And I love mine!

 

They as well as all inspection stations are required to have a portable tach. We clip it onto one plug wire, set it for 2 cylinders, even if they have a tach. Then you have a little gauge that clips onto the end of your exahust with an aligator clip so your exactly 20'' away at a 45* angle.

 

Perceptions of Increases in Decibel Level
Imperceptible Change 1dB
Barely Perceptible Change 3dB
Clearly Noticeable Change 5dB (1.5 times as loud)
About Twice as Loud 10dB
About Four Times as Loud 20dB

Environmental Noise

Weakest sound heard 0dB
Whisper Quiet Library 30dB
Normal conversation (3-5') 60-70dB
Telephone dial tone 80dB
City Traffic (inside car) 85dB
Train whistle at 500', Truck Traffic 90dB
Subway train at 200' 95dB
Level at which sustained exposure may result in hearing loss 90 - 95dB
Power mower at 3' 107dB
Snowmobile, Motorcycle 100dB (I wonder how old this chart is huh?)
Power saw at 3' 110dB
Sandblasting, Loud Rock Concert 115dB
Pain begins 125dB
Pneumatic riveter at 4' 125dB
Even short term exposure can cause permanent damage - Loudest recommended exposure WITH hearing protection 140dB
Jet engine at 100', Gun Blast 140dB
Death of hearing tissue 180dB
Loudest sound possible 194dB

What do YOU want to listen too all day as you ride?
I myself enjoy riding without earplugs, and I'm going to keep it that way thank you.

 

+1000 We need to be smart and courteous about riding our bikes through towns and such.

 

Mandog, come and enjoy Bike Week. The 106db law still stands. The law about lowering the db level and having to have a tach is crap, it didn't pass. I ride with guys with bars over their shoulders and pipes over 106db's, Unless you are a complete idiot there is no problem. (Except Hampton Beach, where it is rookey central) They will walk down the middle of traffic and bend down to listen to your exhaust and if it sounds loud to their extremely calibrated ears they will pull you aside.

 

I believe the bigger issue that outdoors picnickers face from a groups of several bikers riding by their picnic grounds is the "harmonic vibration" factor. Several similar bikes turning identical RPM's set up a "harmonic beat frequency" that can be horrible even if the individual bikes are within the 100 db limits. Like others, 106 db is LOUD, and I doubt if you can do that for long without losing your hearing, especially if you are not the lead biker. But the Harmonic vibration set up can greatly amplify exhaust noise to creat a death beat to anyone near. That is what I think is being confused with a single bike's exhaust noise vs a group generating their own harmonic beat.

Answer? Each biker must vary his RPM's so as to not set up such a beat frequency. I'll bet the law says nothing about harmonic frequencies,

 

Some of you that ride Harleys but side with the do-gooders about bike noise is just odd. I understand and conform to being carefull around areas with people as not to offend or help to not bring about restrictive noise laws, but when I am alone I twist the puppy hard, blip the throttle with each downshift, the louder the better. To me, there is nothing more beautiful than a loud thumping, healthy big twin laying down its ponies. In fact, I am lucky enough to live on a very popular rode in the mountains that is a major bike route for bikers all through the summer. I really enjoy sitting on the deck before I have to go to work on a Sunday and listen to the rumble from packs of bikes roaring up the mountain canyon with the exhaust notes magnafied up the side of the mountain to me. People that dont ride I understand why they dont like the noise, but people that do ride HD's and dont like the noise is just wierd.

 

I'm not "siding" with the "do-gooders." I just recognize the fact that the extremely loud bikes are the ones pissing the non-biking public off, resulting in the noise crackdown.

 

[QUOTE=Hoffy;4701545]Some of you that ride Harleys but side with the do-gooders about bike noise is just odd. I understand and conform to being carefull around areas with people as not to offend or help to not bring about restrictive noise laws, but when I am alone I twist the puppy hard, blip the throttle with each downshift, the louder the better.

If only everyone with loud pipes was considerate of others, but most are not. For example, the wife and myself went out to eat at a nice place in town with outdoor seating. There are lots of restaurants on this street that are very popular and also have outdoor seating. Well, we're sitting there eating and up comes 4 bikes and they all start to backpedal into parking spaces. I didn't know that HD's had a reverse gear, but these must have because everyone of them was "gunning" the throttle while backing in. The noise was deafening, but I guess these yahoos thought they were cool. I looked at them and put my fingers in my ears and they all just laughed. And these were not 1%'ers, because they all had their Hog chapter vests on. I run into these types everywhere. Most guys say that they don't "rap" their throttles in crowded places, but I seem to run into lots of them.
I guess they have to "gun" them constantly so that people will think that a 800lb 75HP m/c is powerful. Since they can't go very fast, they just make noise and pretend.

 

Most guys (not all) "like" to hear the loud pipes themselves. Of course, a few add loud pipes to be heard for safety in traffic, but those are in the minority I really believe. Lots of guys who like loud pipes do it to show off. Now as their hearing goes bad (from those loud pipes) they hear less and less, causing them to again want newer "loud pipes". That's why in any given muffler thread, some will say a given muffler is too loud while others will say it's too quiet. Some are partially deaf and don't realize it, nor care.

The yahoos who gun the throttle while standing in place, or while backing up are yo-yos at best and belong in the category with the crotch rocket riders who do stunts and wheelies out of boredom while in traffic. Heck, even while backing into a parking spot at my HD Dealer I'll first shut the motor down before walking the bike backwards into place. To me, that's experience and courtesy and we all know that there is a good segment of the riding public that have neither. Huh? What??