Loud intake noise normal?

I know the air filter is right by the gas cap so I'm assuming that's why it seems loud to me. Is that normal? It's the only sound I really hear except for wind. Sometimes it seems downright loud.

Oddly enough my Harley was a little quieter than this bike. That said, I like quiet exhaust so I went out of my way to keep the sound down on the Harley. But pretty much zero intake noise.

nevada72 said:

I know the air filter is right by the gas cap so I'm assuming that's why it seems loud to me. Is that normal? It's the only sound I really hear except for wind. Sometimes it seems downright loud.

Oddly enough my Harley was a little quieter than this bike. That said, I like quiet exhaust so I went out of my way to keep the sound down on the Harley. But pretty much zero intake noise.

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For what it's worth. I changed the air filter on my 20RT to a K&N unit and find no change in the noise, even though the filtration is supposed to be different. The intake becomes really noisy when the cams shift around 75 mph and it stays noisy until the late 80s. Just in the sweet spot.

IMO that's just bad design. Now, maybe on the German Autobahn where the average travelling speeds are from 100-125 mph for a 1250RT that is not an issue as at that speed the intake noise is gone and other issues become paramount, like the pucker factor, etc. (Experience values here!)