How are motorcycles so loud?

Their motors are like super small, so how are they so loud? I have a ford escort and the muffler fell off one time but it was not very loud at all. How can a smaller engine be louder?

That's like asking why 12 gauge shotgun going off is so loud, lol.

Just because it's small doesn't mean it's quiet/quieter

A short and unrestricted exhaust.

A lawnmower without a muffler is just as loud. In other words, engine size or displacement alone doesn't dictate the dB level.

The loudness you're referring to are owners that have replaced the motorcycles' stock exhaust with a more open and less restrictive muffler. They can make the bike a lot louder as a result.

Insecure and immature people need attention so they make noise… They need to be noticed and if they can't gain approval they can at least disrespect others.

Often it is the muffler or exhaust. It can also be because many motor bikes are 2 stoke, which usually means they are louder

Mine Isn't.

Those that are have modified or non stock exhaust--Fed regs dictate a dB requirement at factory.

Sometimes, knocking the wrong baffle out or using different muffler retunes the exhaust to a louder note. Like a gun suppressor, you can make a small, efficient one, tuned to a specific load; or, a small one with little back pressure that is louder. Changing the load (retuning, boring/stroking engine) can affect volume, too, of course.

2 strokes make an annoying Ring a Ding Ding, no matter what muffler /expansion chamber is on.

Loud pipes save lives, get attention from dumb cagers that would turn in front of us. Small price to pay for a modicum of safety.

They can't be built this way due to federal laws
the riders made them this way ever tho illegal in most places

Your muffler may have fallen off, but you still had the catalytic converter.

I remember when I lost the exhaust on my Charger during hurricane Bob - a straight piped V8 is louder than any motorcycle. (1974, no cats)