# I Am Duly Awestruck By Your Loud Vehicle. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 11, 2005, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-duly-awestruck-by-your-loud-vehicle/303411 "2005-05-11T16:48:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2005, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-duly-awestruck-by-your-loud-vehicle/303411/21 "2005-05-11T20:49:20Z")
> [@Greathouse](#): > > Exactly **tdn**. I have a VERY loud bike for safety reasons. I want someone to know when I am coming up on thier blind spot. Ever heard the saying “Loud pipes save lives”? I don’t know what things are like in Denton, but here in Boston the traffic is – well, the ultimate expression of the way things seem to be headed in the rest of the country. And it’s been that way for decades. Even if I was equipped with a bullhorn and siren, I wouldn’t ride a bike on these streets. Too many maniacs and idiots. But it sounds like Denton is no cakewalk either. ---
**Author:** ![Greathouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greathouse/32/2992_2.png) [@Greathouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greathouse)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2005, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-duly-awestruck-by-your-loud-vehicle/303411/22 "2005-05-11T20:49:47Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > The choice to ride an inherently less-safe vehicle entitles one to be a public nuisance for one’s personal safety? A nuisance to whom? Nobody has ever complained to me about it. Did you miss the part where I specifically take my neighbors into consideration? I don’t come in at 3:00AM and I don’t sit in the driveway and rev it for 10 minutes. > [@Scumpup](#): > > You want safety, buy a car. A quiet one. I owned various motorcycles from the time I was 16 'til I was in my 30’s. I didn’t buy this excuse then and I don’t buy it now. Fine. Yes. I would love to have a quiet car. Are you going to buy it for me? I didn’t think so. I ride the bike because it is the only form of transportation I own, and the only reason I own that is because it was inherited. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2005, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-duly-awestruck-by-your-loud-vehicle/303411/23 "2005-05-11T20:51:47Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > The choice to ride an inherently less-safe vehicle entitles one to be a public nuisance for one’s personal safety? Fuck that. You want safety, buy a car. A quiet one. I owned various motorcycles from the time I was 16 'til I was in my 30’s. I didn’t buy this excuse then and I don’t buy it now. In a way this makes sense, but on the other hand why should **GreatHouse** have to change his vehicle to accomodate other people’s bad driving skills? ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2005, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-duly-awestruck-by-your-loud-vehicle/303411/24 "2005-05-11T21:01:04Z")
Having spent a few hours astride a bike, one thing I know about them is that they don’t seem anywhere near as noisy to the rider, especially if he is wearing a helmet, as they do to the whole rest of the world. > [@](#): > > A nuisance to whom? Every last person whose home you drove by who doesn’t think the sound of a loud pipe is pleasant. Especially those folks who had their windows open or who were trying to relax on their porch or deck. > [@](#): > > I ride the bike because it is the only form of transportation I own, and the only reason I own that is because it was inherited. Sell it. Put the proceeds towards a used car. I wasn’t speaking about you personally in any case. I don’t know where you live, but motorcycles are strictly a seasonal mode of transportation here. A really stoical and determined rider can get perhaps 7-8 months a year of street use each year. IOW, they are a toy, not a practical mode of daily transport. The decision to own a toy that has risks associated with it doesn’t give anybody the right to be obnoxious in the name of safety. I note that since the helmet laws were repealed last year, all these loud-pipe-safety-mavens seldom wear anything but bandanas on their heads. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2005, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-duly-awestruck-by-your-loud-vehicle/303411/25 "2005-05-11T21:04:44Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > …why should **GreatHouse** have to change his vehicle to accomodate other people’s bad driving skills? Uh, because it’s the law? ---
**Author:** ![Greathouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greathouse/32/2992_2.png) [@Greathouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greathouse)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2005, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-duly-awestruck-by-your-loud-vehicle/303411/26 "2005-05-11T21:11:14Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > Every last person whose home you drove by who doesn’t think the sound of a loud pipe is pleasant. Especially those folks who had their windows open or who were trying to relax on their porch or deck. If my neighbors actually had a problem with it, then they would surely come and speak to me about it. It was even brought up as quiet a nice topic of conversation during the last block party. As a matter of fact everyone wanted to go for a ride on it. I was happy to oblige. > [@Scumpup](#): > > Sell it. Put the proceeds towards a used car. Sorry, but I am not about to sell my father’s motorcycle that he spent the better part of 22 years restoring. Ain’t gonna happen. > [@Scumpup](#): > > I wasn’t speaking about you personally in any case. I don’t know where you live, but motorcycles are strictly a seasonal mode of transportation here. A really stoical and determined rider can get perhaps 7-8 months a year of street use each year. IOW, they are a toy, not a practical mode of daily transport. The decision to own a toy that has risks associated with it doesn’t give anybody the right to be obnoxious in the name of safety. I note that since the helmet laws were repealed last year, all these loud-pipe-safety-mavens seldom wear anything but bandanas on their heads. Down here in Denton, TX I can ride my bike all year long. We have (at the most) 1 or 2 snow days a year. The rest of the time it is fine to ride. And I always wear a helmet. ---
**Author:** ![Greathouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greathouse/32/2992_2.png) [@Greathouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greathouse)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2005, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-duly-awestruck-by-your-loud-vehicle/303411/27 "2005-05-11T21:12:32Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > Uh, because it’s the law? What law? ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2005, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-duly-awestruck-by-your-loud-vehicle/303411/28 "2005-05-11T21:12:50Z")
See, now I always assumed that guys that do that have really _SMALL_ winkies. As in, teeny, tiny little beeny weenies. I guess I’ve been missing out… ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2005, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-duly-awestruck-by-your-loud-vehicle/303411/29 "2005-05-11T21:20:24Z")
> [@Greathouse](#): > > If my neighbors actually had a problem with it, then they would surely come and speak to me about it. It was even brought up as quiet a nice topic of conversation during the last block party. As a matter of fact everyone wanted to go for a ride on it. I was happy to oblige. Are your neighbors the _only_ people past whose homes you ride? > [@](#): > > Sorry, but I am not about to sell my father’s motorcycle that he spent the better part of 22 years restoring. Ain’t gonna happen. Sentimental value doesn’t give you a pass either. What did you do before you had the bike? Go back to doing that. Put a proper muffler on the bike. You choose to ride it. The people who homes you ride past didn’t get a choice. No doubt the fellow across the street can give me a laundry list of reasons why \*his \* bike needs to be loud too. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2005, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-duly-awestruck-by-your-loud-vehicle/303411/30 "2005-05-11T21:22:18Z")
I drive an '83 Corolla with a new (stock) exhaust system and bad paint. My penis rides shotgun. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![catsix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e19b73/32.png) [@catsix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/catsix)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2005, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-duly-awestruck-by-your-loud-vehicle/303411/31 "2005-05-11T21:34:20Z")
> [@](#): > > **tdn** said: > Around here motorcycles need to be loud. Bikers usually just take the muffler right off. It’s a safety issue. If they’re not going to be seen, then they need to be heard. Around here, they do that shit and I can’t really hear them in traffic unless I’m behind them, in which case I can see them. However, when they pass my house on the road, they still manage to drown out my TV, and that’s with all the windows shut in the house. The other day someone rode through the parking lot with their ultra-loud pipes and I think it actually broke the pain threshhold in decibels. > [@](#): > > Exactly tdn. I have a VERY loud bike for safety reasons. I want someone to know when I am coming up on thier blind spot. Ever heard the saying “Loud pipes save lives”? How is it more safe if I can’t really hear you when you’re coming up on me, but only after you’ve passed me and the tailpipe of your bike is pointing in my direction? > [@](#): > > **Scumpup** said: > Having spent a few hours astride a bike, one thing I know about them is that they don’t seem anywhere near as noisy to the rider, especially if he is wearing a helmet, as they do to the whole rest of the world. I know this one. When my ribs are vibrating and my eardrums feel like they’re going to pop, I wonder how the hell it is that the rider isn’t deafened. Maybe that’s the problem. They are deafened and have no idea that their bike is painfully loud. > [@](#): > > Every last person whose home you drove by who doesn’t think the sound of a loud pipe is pleasant. Especially those folks who had their windows open or who were trying to relax on their porch or deck. Or trying to have a conversation in a normal voice more than 200 feet away from the biker. Some Sundays at grandmasix’s house it’s impossible to even have dinner conversation because although she has whole house AC and the windows and doors are shut up tight, all we can hear is the roaring sound of pipes that are way too fucking loud. Not even the semi trucks that roll by are that damned loud. ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2005, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-duly-awestruck-by-your-loud-vehicle/303411/32 "2005-05-11T21:38:23Z")
> [@Inigo Montoya](#): > > I drive an '83 Corolla with a new (stock) exhaust system and bad paint. > > My penis rides shotgun. > > 😃 Oh yah - well MY penis is so big, I have to take the BUS! Wait a second… ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2005, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-duly-awestruck-by-your-loud-vehicle/303411/33 "2005-05-11T21:51:25Z")
> [@Greathouse](#): > > What law? Local noise ordinances, which are usually ignored by all and sundry unless a cop is pissed at you for something else. ---
**Author:** ![Boldface\_Type](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5e925/32.png) [@Boldface\_Type](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boldface_Type)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2005, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-duly-awestruck-by-your-loud-vehicle/303411/34 "2005-05-11T21:59:28Z")
> [@catsix](#): > > How is it more safe if I can’t really hear you when you’re coming up on me, but only after you’ve passed me and the tailpipe of your bike is pointing in my direction? Hot bingo bonus - 'tis why ‘loud pipes save lives’ is bollocks. Then again, I was a Beemer-rider who typically rode around corners at \>2degrees of lean, so those with loud pipes (a) hated me, (b) were somewhere in the distance behind me. Didn’t wear a puddin’ bowl helmet, either. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2005, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-duly-awestruck-by-your-loud-vehicle/303411/35 "2005-05-11T22:19:42Z")
All you in the “loud pipes save lives” crowd: you are aware that there is such a thing as a motorcylce horn, right? The one I heard today certainly wasn’t some wimpy “beep”. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2005, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-duly-awestruck-by-your-loud-vehicle/303411/36 "2005-05-11T22:21:01Z")
There is one way that loud pipes can reduce motorcycle accidents: they piss off enough voters that bikes get banned. ---
**Author:** ![Greathouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greathouse/32/2992_2.png) [@Greathouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greathouse)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2005, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-duly-awestruck-by-your-loud-vehicle/303411/37 "2005-05-11T22:21:04Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > Local noise ordinances, which are usually ignored by all and sundry unless a cop is pissed at you for something else. Hmmm…do you know how I could find out exactly what my local noice ordinance says? ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2005, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-duly-awestruck-by-your-loud-vehicle/303411/38 "2005-05-11T23:02:13Z")
[This site](http://www.nonoise.org/lawlib.htm) doesn’t include Denton, TX under the “City/County Ordinances” section, but it has some useful examples from other cities. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2005, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-duly-awestruck-by-your-loud-vehicle/303411/39 "2005-05-11T23:25:51Z")
I never understood the “loud ugly noises increase bike safety” argument. When I used to drive a car I could sometimes hear motorcycle farts when I couldn’t see a bike im my immediate field of view - but how does that help? I’m not about to crane my neck around like Linda Blair in The Exorcist to see where the bike is. I will acknowledge the existance and location of the bike when it comes into view, like I do with any other vehicle on the road. By that reasoning, volkswagen drivers should constantly lean on their horns whenever they are in the vicinity of an SUV. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2005, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-duly-awestruck-by-your-loud-vehicle/303411/40 "2005-05-11T23:49:46Z")
> [@Greathouse](#): > > Exactly **tdn**. I have a VERY loud bike for safety reasons. I want someone to know when I am coming up on thier blind spot. Ever heard the saying “Loud pipes save lives”? Sure, but your bike shouldn’t drown out the radio as well as all conversation while we’re next to one another. I don’t have anything against motorcycles but I wonder how some of you guys aren’t deaf. Marc [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-duly-awestruck-by-your-loud-vehicle/303411.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-duly-awestruck-by-your-loud-vehicle/303411.md?page=3)