I agree with everything you said Red, up to the eye contact thing.
I got tagged by a teen in mom's wagon. He was looking right at me when he pulled out.

IOW, just because you make eye contact doesn't mean that "stupid" gets fixed.

 

That whole train of thought should have derailed in the 70's.

Riding like your invisible and everyone is out to kill you, that will save your own life. Plus you'll never go home disappointed.


Loud Pipes = Douche Bag Straight and simple.

 

In the Sept. issue of American Motorcyclist an article discusses a new sound test.

Quote- "If municipalities adopt the procedure, called 'SAE J2825' as part of their overall sound control strategies, it could eliminate laws that allow the subjective call of an officer, or a decibel level reading that can't be measured repeatedly, to be the basis for enforcement."

Some of SAE J2825 recommendations- (there are more)
Max 92 dBA at idle for all motorcycles
Max 96 dBAfor bikes with fewer than 3 but more than 4 cylinders at 2000 rpm or 75% of max engine rpm, whichever is less.

Basically aftermarket pipes with baffles will pass the test. Open pipes or many systems with baffles removed would fail.

The article is a good read. I feel that if you ride a bike you should be a member of AMA, your state ABATE or other motorcycle rights state group, and the MRF. Your money would be well spent.

 

My pipes are plenty loud,and only once did i manage to rev twice and get a driver's atention and actually stop that person from cutting into me. Other times I've had drivers pull up beside me on the highway, semi traffic, and just forget I'm there and start cutting over on me.IMO most situations you are too busy braking to have time to roll the throttle. As Patrick Kelly's sig states we are invisible to cars- And with A/C and cd's playing and cell phones in the ear,or even hand held,there's just too many distractions man,we just have to be on constant vigil. Today I saw a woman on the on-ramp swerve a bit with no traffic ahead and slow down. I ws shocked when I passed her about a half mile later as she was just finishing up with her lipstick. She's alone in her car can someone tell me why she needed her lipstick on at that moment?

 

It always gets me when these articles are written from the perspective that somehow loud pipe riders are relying solely on the pipes to be their sole salvation for safety and they ignore the other safety precautions like bright clothing and lane position. Yes we do everything else the quiet pipe riders do for safety. Yet we have one other thing that MAY sometimes help as well, loud pipes. If it was the sole safety means available, yes we would have to have them facing forward and have a high pitch sound to them but WE DON'T.
Do I run loud pipes for the potential safety improvement, of course not, I LOVE THE SOUND! The fact that it can have a small safety help is just icing on the cake.

finished, I feel better now.......

 

I stand corrected. You are so right. Sorry to hear you got tagged.

 

Riding like your invisible and everyone is out to kill you, that will save your own life. Plus you'll never go home disappointed.

I agree 100%
That's the way I ride. I make believe nobody ever sees me.

Loud pipes just make auto drivers jumpy. Scares the crap out of some of them. That's dangerous

 

Screw safety, I just like loud pipes, it is what it is, I don't agree that it "scares and make folks jumpy" any more than I rely on them saving lives, while I think it probly does both to a degree that's not why I have them, they sound good, and that's good nuff for me.
I ride with a Thunderheader, its plenty loud and thank God I'm in Texas where the cops usually have more important things to worry about than a bike with pipes that aren't much if any louder than the local hot rod car. Funny, you don't hear much about them loud *** car or truck exhaust saving lives or scaring the crap out of Blue Hairs, go figure.

 

Some of the "can't hear pipes from behind" comments are kind of funny to me. I drive a Lincoln Continental, use the a/c and enjoy the radio and can still hear bikes coming up behind me on the road if they have loud pipes on them. We lane share here in CA and it helps if you know they're coming. It's the quiet ones that usually surprise me when they go by. I'll keep my loud pipes thank you.

 

Emergency vehicles have sirens... Horns are the law.... If loud pipes did not make a difference then neither would horns or sirens. We all utilize the sense of sound and sight while driving(unless the person is deaf). You would have to be a blazing moron to not know that sound alerts other drivers as well as sight.