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Why loud pipes?

28K views 214 replies 93 participants last post by  Mr. Efficiency 
#1 ·
I'm just askin' ... why do most folks seem to want loud pipes? Does anyone (like me) like the idea of having a relatively quiet bike?
 
#52 ·
I do believe it does help aide to being heard.. I love the sound. I live on top a hill and push out when leaving early in am out of respect for neighbors. Long trips do give me a slight headache and thats even with ear plugs. Loud pipes dont necessarily save lives...... HELMETS do

Burd
 
#53 ·
AZRenegade said:
I don't know how sound travels and couldn't care less. All I know is that my incident rate for getting cut off or run out of my lane has dropped from (on average) once a month to rarely. Arizona drivers are nuts! Studies have been known to be biased based on who is funding the research. I don't trust "studies" and "experts." I'm the only expert that I trust. And I base my judgement on my personal experience.

Put me down for respecting my neighbors when I leave the neighborhood and the rest is none of their business. Besides, as someone stated above, most cages are sound proof so why all the fuss over loud pipes?
The hurt report was done by actual motorcycle riders who began self funding doing actual research, just google the hurt report.
 
#54 ·
i have hk 3"big straights on my bike and over the years i,ve had people at rides tell me they made their eyes bleed they were so loud.anyway yesterday i put hard core baffles in them and man what a huge difference that made.still sounds good ,but quieter,they say 6/12 dec. but it has to be more.
 
#55 ·
PhL0aTeR said:
just something about blipping the throttle at a light and hearing the rumble.... cant explain it...
Another ditto to this.
Thing I personally find strange, is that as a teenager, I had a 66 ChevyII Supersport. Put bluebottles, headers; the works on her to make that loud rumble that did the same thing as my bike does now.
I no longer like a loud car. Not at all. The quieter the better.


But I still like my bike LOUD! :D
....Maybe it brings out the "kid" in me?? 8)
 
#56 ·
thebigbry said:
funbikerchick said:
Born2bWild said:
basshole said:
well stock pipes suck and quiet pipes are for girls. how's that for brutal honesty? :lol:
Not THIS girl. I have loud pipes because I like them and it causes people to post things like "why do people have loud pipes" and gets all the pious people out of the woodwork to stand on their pedestal and proclaim how people with loud pipes are degenerates. Now how's THAT for brutal honesty? :lol:
:applause: :applause: :applause: :applause:

To those who say the fact that they get noticed saves lives I say, by the time they notice you, you have already been hit. The sound comes out of the back of the pipe. They don't really hear you until you up up beside them. I have actually had a bike come up next to me in tight traffic and the blip of the pipes as they passed caused me to jump, which can cause the steering wheel of the car to be jerked. I didn't hear him approach. He was already next to me by the time I heard him. What good did that do?

Plus a loud horn is just as effective if not more so...
I have to agreee with funbikerchic, not to mention more bikes with moded pipes are involved in accidents than with stock, that has been true since the hurt report in the 70's I like medium sounding pipes just for the sound, but I dislike loud pipes, they are no fun to ride with, they wake up baby's, irritate people, and perpetuate the irritating careless biker image. If you have them and diagree, that is fine, but when you do things that irritate people and you know it does, then at least make sure you own up to it and not get upset when they tell you.
Very well said - both of youse!!!
 
#57 ·
I do not like loud pipes, but I do like to hear the engine rumble some...

My pipes (Cobra Longs) were not that loud when I got them - hopefully, the volume will not increase too much as the baffles age.
 
#58 ·
I think people with loud pipes are degenerates.


Actually I don't mind loud pipes as long as they're not on my own bike.....and I'm not riding beside someone with a set of them. At certain rpms - they can really jar your fillings.

I could go into a long story about loud pipes on the road that I can't hear from the cab of my semi......but nobody cares. Do what you like......and let the rest of us bitch about it. Some of us enjoy b!tching.....and are constantly looking for a reason. 8)
 
#59 ·
thebigbry said:
AZRenegade said:
I don't know how sound travels and couldn't care less. All I know is that my incident rate for getting cut off or run out of my lane has dropped from (on average) once a month to rarely. Arizona drivers are nuts! Studies have been known to be biased based on who is funding the research. I don't trust "studies" and "experts." I'm the only expert that I trust. And I base my judgement on my personal experience.

Put me down for respecting my neighbors when I leave the neighborhood and the rest is none of their business. Besides, as someone stated above, most cages are sound proof so why all the fuss over loud pipes?
The hurt report was done by actual motorcycle riders who began self funding doing actual research, just google the hurt report.
As you suggested, I looked up the report. I quote from the report "The only comprehensive motorcycle study ever completed in the USA was the famous “Hurt Report”, conducted by the University of Southern California under contract to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, back in the late 1970s." As you can see the report was prepared on behalf of the NHTSA. I could find no statement regarding "actual motorcycle riders who began self funding doing actual research." Frankly, I find it to be an excellent compilation of data albeit a little dated.
 
#62 ·
Well, My 2 cents is, I have personal experience where loud pipe could possible have saved lives. Here is how it happened.

My Wife wanted to stop at this house along the way that had a small camper for sale. The house was right on the bend of a rather sharp curve. It was probably a 35 or 40 degree turn. I nice zippy little turn on a bike... one of those "I certainly hope nobody is coming the other way" turns in my 02 Ram 1500".

Just before my wife and I are about to stop at the end of the driveway as we are headed home, I hear through my helmet and the rumble of my stock pipes a distinct sound. It was a harley with well Harley pipes coming at us from around the bend.

Keep in mind I could not see the bike coming, and it was coming toward us at the time. I heard him before I saw him and it forced me to wait til he went by before i pulled out into the roadway. Had I not heard him, I probably would have pulled out and it may have been a very close call.

Under the circumstances...Loud pipes certainly helped.
 
#64 ·
wiseguydave said:
calan said:
Some of us enjoy b!tching.....and are constantly looking for a reason. 8)
I've heard that... :p :lol:
some of do have other hobbies beside riding. :lol: :lol: :)
 
#68 ·
I've always been annoyed by cars with radios so loud that all the neighborhood windows rattle.
But now I understand that it's just a saftey feature, and not for listening to music! :lol:
 
#71 ·
I guess it's one of those "If I have to explain it, you wouldn't understand it" things. I have a Harley and I love that it is fairly loud. When I bought it it had drag pipes and they were the loudest I had ever heard. Even the other Harley riders I ride with said, Damn those are loud. So I changed out to some mellower pipes. Still loud but lower and much nicer sounding. My Wife has a C50 and I think her goal is to have a bike louder that the Harleys in our group. She has V&H Cruizers and loves them, but she recently heard the HK sideburners and I think she wants them. When she blips the throttle and her bike barks, she just starts grinning, go figure.
 
#72 ·
funbikerchick said:
Born2bWild said:
basshole said:
well stock pipes suck and quiet pipes are for girls. how's that for brutal honesty? :lol:
Not THIS girl. I have loud pipes because I like them and it causes people to post things like "why do people have loud pipes" and gets all the pious people out of the woodwork to stand on their pedestal and proclaim how people with loud pipes are degenerates. Now how's THAT for brutal honesty? :lol:
:applause: :applause: :applause: :applause:

To those who say the fact that they get noticed saves lives I say, by the time they notice you, you have already been hit. The sound comes out of the back of the pipe. They don't really hear you until you up up beside them. I have actually had a bike come up next to me in tight traffic and the blip of the pipes as they passed caused me to jump, which can cause the steering wheel of the car to be jerked. I didn't hear him approach. He was already next to me by the time I heard him. What good did that do?

Plus a loud horn is just as effective if not more so...
What good does it do? Riding through town at the posted limit on a four lane, some of these idiots forget your there and will change lanes into you. The loud pipes are heard when your in their blind spot, they know your there even though they can't see you.

Now, I avoid riding in anyones blindspot, but in heavy traffic it can't be avoided as easily. I can give you numerous examples of this happening in my car, not only the bike. In my car I've driven from Tampa to Daytona on I-4 at the posted speed limit, cruise control set, just sitting back and taking it easy. A car will pass gradually until they have me in their blindspot, forget I'm there and change lanes and only miss hitting me because I see it coming and hit the brakes. Trust me, this doesn't happen when I'm on the bike, they know I'm there because they can hear my pipes.

Actually, I found that if I run about 5 over the limit in my car, I have less close calls than if I drive at the posted speed limit. So, I do the same on the bike and have less problems then also.
 
#73 ·
No question...loud pipes DO save lives...at least in Orange Co CA. :wink:

by Steve
Friday, December 21, 2007

The Board of Supervisors in Orange County, CA voted 4-1 to add a healthcare fee to all traffic tickets written by Sheriff's deputies.

This means if you get busted for speeding, running a red light, having noisy pipes, or looking too imitidating, you'll have to pay extra so that county-funded hospitals and clinics can service the ever-growing public dole.
Thus saving more lives! :wink:
 
#74 ·
I don't have any explanation other than I like it. Loud (well tuned) pipes rock!
 
#76 ·
When I had the volusia I had pipes on it, liked the sound but would get a headache after a couple of hrs.

The vulcan has stock pipes on it, I put a lot of miles on and I feal better without the noise. If I had a play bike I'd probably put pipes on it but keep the miles down to 4 or 5k a year on it.
 
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