Fake motorcycle sounds in movies

[Carter Turk]

Just a mild annoyance.
Being a long time motorcycle enthusiast, watching a movie or series with fake exhaust notes bothers me.
Sure it's a minor complaint or observation, but why don't they use the real sound? 9-10, fake sound.

Recently watching an Aussie series called "Glitch" & was beyond pleased when the female character, decided to tinker & fire up a neglected early 70's
(yellow w/blue pinstripe) Suzuki TS 125. The exhaust note was a real air-cooled 2-stroke sound! What?
Season 3 rolls around & now it's a fake 4-stroke sound. What? I was disappointed.

One other exception, was an Austrian series called "Woman of the Dead", where the husband rides/briefly, a Ducati Monster & it sounds like a "proper" air-cooled V-twin Ducati!
The wife ends up riding it after being considered totaled by the wrecking yard, often with no gloves & non AGATT attire, ha ha!
I was pleasantly surprised, almost shocked even. The horror of using the actual sound.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I may have even heard a "dry clutch jangling too".

Even movies with V-twin cruisers, usually end up sounding like 4 cylinder 4-stroke.

The sound coordinators drop down a notch in credibility when they do this, why not be authentic?

[Grimly]

Difficulties in getting the proper sound on location and the ability to fall back on a library of exhaust sounds.

[Cipher]

If you hate bad sound work watch the Netflix garbage version of all quiet on the western front.
the dialogues insufferable too. Its a celebration of omg its too quiet let's make insanely loud noises that the various actions don't make at all.

as for autos the American tv love of having a tire screech on dirt or grass is a classic.

[Buffalo Bill]

Talking about bad Hollywood production, the story never ends.

[Nessism]

I don't watch much TV anymore, but in years past it seemed that the sound guy would get the motorcycle sound wrong a huge percentage of the time. Harley sound with an inline four, two stroke bike with four stroke sound, and vice versa, etc. It happens so often, I was surprised when they got it right, vs wrong.

[argonsagas]

If you hate bad sound work watch the Netflix garbage version of all quiet on the western front.
the dialogues insufferable too. Its a celebration of omg its too quiet let's make insanely loud noises that the various actions don't make at all.

as for autos the American tv love of having a tire screech on dirt or grass is a classic.

OK

You got me with that one. I actually laughed when I read it.

It is true, of course, and used very frequently.

For any viewer with a full-functioning brain it makes the producers look stupid, even ridiculous, and instantly removes all belief in the scenes. .

[rphillips]

How bout the ones that show the interior of the car W/ auto trans., then hear them shifting the 4 spd. up through the gears. ie. the movie Bullitt. Both the Mustang and the Charger were both constantly shifting, though the Charger had an auto. trans... If I remember correctly, sometimes they were speed shifting while other times double clutching.

[Hayabuser]

As a person who has made a career in aviation, hearing turbines sound like radials on film makes my head explode.

[Cipher]

Then there's the CGI crap that shows planes doing things that would cause structural failure. And combat maneuvres that were not ever done as they are impossible.

[argonsagas]

How bout the ones that show the interior of the car W/ auto trans., then hear them shifting the 4 spd. up through the gears. ie. the movie Bullitt. Both the Mustang and the Charger were both constantly shifting, though the Charger had an auto. trans... If I remember correctly, sometimes they were speed shifting while other times double clutching.

I have watched that movie more than once. still love it.

Both cars had 4 speed manual..

Steve Mc Queen did his own stunts and Bill Hickman, in the Dodge, was a professional stunt driver.

[Rob S.]

Steve Mc Queen did his own stunts and Bill Hickman, in the Dodge, was a professional stunt driver.

No, that was Bud Ekins in the Mustang, who also did the fabulous jump in The Great Escape.

However, Steve did personally do most of the modifications on the Mustang himself, much to the consternation of the director. McQueen improved the handling to the point where the fastback would not skid around a curve when the script called for it.

[Cipher]

Smokey and the bandit doing a hundred
in a Canadian gauged car so yah Sally relax 62ish mph.

[Big T]

The motorcycle sound issue has spoiled a lot of movies for me. I do have to commend Tom Cruise movies for proper Ducati and Triumph sounds. Same with the Jeremy Renner Bourne movie, one of the best chase sequences. JR does all his own stunts, impressive rail slide down the stairs, with a passenger.

[Brendan W]

Movies cost big bucks per second. Decisions have a lot of money riding on them. I would bet that decisions to use the wrong sound, knowing it to be wrong, are made because the target audience has a preconception of what a bike is supposed to sound like.
Never let the truth get in the way of a good story.
We all see glaring errors in movies where we have some expertise in a particular area. What we don't ask is what inaccuracies are in the movies we see and don't notice anything. It's a fair guess that every movie makes some group wince. When I notice it, I find it kind of ruins it for me.
Camping in France some idiot on a DT175 started tearing around the site at 4 am. Next morning we emerged from out tent beside our Z650 to find a gathering of irate campers outside the site office in heated discussion with the site owner and pointing in our general direction. It was way past the point that any kind of rational discussion about 2T vs 4T could be had. The only things missing from the mob were pitchforks and torches

[rphillips]

From what I thought I remembered, there was a scene that showed a shot of the interior of the Charger with a chrome auto. shifter and console. I'm not going to go back a watch the whole movie to see, I'll take your word. Thanks for correcting that flub.