Quiet motorcycles/scooters
 

I've started a new job recently that has me doing a very large amount of traveling. It pays well enough that even driving the 25mpg pig that is my 1996 Buick LeSabre is well worth it, but I would like to get back to two wheels.

Problem being that I do deliveries, and while space is not much of an issue, noise is, as sometimes my routes are long enough that I'm working past daylight, and discretion comes into play. So I'm curious to know if anyone is aware of an unusually quiet model, or, alternatively, an aftermarket exhaust manufacturer that is focused on silence rather than boisterousness.

Unfortunately, electric is strictly out of the question, unless someone makes an electric anything that can go 300 miles on a single charge.

ETA: I also have a dislike for CVT's, so I'd prefer to avoid those.

But loud pipes save lives, you got to know that :D

Anyway, I see you have a Suzuki Burgman 400. Is it not silent enought to fulfill your requirements?

:p

I've actually forgotten to remove that from my stable, but both the Ninja and Burgman are long gone. The Burgman, while the engine was quiet enough, has turned me off to the idea of CVT's, (especially so for high-mileage applications like I have currently!) so I should probably amend my inquiry to exclude those.

Noise is one thing that annoys me. My Yamaha V-Star 250, being a wanna be Harley cruiser, is loud. Most of the noise if from the exhaust, for my bike. In order to eliminate exhaust noise my plan is to install two mufflers from a Honda Grom that i have collected already. The Honda Grom is the quietest bike i have ever heard, the loudest thing on the bike is the chain.
I don't think anyone make "quiet" pipes, as i haven't seen any advertised.

Wind noise would be second, in terms of noise with my bike, for other bikes the loudest. As such, wind noise is a big factor. I added a big faring of corroplast to my bike, in order to eliminate wind buffeting hitting my helmet, it worked. A quiet helmet helps a lot in this department. What helmet do you have?

gil

I don't have a helmet at the moment, as my previous helmet (when riding the Burgman in the previous decade) is nowhere to be found. And it isn't noise for myself that is the concern, but rather the fact that I'll be tooling around neighborhoods doing my delivery route, sometimes as late as midnight, and I'd like to be as discrete as possible.

In that case I would say most Honda street bikes are quiet, I don't know about their cruisers. My friends CBR300 is relatively quiet. Also I have noticed that dirt bikes are louder for whatever reason.

I guess one of my tips would be that a quiet helmet makes long ride more present. Also exposure to loud sounds is bad for the ears.

Gil

I would go for something with a twin cylinder, the exhaust noise would be less pronounced than a single. Ninja 250 would probably be pretty quiet. Avoid motorcycles with gear driven cams, they are very noisy.

Water cooled engines helps too.

I wouldn't even want to try riding an air-cooled in the BS traffic I have to deal with, so that's a given. :)

Are there any gear driven motorcycle engines outside of the Italian breeds? (I ask as I'm not aware of any)

I was considering the newer Ninja 250-J, as I had decent results with the older 250-F, but they forgot to bring the FI to NA, so it got knocked off my short list. I'm too young to feel the cold in my bones come winter, and too old to fiddle with a bike that needs to idle before it can be ridden. :D