Aluminum billet covers- any sound difference?

If they are built nice and solid they should change the way the engine sounds some but probably wont cut down very much on the gear noise etc... I see some of them are vented for better clutch or ignition cooling and these would be louder, but a nice solid and closed up cover, especially if it has some fins cut into it would help cut down some of the noise, or at least make it sound slightly more pleasant...

Does a few grams really make that much of a difference?

dtv5403 said:

Does a few grams really make that much of a difference?

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The simple answer is Yes... They will deaden some of the gear noise but they won't completely quiet the noise down... remember back in the late 60's / early 70's when muscle cars had these cool looking finned aftermarket valve covers? the reason for these were because the cast aluminum was more rigid than the stock stamped steel so they would seal better, but the other reasons for the rigid cast aluminum was to help deaden the valvetrain noise. A lot of muscle cars back then used solid lifter cams so the valvtrain always had this noisy ticking sound that could usually be heard at idle... Adding fins to the valve covers made a noticeable difference deadening this noise. It didn't completely eliminate the noise, but it did make a noticeable difference.

Tne same goes for those sound deadening mats they sell to put inside your clutch and magneto covers, there's not a lot to them but they do a good job quieting the gear noise... Kinda the same way stuff like Dynomat is used in a lot of car builds to keep the road noises out.

Nashville Kat said:

A few grams here, a few grams there- has always been the cycling way. "An ounce off the wheels is like two off the frame" is what Olympic cyclists used to say.

I'm not a souped up kind of builder- you can tell.

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You really think that minute weight savings make much difference when the rider is 300lbs?

Olympic cyclist don't have an ounce of fat on them.

There IS one other issue with the billet covers that some of them are wider than the standard engine covers so make sure you know what kind of pedal to side case clearance you got before buying.. From what I've heard, these are wide enough to cause the cranks to hit.

These did make a reduction of noise from my machine.....

http://www.sickbikeparts.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=22&products_id=140

Best of luck in your 'quest'!

Yup... those work really well too... I got the idea after seeing those to use some of that flex seal stuff on the inside of my clutch and mag covers... the stuff cures as a rubbery coat so it can deaden some of that tinny noise as well as reduce the gear noise... it takes a few coats and the first coat needs to be pretty close to cured before the second coat is applied, then repeat for a third coat and its thick enough to make a noticeable difference. Small rubber spacers between the fins on the jug can also help.