Factory exhaust getting louder

[Pennyrick]

My 2012 RT has just over 23,000 miles on it and my wife claims it is louder than it was. I drove hers yesterday for a bit, and her RT (with 16,000 miles) is definitely quieter than mine.

This morning I loaded an app on my I phone called Decibel Pro and measured both machines. Her RT is between 85 and 88 db at idle whereas mine is between 94-96 db.

At 3,600 RPM hers reads 94-95 db while mine measures 98-100 db. I'm guessing mine would be even louder at 5-6,000 but I didn't take it up that far in the driveway.

So that seems to prove that mine is louder but maybe it has been that way since new. One thing that comes to mind is that although we tour on both Spyders together, I run out almost every morning for breakfast to a coffeee shop about two miles down the road. So my Spyder doesn't get time to get fully heated up and that could leave a lot of moisture in the muffler that in turn, can turn to acid and eat away at the insides.

Does that logic make sense to anyone?

I'm also guessing that there are a number of SpyderRyders who have changed out their RT exhaust to go to a Two Brothers or Hindle and they just may have a pristine factory muffler tucked away somewhere. I think I will post a wanted for sale thread to see if anyone has one for sale.

I don't care about the noise but since it bothers my wife.... I'm very accommodating.

[ARtraveler]

Good points but I don't have any specific answers.

Have never replaced a muffler on any of my :ani29:'s. The exhaust notes between the 2010 RT and the 2011 RT seemed to be pretty close in noise level. No noticeable difference to me. 36,000 miles versus 12,000 miles on each machine.

The 2014 is noticeably quieter compared to the 2011.

[Woodsrider]

Wonder what's inside...most of my motorcycles have baffles that get wrapped in a matting material that has to be replaced every once in a while. Never looked at a modern bike muffler to see if they are reflective type or like the old bikes.

[Chupaca]

they do burn out with time and use. Hard to say with all the variables and don't know if you can repack it. Good questions for your dealer. Had a fellow ryder whos muffler was going and it was replaced under warranty...:thumbup:

[Pennyrick]

they do burn out with time and use. Hard to say with all the variables and don't know if you can repack it. Good questions for your dealer. Had a fellow ryder whos muffler was going and it was replaced under warranty...:thumbup:


Good thought. I may visit the dealer with my Decibel test results and ask for warranty replacement if that is a warranted item.

[bruiser]

My wife's 2010 RT is louder than my 2012 RT. She has nearly 18,000 miles compared to my 11,000. Mufflers do deteriorate over time and yes, the moisture left in the can does add to that deterioration. The RT stock muffler can't be repacked.