[Mac900]

Yesterday I went over to a friend's house to check out a 916 he's semi-trying to sell. It's a '95 model and my M900 is a '98. I'm trying to come up with a good qualitative description of the differences between the two aside from the ergonomics. My monster seems to have a bit more low end grunt and with the open air box plus Remus exhaust it sounds meaner. The 916 sounds a bit more refined, doesn't give up much on the low end and when it's comes on the pipe it yanks pretty darn good but it makes this different noise than my Monster. It's definitely not a noise like a Japanese I4. Could it be that the engine is just a tad smoother than the Monster? I don't know. It's as though if my bike were a good running well tuned 427 V8 then the 916 would be a race tuned 289? That was the first time I've ridden a Ducati 4 valver and at the time one of the thoughts was that it sounded exactly like the footage of that guy riding a 916 at Nurbergring. (Duh) What a hoot!

 

[Speeddog]

The 916's definitely do sound different, the exhaust is pretty long and the intake honk is kind of muffled from the ram-air system.

 

[Handy Andy]

All racing Ducatis sound/behave differently. They are smoother, better top end and a very different "feel"...remember a Monster is a different bike.

 

[Sivver]

Definitely can't beat the power of a desmoquattro, it's a lot of fun when it comes on the cam around 5K and takes off like a scalded cat with all the noise and fury of the god of thunder.... I find the M900 a more relaxed ride - loping exhaust, low end torque, feels faster at lower speeds, and has a more comfortable riding position.

The 916 forces you to play along with the race-replica setup no matter what, which is great on the right road where there are no cops, but not much use in traffic or when you want to preserve your license. I'd like to get an M900 as a second bike for commuting and "gentle" cruising, but I'll never give up my 916, I love it to death even though it's thoroughly uncompromising.

 

[cdc]

I'll never give up my 916, I love it to death even though it's thoroughly uncompromising.

[thumbsup] what he said

 

[sailwa66]

I (had) both at the same time, and your impressions are spot on. The 916 is smoother, and quite peaky for a twin. The other thing is the FI on the 916 is really sharp, whereas the CV carbies on your Monster make it a little lazy at tip-in.

 

[Mac900]

I (had) both at the same time, and your impressions are spot on. The 916 is smoother, and quite peaky for a twin. The other thing is the FI on the 916 is really sharp, whereas the CV carbies on your Monster make it a little lazy at tip-in.

True that the 916 FI is pretty sharp. It seemed more instantly responsive than another friends '98 ST2 that I've ridden. On the other hand I'm running FCR 41's on the Monster and there is no laziness there either. ;D

But back to the main question. If you were to describe the sound differences to someone what would you say? How would you describe them.

My monster (to me anyway) sounds like a combination of 427 on the pipes - unlimited air racer with a meanass off throttle decel. I haven't spent enough time with the 916 to figure out a description. It's mean also but in a different way and that's what I'm trying to determine. If you had to describe the noise to someone else, bike rider or not, how would you describe it?

 

[Sivver]

All you hear when you are on the 916 is the intake. Later models (996+) had rubber blocks in the intakes to dampen the noise, which is a damn shame. I actually can't hear my FBF pipes when I'm riding because the airbox noise drowns it out. I'm told they sound good, but I wouldn't know. On a 2V (especially carbed) you hear the exhaust over the intake, and the firing characteristics of a 2V head make it sound much more thunderous than the staccato shriek of a 4V at full chat.

I always quote Jeremy Clarkson when describing the noise. "It sounds like the god of thunder - gargling with nails." He may hate bikes, but damned if he isn't eloquent when it comes to coming up with a good simile.

 

[Blueshark928]

I'm not quite sure how to describe it either, but the sound of the 996 SBK mill in my ST4s will make women swoon and grown men cry once spooled up past 6500k. During some sprited riding over the weekend, i was banging off the rev limiter more than once. The sound was so intoxicating i was doing everything i could to keep the engine in the upper range.

 

[cdc]

But back to the main question. If you were to describe the sound differences to someone what would you say? How would you describe them.

Would a big part of the sound depend on the type/brand of exhaust?

cdc

 

[Mac900]

Would a big part of the sound depend on the type/brand of exhaust?

cdc

Maybe. The Monster is running a DP Remus system that is just a touch on the loud side. The 916 is using FBF Forza so both are not stock. I think neufunsix was getting close with the "stacatto shriek" description ----- kind of a high rate of fire moderate caliber machine gun. ??