Never mind helmets, HOW ABOUT A FREAKIN' MUFFLER?

I understand that changing the exhaust on an internal combustion engine can SOMETIMES improve power and SOMETIMES even sound, but why must so many motorcyclists make their bikes so loud that they easily overpower EVERYTHING in the vicinity? If any harley owner ever wanted an original muffler that was still in like new condition, I'm sure they could get a great deal on one since it seems like most were yanked off at first chance. Rice rockets aren't much quieter than open pipe harleys. Whatever sound suppression their hp mufflers afford, riders easily make up for with excess throttle.

Newsflash to motorcyclists. Few people are impressed with, or care to hear wide open pipes or constant throttle blasting. Modified bikes are cool, but at least a little consideration should be shown for others in society. :wink:

consideration makes sense, but that begs the question, do they really care? the whole reason could be to flaunt what they have, or to purposely piss pple off. its rebellious to have open pipe bikes, and you'll be noticed right away with a rice rocket.


just playing devil's advocate, i actually agree with you.

the exhaust on my dad's 916 are totally stock and they'll drown out everything in a 500-yard radius.

A motorcycle has an internal cumbustion engine and benefits from open exhaust just like cars do. It's also for their own protection. If you can hear it before you see it, your less likely to get in it's way.

And my car has no muffler. I bet I get better mileage as a result.

I know a good number of bikers, and their mantra is "Loud pipes save lives", since the motorcyclist is invisible to most drivers.

I guess since there's plenty of drivers that can't see me coming in the Jeep, there are that many more that don't notice a motorcycle until they've hit it.


-edit- Harley open exhaust bugs the hell out of me, too.

my dad always rides his motorbike with the dipped-beam headlight on too. you have to make sure other drivers can see you.

my dad always rides his motorbike with the dipped-beam headlight on too. you have to make sure other drivers can see you.

Dipped beam?

maybe you use a different word. you get high/full beam headlights and dipped beam, where they're not as bright and are also angled lower towards the road.

Is dipped beam the one that looks likes it's surging from a bad connection? I hate that, but realize it's purpose.

maybe you use a different word. you get high/full beam headlights and dipped beam, where they're not as bright and are also angled lower towards the road.

That's what I thought....on this side of the pond, they're low beams.

Gotta love the diversity of the English language!

yea, but don't start me on how im right and you're not.

if i can argue with myself for hours you don't stand a chance.

yea, but don't start me on how im right and you're not.

if i can argue with myself for hours you don't stand a chance.


:lol: It's funny, but the British and Australian English terms make perfect sense once they're explained to US speakers.

/off topic

except cockney, americans will never truly understand that.

A few nights ago Rory's Roger iron rusted, so he has gone to the
battle-cruiser to watch the end of a football game. Nobody is watching
the custard so he has turned the channel over. A fat man's north opens
and he wanders up and turns the Liza over. `Now fuck off and watch it
somewhere else.' Rory knows claret is imminent, but he doesn't want to
miss the end of the game; so, calm as a coma, he stands and picks up a
fire extinguisher and he walks straight past the jam rolls who are
ready for action, then he plonks it outside the entrance. He then
orders an Aristotle of the most ping pong tiddly in the nuclear sub and
switches back to his footer. `That's fucking it,' says the man. Rory
gobs out a mouthful of booze covering fatty; he flicks a flaming match
into his bird's nest and the man lit up like a leaking gas pipe. Rory,
unfazed, turned back to watch his game. The flaming man and his chinos
ran outside to extinguish the flames, and Rory cheered on. His team won
too, four-nil

What the fuck did that just say?!

EDIT-I lose arguments with myself.

Yup!

Shutup.

can't understand it? shame...

Do you want me to translate again?

think you can?

Cockney ain't that hard, the whole thing made perfect sense to me and I'm from South of the Thames :lol:

you're a londoner?

im from waaaay north of the river. hampstead.

Family is from Greenwich and Gravesend.

oh, nice. you familiar with the city? as much as i love it i hope to be leaving it within the next 18 months to live in the states.

Personally I think harley type bikes sound like shit, but I love the way crotch rockets sound. Personally I think for their safety, the louder the better. One guy had an exhaust that echoed amazingly. It was loud as shit that I could hear him nearly a mile in front of me, and it sounded like he was next to me. But when he did pass me it wasn't that loud.

Do you want me to translate again?
yes please.

and while i understand that some bikes are loud for safety purposes, some are just ridiculously loud. if it hurts my ears and if it drowns out my music with the windows shut..then it's too loud.

The problem I have noticed with loud pipes is I don't hear them until they are almost beside me, and if I was changing lanes its way too late, I'm going to hit them.

The problem I have noticed with loud pipes is I don't hear them until they are almost beside me, and if I was changing lanes its way too late, I'm going to hit them.
so just imagine how it would be with a stock pipe.


don't forget most bikes are just loud in general, if your cars revved to 16K rpm they'd be loud as hell too.

I'm well aware of the mantra "loud pipes safe lives" and agree with it... to a point. If a motorcycles exhaust is so loud that its rider can't hear nearby vehicles, or even horns and emergency sirens, how can that be safe? The ability to hear these things can be crucial in avoiding an accident. Most motorcycles are more than loud enough to be easily heard by other road users right from the factory. Very few are so quiet that a driver can't hear them, even from a moderate distance. Saying that Henry Hog dumped his mufflers for open pipes in the name of safety is quite a joke. :lol:

Riding style is a much greater factor in safety than exhaust volume. I highly doubt that the riders of those extremely quiet cruiser bikes are ending up in the hospital ER more often than the "pilots" of high revving crotch rockets. Wanna be racers who can't seem to leave a stop light without whipping their noisy machines throttle open practically every time, who then proceed to weave through traffic at high speed, are much more likely to crash and burn than a person riding safely on a quiet bike.

I like it when i harley fly past me sounding like an autocannon.. :(

I like it when i harley fly past me sounding like an autocannon.. :(
you get passed by harleys? damn, you must be slow.

:icon16:

so just imagine how it would be with a stock pipe.



It would be the same, I wouldn't hear them until its too late. I saw a brilliant move by someone on a bike today. He was about 2 feet behind the car in front of him with traffic moving around 75 or so, and he was peeking around the side of the car. I don't care how loud your pipes are, if you are going to ride like that you are going to get hit sooner or later. Part of the reason I don't ride anymore is because it got too scary in heavy traffic. The loud pipes don't help, my camaro is louder than most bikes and people don't see that coming either.

SkiBum, it wouldn't be the same. You say you don't hear them till they are beside you. If their pipes are stock/quiet then it can be safe to say that wouldn't hear them at all, including when they're under you. They peek around the side of the car so you can see them in your side mirror. That's also why they cruise side by side, easier to see them.

BP, Harley's ain't slow.

CloseToStock, I've actually seen more cruisers in the hospital than pilots. Reason? They're not nimble enough to dodge.

Qute, you only say that 'cause you haven't been on a real Harley. ;)

Jet-Pac - The key to safe riding (or driving for that matter) is to always keep as much of a buffer zone around you as possible so you don't have to "dodge" a catastrophe. Years of observation has shown me that the crotch boys are much more likely to put themselves into situations where they have little or no buffer zone, so when a vehicle doesn't see them, or brakes, or suddenly changes lanes, they have to make some kind of miracle move or crash. Most cruisers know the importance of a buffer zone and ride accordingly because they have a lot more experience than the rocket kids.

Ski dude - Have you ever had a hearing test? It's hard to believe you never hear a cycle until it's right next to you. Maybe you have a mega watt sound system cranked up super high? I have a question regarding your story of the biker you saw tailgating at 75 mph. Was he on a cruiser or a rice rocket? Oh wait, never mind, everyone knows the most likely answer.

There are two things Ive never seen happen to a biker:
a.)never seen one pulled over by a cop

b.)never seen them ride with the flow of traffic.

I hate riding with the flow of traffic, cuz most people cant see my camaro when its creeping up alongside them in their blind spot at nearly the same speed. And ive nearly had several accidents by people just coming into my lane.

I understand bikers going faster than everybody else in a pack of cars on the highway

you get passed by harleys? damn, you must be slow.

:icon16:

When Im walking

BP, Harley's ain't slow.

a few of my buddies ride harleys, one's got a 1200 sporster with the screaming eagle package, ones got an 883 sportster(and a cbr F4i) another's got a Soft Tail Deluxe (and a Buell XB12R), trust me they're slow.

a few of my buddies ride harleys, one's got a 1200 sporster with the screaming eagle package, ones got an 883 sportster(and a cbr F4i) another's got a Soft Tail Deluxe (and a Buell XB12R), trust me they're slow.

I had an old guy with a beard pull up next to me and tell me to get a real bike. I said what's your idea of a real bike and he said one thats comfortable and fast. So i said and your harley is your ieda of fast. He said Hell ya light turned green by the time i was at 140 i couldent even see him anymore.:icon16:

a few of my buddies ride harleys, one's got a 1200 sporster with the screaming eagle package, ones got an 883 sportster(and a cbr F4i) another's got a Soft Tail Deluxe (and a Buell XB12R), trust me they're slow.Harley's arent made for speed, buell's kind of.. my dads 94' FXSTS w/ 1340cc bored and stroked is far from slow.. though.

Ski dude - Have you ever had a hearing test? It's hard to believe you never hear a cycle until it's right next to you. Maybe you have a mega watt sound system cranked up super high? I have a question regarding your story of the biker you saw tailgating at 75 mph. Was he on a cruiser or a rice rocket? Oh wait, never mind, everyone knows the most likely answer.


Think windows up and ac on.... And the bike tailgating was a cruiser. Been seeing alot of that since bike week ended.

Harley's arent made for speed
exactly.

my dads 94' FXSTS w/ 1340cc bored and stroked is far from slow.. though
I'll bet it's far from stock too, with a good amount of money sunk into it.

they can be made fast, but by the time you pay for the bike and mods you're paying 2-3x as much money to run almost as fast as bikes that can 10's or better out of the box.