Earplugs and Buffeting
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Tourer
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 364
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From: Toledo, OH
Earplugs and Buffeting
Had my totally stock 08 EGS for about 2400 miles and through all of those miles have been using earplugs to protect the hearing. A plus is that the bike's got a great muffled sound with earplugs in. Also have experienced a buffeting that was hard figure out where it was coming from. It wasn't real bad but a continuous nuisance. The other day I took the earplugs out to hear what the bike sounded like because I was planning on getting new pipes and wanted to hear the stock sound. Two things. One, the engine sounds really crappy without the earplugs in or louder pipes to drown out all those mechanical engine sounds. Second, without the earplugs the buffeting has gone away. Go figure. I think the use of the earplugs somehow amplified the slight helmet vibration caused by the slight amount of wind that hit it (I always ride with a helmet). Plus, with the 12 inch stock shield there is a fairly nice pocket where wind noise is at a minimum. Just FYI.
6th Gear
Joined: Jun 2008
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From:
I always ride with ear plugs
The buffeting does kill my ears (I dont usually wear a helment and I have sensitive ears). My pipes are pretty loud on both bikes.
I can hear better with the ear plugs in.....if you know what I mean.
I can hear better with the ear plugs in.....if you know what I mean.
Ultimate HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 7,101
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Somehow they can actually amplify certain sounds.
Sometimes I wear them to sleep, if my neighbor's stupid
rootser won't shutup, and I have a hard time getting to sleep
because my breathing seems to be amplified by the earplugs.
I haven't used them on my bike yet, but recently switched
from a EG to a Road King, and now I am thinking of using them
with all the wind I am getting.
Rags
Sometimes I wear them to sleep, if my neighbor's stupid
rootser won't shutup, and I have a hard time getting to sleep
because my breathing seems to be amplified by the earplugs.
I haven't used them on my bike yet, but recently switched
from a EG to a Road King, and now I am thinking of using them
with all the wind I am getting.
Rags
Cruiser
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 122
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From: SW Ohio
Earplugs and Buffeting
I too always wear earplugs while riding. On my previous Ultra, the resonance at lower speeds in top gear was very irritating, in addition to the buffeting. I now have a Roadglide, which does not appear to have the resonance of the Ultra, but still has an annoying buffeting that varies with wind direction.
I wish I knew the answer to eliminating the buffeting, while still wearing earplugs.
I wish I knew the answer to eliminating the buffeting, while still wearing earplugs.
Road Captain
Joined: Mar 2007
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From: The Heart Break Hotel
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Tourer
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 364
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From: Toledo, OH
Ragtop, yeh that's what I'm talking about(like you're hearing your own breathing). I was hearing the slight resonence of my helmet with the plugs in and interpreting that as buffeting. I've got two shields both Harley's-the stock 12" and the shorter one 6 or 8". The higher shield is more protective and I think I can go without the plugs and really not get too much wind noise except when the winds are really high, then I may use them. The other thing I notice without the plugs is that I can pick up on the engine sounds much better (duh!). When I used to use the 6th gear it always seemed to be laboring(maybe lugging) at speeds under 65 mph. But I think it was more that resonence with the plugs in. Now when I use 6th I can drop down to almost 60 mph and tell that I'm not lugging. All this vibration/buffeting was from the use of the earplugs. I'm much more pleased with the bike now that I know the source of that buffeting.
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Tourer
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 364
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From: Toledo, OH
OH BOB, I think the resonence I experienced was from my helmet, as I said in other posts here. It was more intense in the top gear for me as well. I may try to find some different earplugs. The ones I was using are the foam ones. Maybe there are some made of a different material.
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: Jun 2007
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From: Tallahassee, Fl
I just started wearing ear plugs within the last year and they really do make a difference and there are lots of studies that show that wind like we experience on a motorcycle can really cause some bad damage to the eardrums.