quote:

Originally posted by selogic:
That whole " Loud pipes save lives " is bullshit . Thank you , and good day .

This.

To people who make this stupid statement, I reply with, "if you think loud pipes save lives, think what learning to ride it properly will do!"


These are the same people who will say "I had to lay 'er down." Hmmmm...let see. You had to wreck your motorcycle to avoid wrecking your motorcycle?

A search on "loud pipes saves lives" will bring up many studies showing no decrease in accident rates with loud pipes, that loud pipes project almost all of the sound rearward such that vehicles in front won't hear it, and modern cars are well soundproofed such that drivers can barely detect the noise.

Anecdotally, the loud bikers I see are wearing all black, riding a black bike. They are not " Banana Man". They are riding aggressively, fast, and not melding in with the general flow of traffic. Most have tiny brake lights and turn signals, though some do have impressive lighting.

They could greatly improve their safety by wearing some hi-viz gear and riding more consistent with the surrounding vehicles.

I've had the experience of seeing a driver's face looking directly towards me and then pull out of the side street directly in front of me. Despite my hi-viz jacket and helmet. I've seen tons of drivers texting while driving. None of these oblivious drivers would notice a loud bike.

I was most noticed when I had a white and black bike with white and black hard cases. With my hi-viz gear on people thought I was a state trooper. They'd slow down and pay attention. It was humorous, but also showed they human brain subconsciously sees cops.

The Doppler effect…

I absolutely loathe, detest, and abhor loud motorcycles. Our little town has somehow earned a reputation for being exceptionally bike friendly, especially toward Harley Davidsons. We host a huge annual event called the Thunder Valley Rally, which seems to get louder, longer, and more congested every year.

https://thundervalleyrallyaz.com

With mostly sunny skies and almost no rain, our climate is a dream for riders. We're at 3,500 feet, and just 24 minutes up the road obeying the speed limit you can be at 7,800 feet. It’s a stunning ride and naturally draws tons of two wheeled traffic, (along with the occasional supercar rally or group, which is pretty cool.)

And with that comes the endless drone of “loud pipes save lives.” Which brings me to a basic principle of physics: the Doppler effect. These exhaust pipes are facing backward, which means the sound is being projected away from the direction of travel. The vehicles ahead of the bike, the ones the rider is supposedly warning, aren’t hearing the engine until it’s already upon them or passed. If the argument is that noise is for safety, wouldn’t it make more sense to mount an air horn on the front? Something that actually alerts others in your path? But hey, that wouldn’t be nearly as cool as blasting your ego through straight pipes, because clearly nothing screams “safety” like advertising your IQ is lower than your gas tank capacity.

Let’s be honest, these guys aren’t riding for safety, they’re riding for attention. Loud pipes are just a rolling cry for validation wrapped in black leather and midlife crisis. They aren’t protecting anyone except maybe their fragile sense of self worth. They rev at red lights like they’re calling the herd, but really they’re just announcing to the world that they peaked in high school and now spend their weekends polishing their chrome compensators. If their bikes were any louder they’d qualify as FEMA disaster zones. And the best part? They think everyone else is impressed. Meanwhile, we're over here praying their timing chain snaps.

quote:

Originally posted by ridewv:

You're taking me back to when I first got interested in BMW motorcycles.

I never even knew what a BMW motorcycle was until I saw one go by. Saw it, didn't hear it. I was really impressed by the lack of sound, and said "I have to find out what that is, and get one." So I did. A 1960 R50. If I were still physically capable of riding, I would search for one today.

Hmmm... Maybe R60 with sidecar.

It's funny I returned here for first time in years and I'm jamming to the Pink Floyd disc you remixed and it's definitely louder than many exhausts!!
Postmarked either 5/13/14 or 5/14/13, my eyes ain't what they used to be....

quote:

Originally posted by rainman64:
But wait!

Then they install a car stereo that is louder than the exhaust.....

Makes for the supreme douche baggery.

I love old R50, R60, R69, etc. A friend who is recently deceased fell in love with them as well, bought an R50 in pretty rough condition and proceeded to completely restore it. Three years and a shit ton of work later it looked brand new, as nice as the R60 you posted. After taking it on its new maiden ride he was a little disappointed. Oh it ran and handled like it should it's just that he said it didn't instill confidence out on the highway. Too small, under powered, weak brakes, etc. So he limited riding it to around his neighborhood and a couple classic motorcycle events he trailered it to.

I have one of the last air-cooled models BMW made back in the 90's and while it's not elegant like the ones mentioned it is fun and safe to ride with 60hp, disc front brakes, good lighting, and great handling.




BMW quit making true air-cooled bikes around 1996 in favor of air/oil cooled and water cooled. For anyone interested in a new BMW Airhead Moto Guzzi still offers basically just that. Sideways 90* V twin rather than 180* twin but essentially a modern, 850cc, longitudinal crank air cooled motorcycle with dry clutch and shaft drive. Only with modern niceties such as great brakes, LED lighting, cruise control, and 6-speed.

Not mine, borrowed from a Guzzi forum.



It's a beautiful day so I think I'll take my old XL1200R Sportster out for a spin!

RideWV, my ex husband had a 1972 R75/5 that was great fun to tool around our back country roads on. It was really tricked out and had a custom black long-hair natural sheepskin seat.

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:
I remember a BMW motorcycle ad from the 1960s, showing a BMW on a quiet country road. The ad's headline stated, "At 50 mph, the loudest sound you will hear is the swish of the front tire on the pavement." The ad did not exaggerate.

Rode a R750 in the early 70s and lost count of times I would pull up to stop sign/light and have someone comment about my engine dying because they could not hear it running.

quote:

Originally posted by mojojojo:
As others have said, it's purely narcissistic. While having a somewhat throaty sound to a bike seems reasonable, the only reason to have loud obnoxious pipes is so people will notice. Not from a safety point of view, but purely because their frail egos have to get constant attention.

Yep. Bikes can sound quite good with a muffle system that doesn't quite muffle everything.

****
There's an analogy to gun owners -- those who think it's awesome to shoot a braked SBR rifle with supersonic ammo at a public range, especially indoors.
"Yeah, it produces a huge fireball, and it clears the range quickly."

quote:

Originally posted by MelissaDallas:
RideWV, my ex husband had a 1972 R75/5 that was great fun to tool around our back country roads on. It was really tricked out and had a custom black long-hair natural sheepskin seat.

Glad you kept the fond memory, riding back country roads is what motorcycling is all about to me.
My first BMW was a 1976 R75/6 which was just a slightly updated version of the /5 your husband had. These were excellent motorcycles for their time and far ahead of the earlier /2 when it came to performance.

There is nothing worse than the serenity interrupted by douchebags with loud bikes up here in the mountains.
That and straight piped cars up here too.

I will comment as a Harley owner (stock '22 Road King Police). The people you hear are pricks. They have their heads shoved so far up their own asses that they wouldn't be able to hear a tornado siren if they were parked next to it. A simple exhaust and cam upgrade can be done without being a total dick, but that's not good enough for those that want to play bad boy biker when hopping from bar to bar with their buddies. I've made the comment before to other riders (not just Harley guys either) that all they are doing is showing the world how small their pee pee's are.

Don't get me started on the shitty music coming from the shitty speakers. These kind of people make the general public hate motorcyclists. No different than the idiots on Gixxer's and Busa's running through neighborhoods doing wheelies while revving to the moon.

Our downtown got so bad that on summer evenings it was almost impossible to sit outside and have a drink and a conversation. Some of it was cars but 90% were DB’s on Harleys. I think most of us go through these phase from like 16-28 ish but these are cats in their 40-60’s that should know better. We now have a noise ordinance downtown.

Doing 75mph yesterday, got passed by couple on HD doing 80+. No helmets, wind screen, mufflers… loud af. my thought.. if they live to their 60’s, there goes another couple pairs of hearing aids.

My neighbor has a buddy that lives in the back of our neighborhood . He rides a dressed out HD . Super nice guy , but when he visits next door you can hear his music and his exhaust coming from a block away .

Adding to the loud exhaust gripe is the young punks locally that tune their cars so that they backfire on every gear shift! I know it's on purpose because more and more of them are doing it...

quote:

Originally posted by bronicabill:
Adding to the loud exhaust gripe is the young punks locally that tune their cars so that they backfire on every gear shift! I know it's on purpose because more and more of them are doing it...

It can happen with unspent fuel in the exhaust system. Used to be a natural things on some bikes and cars. Now? Yeah tuners are purposely tuning this garbage in, at the customer’s request. “I want the burbles and pops”. It’s ridiculous now. Just shows you how sheep many people are.

quote:

Originally posted by Prefontaine: “I want the burbles and pops”.

lol.

I got a tune for my previous BMW just to turn off the burbles and pops. I hated that sh!t

^^^

I suppose I'm one of those guys you speak of.

I bought mine used and the previous owner had the ACR tune programmed.

I'd have to buy my own programmer ($$$) to revert it back to OEM or a milder configuration.

quote:

Originally posted by David Lee:
Don't again say the reason is so car drivers know you are there. That's just a chicken shit reason to justify making extremely loud noise which Noone likes.

Just the other day while sitting at a light I heard a motorcycle, somewhere. He was sitting beside me in my blind spot, a position all drivers in Kentucky seem to prefer. If was to, like so many I see lately, turn right from the left lane I would not have known he was there aside the noise.
I don’t like noisy pipes either but cyclist need everything possible to try to get a little awareness from the average semi-lucid, uninsured, driver concentrating on their phone screen.