Honda Can Test Nearly 100 Configurations to Find the Right “Vroom”
- Published on 12/09/2026 17:23
At Honda, one can spend hours listening to an engine without ever hitting the road. And even get paid for it. Welcome to the sound specialists.
Do you think your motorcycle has a lovely voice? Also thank the engineers who put it through auditions. For the CB750 Hornet, Honda tested nearly a hundred configurations just to work on the sound. Some people take a long time to choose a playlist. The Japanese manufacturer, on the other hand, directly fine-tunes the instrument.
At the helm is Takatoshi Tatsumi, a specialist in noise and vibration. His job is to give each machine a personality recognizable by ear. From the generous rumble at low revs to the more sporty ascent, each model must find its range.
But don’t think a big exhaust is enough to turn any engine into a diva. The voice first emerges in the cylinders, with each combustion. Intake, timing, rhythm of explosions: the casting begins long before the silencer.
The latter, by the way, lives up to its name quite well. Its mission is primarily to remove undesirable frequencies to let the pleasing ones be heard. An audio engineer, exhaust-gas style.
The computer proposes, the ear disposes
Honda obviously uses digital simulations. However, at the decision-making moment, the graphs do not automatically win the final vote. “In the end, we make the decision based on human perception,” explains Takatoshi Tatsumi.
And the listeners are not limited to motorcyclists: engineers also listen to what people on the side of the road perceive. Your acoustic happiness must also take their ears into account.
On the CB750 Hornet and XL750 Transalp, the two exhaust outlets work on different frequencies to create a pulsing sensation.
The next time you hear a Honda pass by, think of this: that “vroom” may have required more rehearsals than your favorite band.
READ ALSO: Honda boasts of the “Sound of Silence” of its electric motorcycle WN7
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This page is translated from the original post "Honda peut tester près de 100 configurations pour trouver le bon « vroum »" in French.
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