Hey guys, check out a little bit of this video of a European holiday called Harley-Davidson Day (you people in Europe need to tell us more about this).....what's the first thing you notice?........Quiet huh? Compared to a rally in America, it sounds to me like someone turned the volume down like you would during a commercial on TV!!! With all the talk about noise laws, no aftermarket pipes, and such, I thought I'd just put this out there to ponder.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9E2ONxgKBY

 

Hello TXjammer;

The first thing I notice is that they are all wearing helmets. The sound quality is pretty poor but the bikes are hardly silent. More quiet than a rally in the USA, sure it is. But for years many countries in Europe have had very strict laws regarding vehicle regulations. They also have very strict laws regarding firearms and a dozen other things that citizens of the USA enjoy because we still retain a degree of freedom unknown in most other countries. If you are suggesting that we are on the verge of loosing some of them you are correct. We are on the verge of loosing the freedoms that we take for granted everyday, and there are politicians dreaming of the day when our government has as much or more control over us as, their Euro counterparts do over their citizens. For me, concern over anti-noise regulation kind of pales in comparison to the concern over the out right attacks that some politicians and groups have launched against the Constitution and bill of rights. But that is just me.

BTW I am running SE IIs so my mufflers may not be super loud but they are definitely not quiet.

Arcane

 

I'm in Europe and I'd say 80% of the bikes I've come across have the stock pipes on them. Then again, I've only been riding and noticing for 6 months. But yeah, it's like that here on my little island. I have Rush 2.0's on, only because of this forum, had them shipped out, so people notice the hell outta the bike when it's awake.

Gonna take off this summer across Europe hopefully, so maybe it'll be different.

On thing you have to understand is that Harley Parts are a joke here. They're like 3 times the price of the States, and I don't exaggerate. I was quoted 1,545 Euros for full pipes here. That's like 2k U.S. .... Slip ons I was quoted at 575 Euros.

So what do people do, buy ......Sissy setup for the wife, windshield, highway bars, pegs and then you're broke. lol You really do not wanna know how much a sissy setup is here. Yous guys complain it's like $400 in the States. Here it's like a grand .....Euros.

I'm just damn glad I found this forum. I import all the time for business, I have retail outlets, so buying stuff in, customs etc is cake for me. But for the everyday Joe, A "customs agent" is someone who confiscates your cigarettes at the airport.

 

In the UK, in fact the whole of Europe, there is a move to reduce emissions and noise. We had active exhausts on our 07 bikes and you will get them in the USA on 08 bikes. At around town speeds one pipe is closed off by a valve, which then opens up when you open the throttle more. They make more noise than the 06 bikes with stock pipes but are still quiet. The dealers are also now having to clear out all their V&H pipes as they are not allowed to stock non road legal pipes any more. Bikes are going to get quieter whether we like it or not - but a Harley is still a Harley nonetheless and the sound is unmistakeable even with stock pipes.

Same issue as Demkay on prices if it is $200 we pay close on £200 and with a 2:1 $:£ exchange that makes our extras real expensive - I get stuff in from the USA, even paying shipping and duty its cheaper.

 

They didn't sound quiet to me. They just sounded like bikes cruising slowly and recorded with a crappy video camera microphone. I saw the drag pipes on some of those bikes! Unlike here, there weren't so many of them packed together with bystanders egging them on to rev their engines or peel out in the middle of a crowd. Also, a much higher percentage of really rockin' rides than normally seen here in the states. We need to step it up folks! There's more to life than just HD brand accessories!