[twowheeladdict]

Don't even get me started. I just got back from a first great 2000 mile trip on my Versys 650LT. A friend invited me along. He also had another friend along whom I'd never met. That friend rode a Harley. My friend was on a Nomad. His friend rode in the rear for a reason!

After all the Gold Wings and all the ST's I've ridden, I just can't stand the noise. And it has never been proven that 'loud pipes saves lives'. It's a Harley myth.

Many more biker owners than Harley owners put loud pipes on their bikes. Very popular with the sport bike crowd and I've even seen Goldwings with 6 inch pipes on them. My '01 Kawasaki Voyager XII came with cobra pipes and I hated them. I would always end up short shifting.

Anyway, back on subject, when I was in a rental car in California on the interstate I decided that there was some merit to loud pipes. But that is only because of lane splitting and only in California. I could hear a bike even though I didn't know where it was. This kept me holding my lane position. The onus is on the rider to not linger in the blind spot because after a certain amount of time I would assume it is a super loud bike somewhere else on the road.

So other than California and the race track, I see no place for loud bikes, cars, trucks, etc.

 

[twowheeladdict]

Loud pipes like lifted trucks that never see dirt just scream tiny penis.

Lifted trucks aren't for the dirt. They are for the mud!!!

 

[twowheeladdict]

I find the 'flatulatto' of an open pipe Harley extremely obnoxious and a bad rap for all motorcyclists. It is not even a pleasant note. I must admit that I can enjoy the howl of a 4 cylinder engine at times. In the distance, out of towns and cities, winding through the gears.
(Flatulatto is my own term for that noise. You're welcome, pass it on. Although I doubt the knuckle-draggers will get the meaning.) :wink2:

I prefer deep bass sounds to screaming high pitched sounds. I nicely tuned V8 exhaust, a nicely tuned Harley big engine exhaust. The 600cc SS bikes and the 180 degree crank 650 and smaller bikes are obnoxious sounding. 270 degree crank parallel twins sound pretty nice.

Dirt bikes and other thumper bikes are obnoxious as well.

 

[twowheeladdict]

I don't know, loud pipes really brings out the impression that you have a beast in your hands, and that for me is not a bad thing. Just my two cents.

There is nothing funnier IMO than a bike sounding fast, but isn't. At least when they are fast they are gone before they become too obnoxious. 😁

 

[twowheeladdict]

I've probably said this before, and probably in this thread since it is several years old, but the one place where I see loud pipes making a difference is on the California interstates. As long as the bike isn't exceeding the speed of the cars by a lot you will hear the bike and know to stay in your lane as they split lanes past you.

I did put aftermarket pipes on my Moto Guzzi, but the baffles are in. It is not LOUD, but not quiet either. It is a lot lighter and the shorter pipes do look better on the bike. First bike I have ever changed the pipes on.

My Van Van is my campground bike and it is almost electric quiet.

 

[twowheeladdict]

Yrs ago I was sitting in my truck in NYC bumper to bumper traffic. Was a nice day, so windows down.

Bike cam up through traffic. I did not hear it till it was right at my door. As someone who likes the sound of a mild aftermarket exaust I felt it was stupid loud.
But not hearing it till he was basically at my door made me realize loud pipes just piss people off.

If you were sitting still, there must have been a lot of traffic noise, or the pipes weren’t that loud, or you had your music cranked up. There is no way you wouldn’t have heard it before it got to you otherwise.
When I am in my yard I hear sport bikes a mile before they pass by my house.

 

[twowheeladdict]

Its all based on which way the exaust tip is pointed.

So, you have never heard any motorized vehicle that was heading towards you until after it passed by you? All righty then.