Loud bikes are killing off motorcycles in the US

[MelodicMetalGod]

Pulsating headlight helps them see you.
Sound helps them hear you.
If sound and flashing light(s) didn't have an effect then why would emergenacy/patrol cars have both? Not to let you know they are ahead of you.

So sound has to merit some kind of saftey factor.

Sure. But emergency vehicles are driving way outside of the law, speeding, blowing lights and stop signs, etc. And guess what, folks STILL don't find them, which is why they come to a crawl whenever the get to an intersection. And sometime, unfortunately, they get plowed into or plow into somebody that wasn't paying enough attention to see the massive red and chrome hook & ladder fire truck with 46 lights and 140 db sirens that was the cause of all the stopped traffic. Now I ask you, if that fire truck can go unnoticed... ???

 

[MelodicMetalGod]

Is my Muzzy too loud when my wife hears me coming home from 2 1/2 miles away,and knows where I'm at..at the time my fist is in the throttle

Loud pipes and bright lights are not gonna save nothing!!!!!! 11:30 sunday night going home from work,I about ate the right front wheel of a damn Ford Taurus [dark blue with shiney wheels]cause the idiot was in the left turn lane and decided in the last minute he wanted to go to the right turn lane.Turned right in front of me.No time to hit the brakes..just dodged the bastid...Those Vance and Hines pipes and my headlight [it was dark out..duh!]didn't do a damn thing for me.Throwing that VTX around like a sportbike got me home without a scratch.
I was so pizzed off even after I got home my wife says "It wasn't your time can you calm down"

Exactly!

 

[MelodicMetalGod]

Loud pipes, draws drivers attention sometimes, but don't rely on that as a means of accident avoidance.

Valid observation.

I have to disagree. Hvaing my loud pipes is a safety issue. People just dont look for motorcycles,I see it every day when I ride. But with my pipes I see them do a second thought and look again and stop now that they see my because they heard me first. I guess where you live they look for bikes more than where I live.I know my pipes have saved my ass a few times so they stay!!!!!!!

One word: Horn.

 

[MelodicMetalGod]

This is an excellent point. You could possibly say the same thing about HIDs or bright clothing. You need something to happen to have stats on it. You could however create a driving simulation and provide a lot of visual and audio inputs but other than that I am not sure how you are going to come up with stats.

Fact is the other day I was driving and heard a bike coming up beside me that I did not see in my blind spot. So in that case the pipes provide me some good situational awareness. The problem is dip****z goosing that throttle in traffic to let everyone know they are there. Or boneheads that think it is cool to rev their engines in someones neighborhood. It is not abou tloud pipes it is about respect for other people. That is the problem.

And if the environment had been louder than the bike, you wouldn't have noticed him. The other point to make here is that while you noticed the bike via sound, so did EVERYBODY else and you can bet that some of those folks weren't happy about the noise. When a noise law against bikes gets in front of those folks, guess which way they'll vote.

 

[Mr Bogus]

now what about the people that blow their lawn clippings on to the street to kill bike riders?

 

[MelodicMetalGod]

now what about the people that blow their lawn clippings on to the street to kill bike riders?

As long as you have loud pipes you'll be fine! They save lives, doncha know?

 

[Spectre]

One word: Horn.

heh, i'm seriously considering a Stebel Nautilus Compact Motorcycle Air Horn...

 

[Mr Bogus]

heh, i'm seriously considering a Stebel Nautilus Compact Motorcycle Air Horn...

is what I have... best to separate the compressor from the horn however (will punch hole in front fender)... Between this horn and the HID kit and learning to ride correctly? not much trouble with cagers using my lane when I am in it...

 

[BiggDaddyBusa08]

Kill motorcycling? Thats a bit (HUGE understatement) rough and well in reality not true. Since I put on my Tailwinds exhaust I have YET to come across a car who tried to move over into my lane and almost end up running me over. When I had my stock exhaust, it happened daily.

So, Loud pipes SAVE lives.

If its true that LOUD pipes save lives then why is it when I am driving my work truck ( I drive 18 wheeler) and its kinda loud that NO 1 seems to SEE me or hear me comming they just continue to pull in front of me like I aint there. I have heard many LOUD bikes and have had many pull up along side of me and NOT once have I ever thought, GEE THANK GOD THAT BIKE HAD LOUD PIPES cuz if it didnt I never woulda known it was next to me . Loud pipes are only heard by those that dont NEED to see you. The drivers that need to see you are in front of you and the LOUD sound travels backwards, away from the ones in front of you.

 

[MelodicMetalGod]

heh, i'm seriously considering a Stebel Nautilus Compact Motorcycle Air Horn...

is what I have... best to separate the compressor from the horn however (will punch hole in front fender)... Between this horn and the HID kit and learning to ride correctly? not much trouble with cagers using my lane when I am in it...

Haven't installed it yet, but I've got it.

 

[busa_tom]

heh, i'm seriously considering a Stebel Nautilus Compact Motorcycle Air Horn...

I have this horn installed on my bike. I have used it a few times to wake up cagers with great results. They are of the impression that they just cut off a Kenworth and swerve back into their lane to avoid instant death!

I only seem to ever have problems in the early morning commute in bumper to bumper rush hour traffic when the cagers are still a little sleepy and we are all moving slow. They tend to see an opening in the fast lane and tend to jump into me. It has only happened a few times, but the Stebel has eliminated this issue. I actually get a kick out of their instant reaction to the horn when I blast them back into their lane.

 

[Takeuon]

I have this horn installed on my bike. I have used it a few times to wake up cagers with great results. They are of the impression that they just cut off a Kenworth and swerve back into their lane to avoid instant death!

I only seem to ever have problems in the early morning commute in bumper to bumper rush hour traffic when the cagers are still a little sleepy and we are all moving slow. They tend to see an opening in the fast lane and tend to jump into me. It has only happened a few times, but the Stebel has eliminated this issue. I actually get a kick out of their instant reaction to the horn when I blast them back into their lane.

+1 And you can use the horn appropriately & subjectively as need be. As opposed to an obnoxiously loud exhaust that is loud loud 90% of the time. Lets not kid ourselves and act like some of these v-twin guys never get on the gas and drive around at 3k RPM all day.

 

[Dino]

And if the environment had been louder than the bike, you wouldn't have noticed him. The other point to make here is that while you noticed the bike via sound, so did EVERYBODY else and you can bet that some of those folks weren't happy about the noise. When a noise law against bikes gets in front of those folks, guess which way they'll vote.

I agree with you. You are right there were probably some that did not hear him. But there were probably some that did not see his lights either or even check to see if her was there. Like I said there is no one factor that will keep you safe but a combination of factors might. Be sure, that statement is not meant to be a justification for loud obnoxious pipes.

Here is my question how are we quantifying the term "loud"? Over x decibles? I have yosh carbon slipons I don't think they are loud but they are louder than stock. They don't even compare to straight pipes but they do make it difficult to talk on your cell phone if I am beside you at a light, and your window is down.

 

[shadetree57]

now what about the people that blow their lawn clippings on to the street to kill bike riders?

Yea, What about them people? Riding along at 70 MPH all I hear is the wind. Stock exhaust on my 08. I aint got the money for yoshi's yet but one day, Ill be in style.

 

[Destin07]

did someone actually start a thread about this!! Why don't we make airplanes be quiet and lawnmowers and tractor trailers and why not make the waves at the beach quiet also....hahaha give me a break, how often do you hear a motorcycle "So loud you can't stand it" Try riding down a 5 lane freeway on your quiet bike and who uses that turd of a toot horn anyway that comes on these bikes...you can barely even hear them

 

[Dino]

did someone actually start a thread about this!! Why don't we make airplanes be quiet and lawnmowers and tractor trailers and why not make the waves at the beach quiet also....hahaha give me a break, how often do you hear a motorcycle "So loud you can't stand it" Try riding down a 5 lane freeway on your quiet bike and who uses that turd of a toot horn anyway that comes on these bikes...you can barely even hear them

Listen......A sound is heard from way out in left field.

 

[Strife]

Loud don't save lives so why use an upgraded horn? horn to loud could cause someone to panic into doing something that might cause an accident.

Problem doesn't rely on noise it's really awareness of everyone on the road. Some people have better awareness while others don't.

There was a "Study" I remember seeing where they took "older" riders and had them ride for a few months and compared their reaction times to non riders of the same age. The Riders were more aware. Sure someone here might remember it. Think it was here I read about it.

Yes there are always going to be people who do things like pull out in front an emergency truck with the horns blaring,but how many alter their path due to the oncoming noise?

Just the same as there is always that "Select" few who ruin it for the rest of us.

I only have drilled out stock pipes. Not overly loud. I didn't do it for safety,but more for a little rumble. Didn't seem right to have such a large motorcycle that was so quiet. I'm certainly a lot quieter then the Harley(start-up) across the street that I can use as my alarm clock as it's a lot harder to hit the snooze button from 100' away. I don't mind. He doesn't drive it like an ars or anything.

My Camaro isn't stock exhaust either. Doesn't really get loud unless you get on it.

Sound does have some merit,but if every car drove around like an emergency truck,then there would be complaints of how they disrupting our peace and tranquility of life.

 

[MelodicMetalGod]

I agree with you. You are right there were probably some that did not hear him. But there were probably some that did not see his lights either or even check to see if her was there. Like I said there is no one factor that will keep you safe but a combination of factors might. Be sure, that statement is not meant to be a justification for loud obnoxious pipes.

Here is my question how are we quantifying the term "loud"? Over x decibles? I have yosh carbon slipons I don't think they are loud but they are louder than stock. They don't even compare to straight pipes but they do make it difficult to talk on your cell phone if I am beside you at a light, and your window is down.

Excellent question and one that must be addressed to deal with the issue. In general, if your vehicle (car or bike) imposes it's sound on those around you more than the ambient traffic sound of the environment you're in, then it's loud. If you're the loudest thing in your environment, you're loud. I would expect different sound levels to be appropriate for different areas, based on the average sound level of typical traffic for the area. Obviously, that would mean attention to gear selection and throttle control as a means to control our sound in areas where quieter is called for.

 

[MelodicMetalGod]

did someone actually start a thread about this!! Why don't we make airplanes be quiet and lawnmowers and tractor trailers and why not make the waves at the beach quiet also....hahaha give me a break, how often do you hear a motorcycle "So loud you can't stand it" Try riding down a 5 lane freeway on your quiet bike and who uses that turd of a toot horn anyway that comes on these bikes...you can barely even hear them

Yep.

You should be aware that your post is almost entirely irrelevant. There's your break.

Airplanes? Most folks don't live at the airport or at 30,000 feet and airplanes provide a specific benefit for the population at large.

Lawnmowers? Run periodically for a specific benefit of the community and are generally considered acceptable by the population at large. Many communities already have laws in place about what time of day they can be used due to the noise they do make, which is generally lower than a loud exhaust.

Tractor trailers? Fairly loud, sure. They're also excluded from many communities for that reason. They also don't generally wind up in residential streets at full throttle. Again, they are used for purpose and provide a benefit to the population in general.

Waves on the beach? Loud? Maybe, in a technical sense. Annoying? Not to most (If you have evidence to the contrary, please, by ALL means, present it!). Within our control? Absolutely not and therefore irrelevant if we approve of the sound level.

I have ridden down five lane highways on many of my "quiet" bikes. And four lane highways...and three lane highways...and, ahh, you get the idea...don't you? ???

Who uses the toot horn? Well, probably a few folks but if you're serious about using sound for safety you'd buy a real horn for your bike. Assuming you had enough money left over after buying your primary safety device - a loud exhaust. Which brings up an interesting point:

Cost for an aftermarket exhaust: $500 minimum up to $Lot$aDolla$
Cost for an aftermarket horn: Starting around $30 up to $100

Thanks for you "contribution" to the discussion Destin07!

 

[coreywiley]

who cares