With smaller lighter higher-power engines, a conventional fossil fueled motorcycle engine rev's much higher than a typical automotive engine for a passenger car or SUV or truck by comparison, so motorcycles tend to be louder, with higher pitch exhaust notes. Thus many motorcycles are louder than cars.
Consider the 321 cc off-set twin of the 2020 Yamaha MT-03 that Meg' purchased as the nicest gift anyone has ever given me. Its small displacement fuel injected liquid cooled O2 cat emission controlled ECU engine idles at close to 1500 RPM while our 2001 Audio 2.8 liter V6 idles automobile engines idles around 900 RPM. At 60 MPH the MT-3 engine around 7,000 RPM while the A4 2.8 engine around 2,300 RPM.
In this simple comparison of my personal real world example, we see that the large V6 automobile engine operates at lower rotational speeds than the smaller motorcycle engine. This means that typical motorcycle engines are nearly always spinning faster, such that that they have a high pitch exhaust note that seems louder because they motorcycle engine moves more air faster, especially that in an abstract way engines are an air pump & higher performance engines tend to make peak power at higher RPM.
The smaller & more compact typical motorcycle engine does not have all the vibration damping, sound dampening, exhaust sound suppression catalytic converter & resonator & muffler designed to reduce exhaust sounds that a typical passenger automobile equipped with by law. Thus laws applied to car are more stringent than those applied to motorcycles.
A motorcycles exhaust system much smaller with shorter pipes. The sounds created by a straight piped engine can reach 160 dB or deafening ear damaging loud. When someone stole the catalytic converter from our 05 * 10 Prius for example, the 1.5 L & 1.8 L engines were remarkably loud since the exhaust was exiting the world just aster the engine exhaust header. I did a cost optimized repair to both Prius vehicles to restore an aftermarket cat, new 02 sensor & now muffler & exhaust pipe to make them less loud & to comply with the emissions control laws.
Many motorcycle owners upgrade the OEM exhaust system with an aftermarket slip-on muffler that produces a louder exhaust note than the original exhaust muffler. Some people value the louder exhausts believing that it attracts the attention of other motorists who seem to frequently not see us motorcycle or bicycle riders out there on roads in the real world, since many car driving motorists brains are pattern recognize trained by extensive experience to look for other cars, tucks, SUV's, busses & similar 4 wheel vehicles, such that they do not easily recognize a road bike, bicycle, scooter or motorcycle rider at the same speed or with the same accuracy that they visually recognized 4 wheel vehicles. Eat fatigue from loud motorcycle exhausts not enjoyable on drone sound longer rides. Wind noise through the helmet at higher speeds can be much louder and more damaging to the riders ears than the exhaust sounds. Sound pollution from loud aftermarket exhaust systems, straight pipes or similar equipped on some motorcycles wakes people up, and it is very inconsiderate of the motorcycle rider to ride loud motorcycles at night when most other people are sleeping.
Some people are selfish & inconsiderate of other people sadly. This problem of loud motorcycle exhaust disturbing or annoying other people a major issue in urban areas & areas near big cities with a higher concentration of inconsiderate or thoughtless people, especially men in the early 20's who brains have not finished developing, who typically favor excitedly loud motorcycle exhaust systems, unaware of the noise pollution disturbance that such cause for other people or careless about the externalities or impacts of their choices on other people or nature. I think loud vehicles are a nuance and that government laws & law enforcement issuing noise violation fines the only practical way to reduce this problem. Most cars & typically automobiles are exceedingly quiet by comparisons & people rarely modify cars with loud exhaust systems.
The riding style of a typical motorcycle tends to include higher speeds or higher rates of travel, so the motorcycles engine spinning even faster on average & exhaust louder at higher engine speeds, and with a shorter smaller & less suppressed or not- tilted exhaust, motorcycle exhaust systems tend to be louder overall across all engine RPMs, especially since the motorcycle engines operates at higher RPM! Shorter exhaust pipes with less restriction means more of the loud combustion sound pressure going to make loud exhaust notes that comprise most urban sound pollution sources. This means that loud motorcycles a public nuisance & should be addressed by law enforcement with geometric fines that increase if additional situations are issued to the same motorcyclist. Perhaps $50 first offense, $500 second offense & $5000 third offense, with a 4th Offense causing impounding of the motorcycle & suspension of the riders drivers license, like that.
. One option is to install a muffler or aftermarket exhaust system that is designed to reduce noise levels. Another option is to use noise-cancelling technology in helmets or earplugs to reduce the impact of the noise on the rider.
However, the most effective way to reduce motorcycle noise is through regulation and enforcement. Many cities and towns have noise ordinances that limit the amount of noise that motorcycles can produce, and law enforcement agencies can issue fines or citations to riders who violate these regulations.
In conclusion, motorcycles are louder than cars or buses due to the design of their engines, exhaust systems, and the fact that they are often ridden at higher speeds. While there are some ways to reduce the noise generated by motorcycles, the most effective solution is through regulation and enforcement of noise ordinances.
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