Good day!

Does anyone have a recommendation for a silencer that is a quieter than the stock unit? The baffling in mine may be shot leading to a lot more noise. I am also the sort of person who prefers the quiet sounds of a BMW to the rumble of a Harley.

I am up for any recommendations folks may have.

Thanks,
Justin

email (option): justininia@gmail.com

Hi Justin,

What bike is it? an M20?

If you are looking for something that looks close to the original,
You can use a modern Royal Enfield silencer.

it is cheap, and they have few models.
Anyway, all that was in the BSA silencer originally,
Was just a sheet of a metal mesh at the back..

My silencers are opened end to end..
When the motor idles it is actually very quiet,
Ans when I ride, the noise is left behind me..

Noam.

email (option): noam10@gmail.com

Noam, are you sure about that ? Low noise was a British Army obsession during the 1930s (the Officer class thought that mechanical transport should be able to sneak up as easily on the enemy as a horse with muffled hooves).

The original Norton silencer has a fairly sophisticated system involving two spiral baffles...It's still not whisper-quiet but it's not bad. I'd imagine that the original BSA item was not very different.

There are mutes available but they're not likely to improve performance and flexibility. Perhaps cutting open a pattern item and packing it with glass wool is the best option.

Hi Rik,

Yes..
I saw the insides of one or two original silencers,
And all that was inside, was a separation of the front and back sections
By means of a perforated metal, and now, when you mention it,
I think that the tube that came from the pipe into the silencer (Inside the silencer)
Was also a perforated tube,
Sealed at the end.
However, no isolation materials or double walls..

Listening to an empty silencer and an original silencer,
Thy sound very much alike on idle, but when you rev, there is a huge difference..

This is interesting:

http://www.ebay.ie/itm/BSA-SILENCER-NOISE-REDUCER-35MM-/390807126643


Noam.

email (option): noam10@gmail.com

The original M20 silencer made a very mellow sound with no 'sharpness' at any revs...I had one on my M20 when I first bought it nearly 30 years ago but cannot recollect at this distance what it meant in terms of performance...

ALL modern replacements that I have come across are louder....a lot louder.

I spoke to a company in the UK about having some silencers made in an attempt to recreate that sound. They were silencer specialists and the technical chap there was quite unequivocal...He said less noise would mean less performance and there was no way round that...

I confess I don't really like the raucous note of my own bike as it is set up currently...Conversely though, I'm reluctant to lose any of the already limited performance...Ian

email (option): ian@wright52.plus.com

Tthe best thing is to weld a length of extra pipe to the end of the headder pipe, about 1 foot long with a washer welded to the far end.
Drill 3 lines of holes is a spiral fashion from just inside where the muffler clamps on to about 1" from the end.
Size is not important but position is, no 2 holes should be the same distance along the pipe.

It works like this.
As the pressure pulse enters your welded on baffle a small amount of the gas will go out through the small holes.
each hole will be out of phase with every other hole thus breaking up the pressure wave in to a lot of smaller ones.
When the main pulse hits the washer, 80% will pass through but 20 % ( very approximate ) will bounce back and collide with the next pulse forcing mose gas through the smaller holes further breaking up the pressure pulse & slowing down the gass flow. This will drastically reduce the harshness of the Bang without choking the engine .
the WD B40's had this muffler arrangement where the and of the header pipe was the actual baffle and the muffler was nothing more than an empty box with a tail pipe welded on one end.

There used to be a really good aftermarket pipe the had a cone of punched plate as a baffle welded into the end of the tail pipe

email (option): wariron@tpg,com,au

Thanks for the good information.

My BSA M20 sounds more like a Harley at this point and I really don't like that much noise, especially as I am primarily riding in town. My thought was to take the current silencer and possibly pack it with stainless steel wool, which would dampen the sound.

I am not as worried about the performance hit as I hope to stay around 45mph max. Too many deer...

The Armours Ltd. silencer might be a viable alternative. The stainless steel one would last forever.

Thanks again,
Justin

email (option): justininia@gmail.com

I have an Armours stainless system and it is way to noisy, it will indeed last a long time but the noise irritates me after a very short while.

Henk

email (option): ahum@quicknet.nl

It was noticeable in Normandy that there were some very noisy M20s I soon learned which ones not to ride behind in the group. Stainless exhausts usually seem louder...are they thinner-walled ?

I would advise against steel wool. A friend of mine did that years ago with a Piper 4-1 on a Honda. On full throttle, it fired red-hot glowing embers out.

40 years ago I used steel wool to pack the after-market muffler on my B44 Shooting Star prior to the state inspection.

It failed the test when flaming balls of steel wool erupted from the muffler when the tester revved the engine.

Jeff

email (option): jjbandoo@aol.com

Impressive down the main street after dark though.. ...Ian

email (option): ian@wright52.plus.com

My stainless silencer from Armours became louder as I used it. I mentioned it to them when I was in there one day. They told me to bring it back and they would cut the end off and re pack it with stainless wire wool. Apparently the previous steel wire wool would have disintegrated easily. So far it's not as noisy as it was. Ron

email (option): ronpier@talk21.com

I have 30s sloper fishtail on M20 and I always sneak up behind bicyclists on the road and scare them:)

email (option): kalle.tikas@gmail.com

I have a decent original WM20 silencer going spare........may be of interest to you Ian as a pattern.......?

Also found those un-marked (un-stamped) crankcases..........plus other parts too.........

Can bring along to Netley perhaps........?

Hi Steve...I have no plans at this point to progress any further with the silencers...I am interested in the cases if they might be NOS replacements...I'll be at Netley in the usual spot if you can make it...Ian

email (option): ian@wright52.plus.com

Steve if the silencer is going begging? I might take it to Armours for a more faithful copy to be made. Stall B8. Ron

email (option): ronpier@talk21.com

Steve, would you mind please, sending me an email, to initiate a conversation.
Thanks,
Wade

email (option): iron_ariel@yahoo.ca

Ian, thanks......I will bring along the unmarked cases.........they have been used (apologies for my poor memory but not been seen for years) but are in great condition and complete with tappets and some oil..............

Ron, silencer is complete but very old............BUT, may provide a decent pattern........I will bring along...........

Wade, fire away ! I'm not on here too frequently atm as rather busy so apologies..........email above...

email (option): sjmwdbikemad@aol.co.uk

Hi,

I found THIS on eBay:

"This is a quality product Made in England by Feked - Manufacturers of Classic Bike Parts

A replica of the originals, these silencers are fitted with baffles in keeping with the original design, thus creating a superb sound as you would expect from motorcycles of this ilk."

Noam.

email (option): noam10@gmail.com

And it cost the same as THIS

Noam.

email (option): noam10@gmail.com

Yes this company Feked seems to be up and coming. My excellent tube guy here in Poole is making exhaust pipes for them, often fitting them to a bike they bring to him. Ron

email (option): ronpier@talk21.com

I have had a Feked! silencer on my ZM20 for last five plus years plating is still good and it produces a nice note also is of heavy construction.Also as far as I can remember the baffles are all steel as they dont use wadding as this collects moisture and rots out the silencers from the inside.Also had a complete system from them for my 1952 plunger A10 same good quality also a beautiful exhaust note especially under acceleration nice deep growl similar to the old burgess silencers. I now need a complete system for my 57 Thunderbird which will be bought from them. I have no related interest apart from a happy customer.. Dave

Thanks for the info on the Feked silencer. I emailed them to see if an unplated option was available as I am a chrome hater. If they have something that will work, it seems like good option.

Thanks again,
Justin

email (option): justininia@gmail.com

Justin,

Let us all know if they have unplated silencers with original-type baffles.

My WM20 sounds like a Gold Star without the twitter. My daughter thought a military bike should be quieter, and I agree!

Jeff

email (option): jjbandoo@aol.com

Hello all!

I got a message from Gordon at Feked regarding the silencer. They will sell them unplated. He said to write in the comments/order instructions box at checkout what was desired.

My plans are to ceramic coat mine in a flat black. Hopefully that dulls the sound a little as well though mostly I hope it does a bit of insulation.

Cheers,
Justin

email (option): justininia@gmail.com

"BSA M20 SILENCER"

Nice used original?...

eBay Item No. 291227843022

Noam.

email (option): noam10@gmail.com

Looks a Norton one to me...


Regards,

Sven

email (option): snvosselman@gmail.com

Looks more like Royal Enfield to me. I might even bid on it. Ron

email (option): ronpier@talk21.com

The older I get, the less noisy motorcycles seem to get.

Mind you, pigs, tractors, shooting and chainsaws seem less noisy now too.