Anti-noise platforms, European, state or local legislation, the well-being of others… Each and every one of these situations is the day to day that vehicle manufacturers in general and motorcycle manufacturers in particular have to face. That is why the noise limits are becoming lower and there are even car models that have a “good neighbor mode”, so that the noise is attenuated during certain hours or moments.
But with all this and complying with the most global legislation, the motorcycle user may encounter stricter prohibitions for certain reasons. And although the general limit is the same when manufacturing the motorcycle, the truth is that in certain places you can find more restrictive anti-noise regulations. We have already talked about different battles undertaken by local authorities, and the expectation is that it will get worse.
And, logically, that is a challenge for the motorcycle user because if your motorcycle can legally operate with an established noise level, reaching areas of “low noise emissions” is almost like playing the lottery. This is where KTM comes in with a fairly schematized patent, but which is a fairly effective solution on a theoretical level at least.
The “master move” is for the motorcycle to be able to measure the level of noise that our motorcycle is making at all times. In this way, and although the indications of the patent that the CycleWorld colleagues have shown are very schematic, what is understood is that there will be a way to see whether or not we are within the limits.
It is not specified whether this will be through a meter or by turning on a light that warns when levels are exceeded. In fact, it could even include a vibration system so that the user would be aware and even, paradoxes of life, an acoustic warning.
KTM's anti-noise system could be automatic thanks to GPS
Thanks to sensors installed on the motorcycle, everything that happens around the motorcycle is monitored. From what we can see, these sensors would be placed in various parts of the motorcycle: around the exhaust and the engine, as well as the body and chassis. And the data collected, it is unknown if the noise itself or the vibrations (in the end sound is one of them) would be collected by the switchboard to activate.
A step further from this anti-noise measure suggests that it could be configured so that, when exceeding a certain noise, the motorcycle would limit its performance so as not to exceed it after the user activated the system. But there is more and that is that KTM suggests in its patent that it could even be linked via GPS so that the motorcycle would be the one that would adjust.
In any case, we are facing a great anti-noise evolution that shows that the Austrian group is committed to the well-being of both its users and other citizens.
