it is so loud it gives you an ear ache with ear plugs and helmet on. It will rattle windows on accel. Need to lessen or resolve noise issue or it will have to go bye-bye. Traded my wing off which was super quiet and I don't expect that but this is unfit to ride in those speed / gear ranges and causes immense ear pain.Still aching 3 hrs later after todays 130 mile ride. thanks for any help or suggestions. I really want to keep / like this bike. safe riding

[ol' school]

I have a 2012 Kawasaki 1700 Nomad with a CSC Kruze trike kit that was installed on it this summer. I originally had V&H Twin Slash slip-ons on it when it was still a two-wheeler. I was worried the CSC exhaust would be too quiet when we triked it but the wife and I think it sounds good. Not as noisy as the the V&H mufflers were but has a nice V-twin rumble. It doesn't seem to bother our ears or give us headaches. It might be prespective with you coming from a Gold Wing to your Voyager.

Or maybe the previous owner removed any fiberglass packing that the muffler originally had when he was removing the discs. I have read posts in the Harley section on here about guys complaining their Harley CSC trike being too loud and they repacked the baffle in the front section of the muffler ahead of the disks. I am only going on what I have read. I have not played around with the mufflers CSC installed on our trike.

You are correct CSC is using Super Trapp as a source for their mufflers but in recent years are making their own mufflers using Super Trapp guts (discs, fiberglass wrapped baffles, etc...). Maybe look to see what in front of the disks. And /or talk to CSC about the muffler construction to see what yours is missing that is causing it to be that loud.

Hope you figure it out as the Yoyager/Nomad/Vaquero 1700s with CSCs Kruze kits are nice riding trikes. Stay in touch and let me know how you make out.

[trikerbiker634]

thanks for the perspective ol school. I did replace all the fiberglass packing around the perforated baffle tube before I added the baffle rings back in because he removed those as well, thats why I was disappointed in the outcome. Like I said in my post the top end cruisng speeds are fine but acceleration or the 2-3-4 rpm range is the issue, its a nightmare of a bark, roar. I drove a 2013 Voyager -reg 2 wheel bike before I bought this to make sure i even liked the bike and the exhaust was acceptable so if I could get this trike back to that factory sound all would be good with the world especially the wife.

You know the saying..if the wife ain't happy, nobodys happy. could it be the converters? According to the dealer the previous owner didn't touch those, and they don't look like they have been tampered with..........I guess i"ll try removing some baffles as that is supposed to reduce noise, increase low end torque, but also lowers horsepower..CSC said it should have all 12 of the baffles in it but I got to try something. Im also going to talk to Trapp and CSC again. There's got to be a fix.

[FuzzyWuzHe]

Almost sounds like a leak ... steady state seems okay ... just on acceleration it's loud ... check for a leak.

[ol' school]

A leak is a definite possiblility for sure...

[trikerbiker634]

Fuzzy, Not able to find any leak by plugging the end of exhaust, don't see any soot anywhere. Would converters be a problem if they were gutted? I didn't want to take whole exhaust off if it isn't necessary. Also, I don't see an o2 sensor in exhaust system anywhere where is this supposed to be located? thanks for any idea's suggestions.

[ol' school]

Kawasakis in the US did not have O2 sensors in the exhaust in 2011 - 2012. Don't think they do now either.

DK what to say about the converters. I would make sure you don't have a leak up by the heads. Could be leaking at the head pipe gaskets. May need to put a washer under the nuts that hold the pipes on. Some Kawi 1700s have a problem with the acorn nut bottoming out on the stud in the head and not letting the gasket seal. Hold a lighter or a candle that is smoking a bit by the head pipes and see if a leak blows the smoke around. Do it with a cool engine or the fan will kick on and mess up your test.

[icedad]

Trikerbiker364,
If you cannot find find an exhaust leak anywhere and the pipes are that loud, you have an exhaust leak. I bought an used 2012 voyager trike with what I thought were acceptable loud pipes. I would goose it and it always sounded "cool". I had NO CLUE as to how loud the pipes were until my son sat on the trike and goosed the gas and I was standing to the rear of the bike. They were VERY LOUD but were not bad at all sitting on the trike. If you can clog the pipes with a potato, or something comparable (old trick we did in high school) and the bike starts. You have an exhaust leak. Cheapest and easiest way to fix loud pipes...... drum roll. A pair of ear plugs. Works for me if I go on a long trip and wish to hear at the end of the trip. Wind noise is my problem.

[2Paps]

Just bought trike with 8000 miles on. Dealer who sold it gave me a bag of baffles from the mufflers that the owner had removed. . . . . I figured putting exhaust back to original would cure the issue so I repacked the mufflers, put all the 12 baffles back in as to Super Trapps website. The mufflers/exhaust according to CSC are made by Super Trapp for them.

634,
Your tale of woe got my attention since my CSC Kruze is on order and should be here in about 2 weeks. I tried to get some answers from the forum but ended up contacting CSC. They said; "You can remove half of the baffles in the muffler. Stock mufflers have 12 discs. Remove 6 and that will make it more quiet. Less discs = less noise." They also said; "There really is no way of altering our exhaust." I asked for the db level from their exhaust and was told; "I have no idea what the db level is. Sorry."

I guess the bottom line is; it is what it is!

[ol' school]

That is true that removing discs will quiet the Super Trapp muffler but may also cause the bike to run too rich as well. Super Trapp recommends 12 discs for V-twin (American or metric) cruisers as a minimum and add from there to tune. If you remove from the 12 discs they recommend you need to be aware of what it may do to the tune of your motor. This information is directly from the Super Trapp Resource Center FAQ page. It also has helpful info on what to look for to check the tune.

[trikerbiker634]

2Paps, I never did publicly post but I also went the same route you did, called Super Trapp, CSC, etc. I experimented with my baffles a lot along with putting new muffler packing in as tight as I could get it. I must have had the exhaust apart at least a dozen times. It was interesting. The less baffles the more torque / response I noticed as well as a reduction in the exhaust noise. Mileage never changed till I got down to about 5 baffles but momma still didnt like the noise. Long story short, down to 3 baffles, acceptable noise level for both of us, about a 3 mpg drop, average 28-30 mpg. The power, torque seems great. It is running a little richer, more back pressure I'm sure [as expected] Everything else seems fine as of now. Was able to put about 3800 miles on before winter set in. I'll know more later this year if I can leave it as is or if I may have to do a "tune". I really don't care about mileage as long as momma's happy and said she"ll pay for the quiet. I like most things on this trike a lot better than my Goldwing. Safe riding.

[2Paps]

TrikerBiker634, With all that exhaust tinkering do you have a Power Commander or other controller installed? BAK? I've avoided the Big 3 to this point for 2 reasons; I was happy with the performance and I didn't see much, if any, return on investment although I have seen a few folks who have seen better MPG after installing the Big 3.

I've been riding solo so I'm the only one who has to be happy with the pipes. My bride (who bought the bike for me ) hasn't ridden with me due to physical issues but the kit may allow her to be comfortable we'll have to wait and see.

Goldwing was on my short list until I sat on one and felt cramped.

BTW, what is the significance of 634?

[trikerbiker634]

TrikerBiker634, With all that exhaust tinkering do you have a Power Commander or other controller installed? BAK? I've avoided the Big 3 to this point for 2 reasons; I was happy with the performance and I didn't see much, if any, return on investment although I have seen a few folks who have seen better MPG after installing the Big 3.

I've been riding solo so I'm the only one who has to be happy with the pipes. My bride (who bought the bike for me ) hasn't ridden with me due to physical issues but the kit may allow her to be comfortable we'll have to wait and see.

Goldwing was on my short list until I sat on one and felt cramped.

BTW, what is the significance of 634?

All stock other than my exhaust tinkering, like you not enough return bang for your buck and like I said not too concerned about mileage as long as it performs well and is QUIET......for me I could give 2 s#!*s about loud pipes saves lives. As for the meaning of 634, its a code for....whoops can't tell you or I'd have to kill ya. Safe riding

[2Paps]

Loud pipes do what???? I agree, I like a good low rumble but it has to do with making it sound like a bike instead of a car or even an electric car.

Ah, a secret, in my world 634 needs a "B" or a "G" behind it. I won't kill you either!

[2Paps]

All stock other than my exhaust tinkering, like you not enough return bang for your buck and like I said not too concerned about mileage as long as it performs well and is QUIET......for me I could give 2 s#!*s about loud pipes saves lives. As for the meaning of 634, its a code for....whoops can't tell you or I'd have to kill ya. Safe riding

NICE ride! Hope mine comes out that well.

[irv]

well crap. shouldnt have read this thread. i also talked to everyone. will at csc told me it would only be about 8 decibels louder than stock. can t wait to see what 2paps says about it on the road. what a forum . good stuff.

[trikerbiker634]

IRV, don't mean to worry you but I can say that my trike was way more than 8 decibels, couldn't understand the radio because I had to have volume up so loud which only added to the noise level and ear pain. Windows would rattle if I cranked on it and my buddies with their straight V&H exhausts said they couldn't believe how loud it was. Hopefully I've got it now were I can leave it and momma stays happy. But, everyone's tolerance to noise is different and maybe you'll love it. I couldn't stand it before with ear plugs and a new tight helmet. safe riding.

[2Paps]

well crap. shouldnt have read this thread. i also talked to everyone. will at csc told me it would only be about 8 decibels louder than stock. can t wait to see what 2paps says about it on the road. what a forum . good stuff.

I can't wait to see what I say about the pipes either. When I found out CSC put their own slip ons (SuperTrapp) in the kit I had concerns about loudness when compared to the punched out stockers that my Voyager went into the shop with. Then ol' school calmed the fears and I rode a similar make, model, year and color that already had a CSC kit on it. My assessment then was that I definitely liked the rumble better than what I had but did observe that there was an increase in db. How many db I have no idea. My calibrated ears have long since departed and been replaced with a pair that I struggle with. Yep, the hearing aids are in the foreseeable future. Sometimes you get different sound out of similar bikes so the jury is out until I get the first few runs under my belt. I'll let you know how it turns out but I'm thinking ol' school is right.

[2Paps]

well crap. shouldnt have read this thread. i also talked to everyone. will at csc told me it would only be about 8 decibels louder than stock. can t wait to see what 2paps says about it on the road. what a forum . good stuff.

Here's half a report, better than none, right? I didn't got to ride but I was there when the mechanic took her for a test ride.

The pipes sounded Wonderful! Yep that's what I said, All that fretting for naught. They have a low rumble but not loud. Even with my tin ears I could stand alongside the trike and hold a "normal" conversation. Ol' school's description is right on. The CSC rep who described them as being 8 db louder than stock was probably pretty close. Uncalibrated ears came into play so all I have to offer my guess.

You're right, if I didn't ride today the trike is still in the shop. They still had odds and ends to do including bleeding the brakes some more and giving the girl a bath. Lady Liberty gets liberated early tomorrow morning! I'll provide more findings then.

TBC

[ol' school]

Glad the sound of the exhaust is to your liking!

Looking forward to seeing pics of the finished ride!!!