I definitely think V4s should have been included. I'm really biased as I own a few V4s, in no small part because I love the sound, but you have a lot of options from Ducati, Yamaha (VMAX 4-into-1 exhausts sound amazing), Honda (V65s from the 80s, Interceptors, ST and CTX bikes, RVFs), Suzuki had one or two IIRC, the RSV4 and Tuono, and even Motus.
I am partial in the 2 Stroke Sound category. Most enduros of the 60’s & 70’s sounded pretty similar … not great. Street bikes all suffered from induction howl. But the ‘68 Kawasaki 350 had a bark at idle and a developing scream as it reved up at speed that was rather unique. The carbs were installed at the end of the crank shaft and rotary induction valves contained induction noise. For what it is worth. The 500 triple sounded better with the stock exhaust than after market expansion chambers. It flew either way.
The "Howl" was telling you the "Carb's" weren't set properly, almost no one knew how to do them, & they still don't, the Suzuki GT's were a far better bike(my beautiful wife still has a 380 & I have a road legal 750 on Nitros) & they were behind the incredible Yamaha RD's, but all pail when compared to my Gamma 500, it is sublime.
@@rogerthat10-47 Yeah I had an RD350 and I think that sound better than the triples too. I'd rather have the triple, but the RD350/400s sounded better imo.
You guys are all nuts. The intake howl on a Kawasaki triple comes from the fact that they're piston-port and their ports were made too big, all of which amplifies the sound to a big harmony. The 500 had this problem the worst, which is why it sounded the best. I do like how a twin sounds but the triples are something special when you're riding it and open the carbs up. Also, the stock exhausts made them sound like those enduros, and really choked performance. Good baffled expansion chambers sound amazing.
Overall the CBX is hard to beat. The big Ducatis (like 900ss) of the late 70s early 80s are great too. They were common enough. That MV Augusta sounded good, but any hi perf 750 with a good exhaust from the 90s would have matched it. The japanese L4s open 4-1 was a sound I grew up with along with 2stroke dirtbikes. I know a 70s 80s Husky anywere. The sound of a 80-500cc 2stroke dirtbike is exciting if you know the power that comes with it. The amazing feeling, the smell of 2stroke oil, brisk air in the fall, going out on a trail, fast trails and more tricky parts. Vibration from the handlebars, bike light as a bicycle, heat from the exhaust, engine revving to the moon without even trying and high pulse from excitement. That's two stroke.
Speaking of tractors, it's too bad you couldn't find a Laverda 180 degree crank triple. Of the 24 bikes I've had over the years, my 1975 Laverda 3C is my favorite. The intake howl always sent my heart racing.
It’s hard to appreciate the sound of a Kawasaki triple, until you experience it from the saddle. Ride the 750, give it a fistful of wick, and let her eat. It’s life changing. 🇯🇵🏁
The best sounding inline-4 I ever heard was my friend's 1991 Kawasaki ZX-6D with a full Vance & Hines exhaust. There's depth and tone and character, and when it's a little ways away echoing through the trees it sounds like the entire Indianapolis 500 grid is coming. It's freaking awesome. As far as the 2-strokes, the magic of the triples is really when they're wide open. The intake howl is outrageous. If it wasn't for the sound, I would have probably sold my 400 triple a while ago. But GOD you can't get rid of something that looks and sounds this good.
Absolutely. I was scrolling through the comments to find someone else who loves this noise. When these bikes were on sale new everybody raved about the sound.
In my opinion, a music instrument company from Land of the rising sun makes the best Triple. Yamaha engineering team every now and then drop their engines at their sound tuning department just to make sure the Triple is not only characterful but also full of soul.
Yamaha makes great bikes. But the amount of internet (and especially YT) fanboyism over Yamaha is beyond logical. MT07/09/10 are apparently the only naked bikes worth buying and no 600 class sport bike ever topped the R6, etc 🙄.
@@TheAsheybabe89 10 years ago, I picked CBR600RR over R6. I'll do it again if my back is still good because the whole riding experience of CBR is much better for me. I like torquey engine and agility of CBR on the street. Nothing wrong with praising Yamaha what they have done right. A perfect bike for you, may not be for others. And a perfect sounding engine doesn't make it the perfect bike.
Best sounding bike for me by far is the 750 Norton, The two strokes were on after market exhausts that make nothing more than an annoying crackle, Original exhausts had a nice low down moan much deeper sound.
I had a 65 Triumph 650 that had 11:1 pistons and racing cams and competition megaphones that sounded better than anything else I've ever heard. I sure miss that bike.
My favourite sounding parallel twin is the Husqvarna Nuda900 (or BMW F800 +100cc) a great example of which can be heard on the Royal Jordanian channel. I have a Husqvarna thumper (TE511) that sounds half as good, but its not quite the same, haha. My two stroke KTM gets my heart pumping when it hits powerband, so I'll always love the sound of an enduro 2 stroke. From this video tho the inline 6 sounded divine, but that Triumph speed triple was pretty nice too. I wanted one as a kid, I probably wouldnt exist now if I had got my hands on one tho, hahaha.
I owned a 1979 CBX for 14 years. I sold it in 2004. I was the second owner. It was in showroom condition. I should have kept it. I agree that it is the best-sounding bike of all time. However to get that sound you need to have a 6-into-1 exhaust system installed, which I did. With the stock 6-into-2 exhaust system, it doesn't sound nearly as good because it so muffled. All of your sound clips of the CBX had an aftermarket 6-into-1 exhaust system installed. My vote for best sounding V twin would be one of the modern Ducatis. You also should have included V4 engines. They sound great especially the 65 degree V4s such as the VMAX and Aprilia.
it's hard to imagine why you wouldn't choose Harley for the best sounding v-twin. The single pin crank is not perfect but it is the most unique and best sounding v twin ever made. every manufacturer wanted to copy Harley and be Harley. Harley haters need to understand that.
There’s some weird fascination with concours rare birds that are absolutely unattainable for the common man among motorheads. The guy who did this video will never touch one let alone ride it but he is going to fawn over them like the giggly annoying woman in the 1st sound bite.
I literally live a couple of hundred meters from where Vincent motorcycles were built.. I live in the Old Town, Stevenage. You can see the buildings where they were built and a plaque denoting the history. 😎 I’m a big motorcycle guy too.. I own 7 1990’s classic sport bikes.. My Suzuki TLR with Yoshimura exhausts sounds awesome.. v-twin - sounds the nuts! A 1991 VFR750 RC36 with 14k miles fitted with a high level Delkevic exhaust.. v4 - sounds brilliant! A 2001 Kawasaki ZX12R, 4800 mile has a full Ti Akrapovic exhaust…IL4 - sounds awesome! 😁👍🏼
I've never been much of a sports fan but always enjoyed going over to the house of a friend who loved football and was a master with a BBQ grill. Those times spent with him were a hoot. It's kinda like that with you. -I don't have your sensibilities but thoroughly enjoy your enthusiasm and sharing,. I'm a very long time fan & rider of motorcycles lacking articulation such as this.
Hey - I know it's just for fun but... don't get me wrong, I love Triumphs, I have a Triumph twin and have previously had one of their triples (955i Daytona) but you really need to stand next to a Laverda 1000 Jota and give it a rev to hear the best ever inline triple. The spits, pops and bangs at tick-over makes the hair on your arms stand on end and the guttural roar when you open up the throttle resonates through your entire body and leaves you feeling light headed. Just saying is all :)
I own a CBX and as a street bike it certainly gets my best sounding vote. But the best sounding bike engine ever is the original 60's RC166 six. Track down the Isle of Man recording made at the time. There's a few more recent recordings of the bike on demo runs but it's the original Hailwood riding it flat out that you need to hear. Listen to that and dismiss the rest. If we're talking track bikes you might like to listen to in race recordings of the BSA /Triumph triples from the early 70's. They certainly get my vote in the three cylinder section.
Everybody loves the CBX, but in my opinion a KZ1300 with stock exhaust sounds every bit as good, plus a bit better. The Honda is very much "All show, no go"- it's big, it's impressive, it looks great, BUT the frame is tiny, it's only 1000cc, and it's so heavy that most contemporary performance 4-bangers could beat them at, well, anything. The KZ is just a big, unrefined lump of metal, and the sound reflects it- it's throatier, lower, it's got bass to it. Some say the CBX sounds like a F1 car- I say it sounds tinny and whiny. Check the KZ1300. You won't be disappointed.
I've owned a couple of two strokes, a few thumpers, an inline twin, an inline triple, a V4, a 90 degree V-twin, and a 45 degree V-twin. My favorite sounding engine, the 45 degree V-twin in my Sportster Forty-Eight (with Vance & Hine slip-ons).
WOW! Epic fail Bart.... To pick the sewing machine sounds of the Vincent (albeit only at idle), over what's UNIVERSALLY considered the best sounding V-Twin (idle) ever produced, The Harley Shovelhead, is such a fail on your part. For Realz.... :(
Every time I consider selling my Street triple R, I just throw out the thought the next time I take it for a ride. I don't think I'll ever sell it. Whether I add more is a different story. But man that bike just sounds SO. DAMN. GOOD. especially with my exhaust
Almost all four strokes I love with the inline fours being least favorite. Mach 3 I would describe as terrifying. If you get a chance, see if you can find a Suzuki "water buffalo" to listen to somewhere. The water jacket somewhat muffles the rattle-can aspect of the two-stroke sound and lets more of the combustion sound come out.
My uncle has owned a BSA Gold Star since the early 1970s, a clubman special built on a Norton featherbed frame with many hand-machined aluminium components. It is the first motorbike I ever saw, heard, and rode (pillion). It therefore defined 'motorbike' for me for many years. I concur that the high-compression BSA 500 was an absolute bitch to kickstart, requiring a combination of skill, strength, and endurance beyond average human capability. The sound is just amazing, one of the best thumpers ever.
My first triumph was T509 and that bike had a sweet sounding engine, now have a 2018 street triple RS with a delkevik slip-on and wow that really woke up the sound. Video on my page if you want too check it out. Thanks bud love the video 😀
I'm digging deep into my memory bank and the arrhythmic idle of a 1960s BMW R/50/60/69 is still my benchmark. At full song, the CBX is my favorite. At various city and highway riding, I love the sound of any old Ducati 750. Different throttle settings reveal different harmonics.
I do not agree with all of your pics... but you nailed it with the cbx.....definitely the best sounding production bike ever....sounds like an F1 car!!!!
I personally thing that the actual exhaust pipe(s) make or break a great sounding bike. Eg. as for a Kawasaki triple the stock exhaust sucks. Now you put on a set expansion chambers the sound is transformed into something stellar. As a owner of a Z1 the original 4/4 exhaust sounds all stuffed up. But you put on a 4/1 megaphone header the bike wakes up and sounds like the meanest bike on the planet even though it only makes 85 hp. The tuned aftermarket exhausts are what makes a bike sound great. That’s why aftermarket exhausts are one the first substitutions (upgrades) made on any bike.
"They sound like tractors at idle" *Laughs in DR650* A lot of smaller diesel tractors use three cylinder engines. I've had a couple of interesting sounding bikes, like a harley that doesn't sound like a harley, and an old 1400 Intruder that sounded like a washing machine tumbling down a flight of stairs. I'd say you missed an important thing with the parallel twins - what kind of crank do they have? Some have both pistons coming up at the same time, some have the crankpins 180 degrees from each other, and some have the crankpins 270 degrees from each other. One example of the latter is the Royal Enfield 650 twins, found in the Interceptor and the GT. They sound great stock, but when you put some good pipes on them, they sound amazing.
It's pretty unfair to exclude the boxer, it's a mass production engine with millions of sales, it's not obscure, in fact, BMW made them popular, so people obviously like them.
Almost correct :D Best sounding 2 stroke is any 250/300 dirt bike. I can't believe how that MV augusta F4 sounds! I thought you might go with a cross plane R1: but that doesn't hold a candle.
My line up would be The only good sounding single is a two stroke. P twin Yamaha T7 etc V2: Ducati round case 750 Triple: triumph speed triple Inline 4: Yamaha M1 cross plain crank version V4: Honda 750 I6 Honda Two stroke: there isn’t a bad one once they are on the pipe. Castrol R oil in the mix, there’s nothing better
For the In Line Triple, Have a listen to the Laverda JOTA , It is a beast of a bike! If you had to have a best of the best my money is on the Goldie oh and for the in line twin The Rocket Gold Star is my favourite! but hey I'm British and from that era!!!
HEY YOU ! Four Stroke Triple ? Laverda JOTA . Or Corsa . JOTA 180 deg Crank Triple . Odd Beat to it . Corsa 120 deg . Triples sound like Lazy Sixes . Great sound . My personal Favourite configuration . The Suzuki Two-stroke Triples sounded better than the Kawasakis . A Pleasant mellifluous sound . For the Six Pack . Yes the CB-X did sound great , but I think the Kawasaki (K)Z-1300 sounded better .
The MV Agusta engine sounds like a Ferrari because the radial valve heads are the same as a Ferrari. I had one of those too (4 cylinder) but the big Laverda is still my favorite.
I was lucky to have owned a 1970 M V Augasta 750s and yes it did sound like a Ferrari and i also owned a honda six and a mach 4 Kawasaki. Three of the best in sound
I love the Honda CBX and I've seen the clip with the green waving plants on the side of the road many times and occurs to me now the reason that it sounds like an F1 car going down the straight for that video is that it is it must be an actual F1 car The echoes and stuff don't fit and make sense for the surroundings it sounds actually like they took the audio from an F1 car and dubbed it in I love the sound of the bike but I don't think that one's real now that I really pay attention to it with other ones to compare it to.
That commando you showed, is that a 270°? its idling like a harley's potato potato. From what I know is, most british ptwin back in the day are mostly 360°.
Enjoyed the video very much. Funny how sound becomes SO much of the experience, so much of the sensory feedback that makes any sport vehicle fun or not fun. BTW, I loved your "tractor" reference regarding the triples. I had a '78 Yamaha XS 750 triple with the factory-matched Pacifico fairing, and that fairing definitely reflected a very cool tractor sound from the engine up into the rider's face.
6 cil: you also have the BMW GT(L) 1600, Goldwing 1500 and 1800, Benelli Sei, Horex, Kawa Z1300, Laverda V6, Midalu,... And what about the V4? They do diserve an own award! Aprilia V4, Ducati V4 and the best sounding: VFR V4 (VTEC with open exhaust). If you have doubts about some configurations, check Visio Racer's channel. You'll find al the needed information you need. Even things like the 7 and 8 cilinder motorcycles. And the V6 (and VR6!) motorcycles. I wasn't going to agree on the MV as best sounding 4 cilinder inline, but i think you are right. I was going to say the CB 750 Four => ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-BlE_KBU7-uI.html but the MV sounds like the CB on steriods. Brillant. Greetings from Belgium.
You actually got a couple right but the Norton es2 500 is the best sounding single and Norton Commando is correct however as much as I love the Vincent it is bested in sound by a bunch which the best sounding although obscure is the Harley k-model Flathead and the Indian Chief flathead pre 53 but the knucklehead, Panhead and even the Shovelhead sounds much better than any Vincent. Inline triple has to go to the 1974 trident triple . And the MV Agusta F4 is the best inline 4 and it's hard to argue against the CBX although the Benelli 6 is a strong contender. The Suzuki GT-750 water buffalo is the best sounding two stroke street bike but the Yamaha YZ-465 might be my favorite off road two stroke .
Nice idea for a vid. My takes. Single none of them sound very good to me Parallel twin the rs660 sounds great but agree the commando sounds pretty good V-twin really needs to be a Pantah Ducati or perhaps a bevel. The Vincent sounds like an old a series in-line 4 British car engine all white noise Triple the BSA Lightning / Triumph Trident In-line 4 no contest the cross plane crank R1s. Ariel square four for just the surprise sound that causes dissonance with how it looks In-line 6 Honda CBX 2-strokes Yamaha RZ500 Best V4 Aprilia RSV4
No V4 motors i am kinda Biased there as i have a Honda VF1000 Interceptor but definitely love the Kawasaki triples and the CBX sound. Inline 4s id uave to say the modern R1s that crossplane motor sounds amazing. For me twins both V and parallel are the hardest to choose from as i like some modern stuff and some olders stuff from like the 70s. But for me i think the best souding single is the older Honda XL600 or 500 as far as a kinda street realted bike goes. My actual favorite would be the XR600r but thats a pure offroad bike in my state anyways
