Q4 louder than I care for.....options?

Last weekend I finally found a low miles, clean WR250X/R that has been fully modded with all of the standard airbox, exhaust, gearing...and so forth. I am loving the bike so far. It is geared at 13/49 which seems to haul my 220 lb self around well enough. The Q4 with the powerbomb is a bit loud for my taste however. I live at an aparment complex and ride in the woods, two places where people really really hate loud bikes. And, on a 5 or 6 hour ride, the extra noise will be fatiguing. It likely needs a repacking, but it seems like noise-sensitive people like myself find it to be borderline. Also, I use Wolfman enduro saddlebags, so the stock exhaust would allow me to use those without any mods. Would be nice to not worry about repacking also.

Could someone comment on how the following combos compare to a Q4/Powerbomb setup?

-Stock with Powerbomb

-Stock with Megabomb

Could it be that gearing makes a much bigger difference than exhaust?

It's possible the Q4 needs to be re-packed. Probable in fact. That's the first thing I'd look at if I were you.

The only way to go quieter is with stock can and stock header.

There's no sense at all in using a FmF header and the stock can. Not even sure you can do that. You've need a special adapter made for that I think.

Some have said the megabomb is a little quieter. I don't know for sure though.

I don't think gearing will solve your dilemma.

The Q4 is the quietest aftermarket exhaust I know of.

Gundy, if you re-pack, please post the results... I've been thinking about getting one, but have some sensitive noise requirements myself.

See this thread. <-- clicky

Pictures and stuff.

motocrossmann wrote:

Gundy, if you re-pack, please post the results... I've been thinking about getting one, but have some sensitive noise requirements myself.

Will do. I would hate to give up the Q4 so hopefully the repack works out. On the street its fun having some bark to the engine and the power seems great as it is. I just remember doing a ride with some guys on WRs a few months ago, and one guy had a Powerbomb or Q4, can't remember. I do remember that it was annoyingly loud though. don't want to be that guy.....

Can you share your experience after switching back to the stock setup? I would keep the PCV and tune that for OEM, and the bike does have all of the AIS, airbox and other mods done to it. The power with the FMF setup is surprisingly good (may be due to the 13/49 gearing too), but I'm not into the noise thing; almost everywhere I ride is noise-sensitive and I don't like to draw more attention than I need to.