Lets just say it, motorcycles sound way better than bursting firecrackers. And no, we aren’t talking during IBW-Loudest-Bike-competition-revving; we are talking when the bikes are being ridden at a decent clip. Here are the bikes that excel in the aural department:
Single-cylinder: Benelli Imperiale 400
Even if we take performance ones into account, singles by their very design don’t really sound that great. The TVS Apache RTR 200 4V would have made it to this list but the BS6 updates have mellowed its tune a bit. Hence, we turned our attention to the retro side of things. The Royal Enfield Classic 350 has an iconic thump, the new Meteor 350 has more of a rumble, and the Honda H’ness CB350 tries to ape the Classic. But all of these do not hold a candle to the Benelli Imperiale 400. It has the right balance of thump and rumble with a bit of sporty burble every now and then.
Parallel-twin: Benelli TNT 300
A lot of the success of the Benelli TNT 300 can be attributed to its brilliant exhaust note. The bike is loud and sporty even when trundling at city commuting speeds. This tune only gets better as the revs build up.
V-twin: Harley-Davidson Fat Boy and Ducati Panigale V2
Okay, this was a bit of a toughie. On one hand you have the traditional American V-twin potato-potato experience from the Fat Boy and on the other, the latest in line of Ducati 90-degree V-twin (or more commonly known as L-twin) sportbikes, the Panigale V2. At the end, we cannot pick one over the other for the best V-twin experience and hence, decided to split the award for this segment with both of them.
Boxer twin: BMW R 18
BMW Motorrad is known for its boxer twins and it was a no brainer that we were going to find our pick from Bavaria’s finest. The question was which one. Having heard the R 18 quite recently, the big bore shuddering experience left quite an impression. The R 1200 GS and the subsequent R 1250 GS have that wowing aura about them but do not sound quite as beautiful as the R 18!
Triple: Triumph Street Triple RS
Growling and whistling, two typical traits of a triple. If anyone has managed to capture its essence in the best way, it has got to be Triumph with its current 765cc engine found on the Street Triple RS. While the motorcycle is far from being a hooligan, its growl is enough to wake up the dead. And if you are at a racetrack, you can enjoy the experience all the way to 13,000rpm!
Inline four: Yamaha YZF-R1
Have you heard a crossplane Yamaha YZF-R1 screaming down the main straight of the Buddh International Circuit with the stock exhaust tune reverberating thanks to the grandstand? It is an experience like no other, one that needs to be experienced from the pitlane. It is surreal and truly a hair-raising moment. No other inline four has made such an impact. Sure, you can get cheap thrills from your Benelli TNT 600 or the Kawasaki Z800/Z900. But the Yamaha R1 remains top of the charts in this engine configuration, especially when nearly all of its litre-class inline-four-powered rivals sound nearly the same.
V4: Aprilia RSV4 1100 Factory
Aprilia has been the master of the litre-class V4 engine, way before Ducati ditched its beloved L-twin for its flagship sportbike. The current champion from Noale, the RSV4 1100 Factory’s exhaust has been built in collaboration with the masters of engine acoustics: Akrapovic. This writer has had the chance to experience the RSV4 1100 as well as the Ducati Panigale V4 on racetracks and there’s just something so enchanting about the Aprilia that captures all of your senses. Not that the Ducati doesn’t but the Aprilia does it just that much better.
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