I’m well aware that some of them (mistakenly from what I can see) believe that it is actually safer to have loud pipes. Others simply have never considered or don’t care that their loud pipes are disturbing to other people, and others seem to believe that everyone appreciates the roaring as much as they do.
Those who are mistaken are forgivable, especially if they respond to ‘Hey, you should check out what the AMA has to say about it.’ Those who didn’t realize just how loud their bikes are to people who are behind them are forgivable. Those who say that everybody else either appreciates or doesn’t care about their loud as hell pipes are being assholes, especially if they’ve been told that their pipes are ear-splitting loud and not at all pleasant.
So it would be horrifically wrong of me to suggest they check out the AMA’s articles and research on the topic?
And it’s acceptable to do that. It’s also acceptable to say that you had no idea there was such a thing and be open to checking it out. But to just dismiss the AMA’s opinion because the person quoting it also has a personal dislike of the extremely loud noise is being an asshole.
Although GreatHouse did not out-and-out dismiss what the AMA had to say, he is an example of someone that I’d say has a rather callous attitude toward anyone who might be disturbed by the noise.
He seemed to not realize that people might be bothered by the really loud pipes, and then when it was expressed that they were, he went through the ‘it’s for safety’ stage before finally resting on the principle that he just doesn’t care if other people are disturbed by the noise. He’s not about to sell the bike or lower the noise.
I did say that I would not sell the bike, but could you please show me where I said that I wouldn’t fit it with different pipes?
I have actually done some web searches and made some calls to find some other pipes that would fit. I am still searching for the most reasonably priced ones.
I can’t see that I have done anything in this thread that would make me an asshole. I didn’t even call dropzone on claiming that I was in violation of a law that he can’t cite.
It would be nice if checked in to offer us his thoughts. It sounds like he has a great emotional/sentimental attachment to his bike, so the suggestion that he change it or ditch it is probably a hard concept for him to digest. Give him a little time to get used to the idea.
You were pretty defensive of them and didn’t really seem to give a damn that they bothered people in your posts on page one.
Well, that’s good and I will take you off my list of people with asshole attitudes about the noise.
It was just your posts on page one where you seemed to be indicating that other people’s discomfort wasn’t going to cause you to change the noise level.
I saw nothing in there about noise levels, but it seems pretty clear that the leading cause of accidents is the auto driver being unaware of the biker (point 7). If one were to read this report and nothing else, then one could reasonably conclude that calling attention to one’s self is a wise idea. It’s not unreasonable to hypothesize that making a big noise would help towards that end. Whether or not it actually would is not addressed in that report.
catsix, in your AMA link I found nothing about loud pipes (although an article about helmet laws was prominent). Could you help me navigate to the appropriate page, please?
You’re being overly pedantic. The only halfway legitimate reason given for loud pipes has been safety. If the AMA is against “excessive noise” in relation to motorcycles, I think it’s a safe conclusion that their position is “Loud pipes don’t save lives.”
These are the same people who fight helmet laws, for pete’s sake. If they’re going to fight against an obvious safety device like a helmet, you’d think they’d fight for the right to have loud motorcycles. Unless their desire is to have all their members killed while riding their bikes.
Not at all. Their reason for quieter bikes is largely to not piss off communities that have the power to ban bikes. The issue of safety is never addressed at all. And yet where catsix links to their site (in post 56), she claims that the AMA has positively proven the safety link to be “demonstrably false.” She offered a cite that is no cite at all.
Your logic doesn’t follow at all. I’m not sure how one could possibly parse your 2nd sentence to support your position. However, in light of a position of “We want to be able to ride anywhere and in any manner we’d like”, it makes much more sense.
Look, I’m not trying to make a case for loud motorcycles (I hate them too). But it’s been asserted by several here that facts clearly demonstrate a lack of causal relationship between loud pipes and saved lives. It’s been claimed that there is clear documentation for this. I don’t think it’s unreasonable to ask for a cite that says exactly that, do you?
I’m an avid motorcyclist. My biggest pet peeve with my fellow riders is HATING overly loud pipes. Because of them I get looked at like an asshole by some people because I happen to ride too.
I had this conversation with my friends brother-in-law last summer He has an obnixious unmuffled Hardly-Dangerous. I had never rode with him before and a bunch of us went to lunch or somewhere one Sunday.
Dave, I thought you just rebuilt you motor.
I did, why?
You seem to have a problem with you carburators.
What do you mean?
Is the bike idling OK?
Yeah.
Oh. Hmmmm.
Why?
Well every time we stop at a light or anything, you keep blipping the throttle to keep it running like it was going to stall.
I um stammer stammer
As he realized 7 or 8 guys were standing around trying not to laugh in his face because all that vroom vroom vroom at a dead stop is totally unneeded.
I also pick on my friends who put different slip on cans onto their sport bikes. They are just as obnixious as the Harley guys, but they know it and don’t care either!
That’s exactly the sense in which I meant it. If they’re going to argue against a blatantly obvious safety device, seems like they’d also argue that you can modify your bike however you’d like. They take exactly the opposite position.
You’re asking someone to prove a negative. Instead, you should ask the people who claim “Loud pipes save lives!” to back up THAT assertion. They are the ones making the claim.
Nope. The reason they argue for quieter pipes is so that they may keep riding. Wanting to not get banned from communities is perfectly consistant with the freedom to not wear helmets.
You seem to be guessing at the reasons why they discourage loud pipes, when they clearly state their reasons in the link you provided.
That’s fine, but then maybe people like unclviny shouldn’t say things like “‘Loud pipes save lives’ is completely ridiculous and stupid, it has been proven over and over to be absolute bullshit.” He wasn’t asking for a cite, he was making a positive claim himself.
For what it’s worth, the NHTSA is apparently in the middle of a years-long study in an effort to promote motorcycle safety – in part because injuries and fatalities have been rising in recent years. To my knowledge, they have no data from this specific study yet, and probably won’t finish the safety program for another four or five years. However, earlier reports seem to fault intoxication of the motorcycle rider for a large chunk of accidents and fatalities. In addition, a pamphlet on motorcycle safety produced by the NHTSA lists as one of the bullet points something along the lines of not modifying the exhaust system to make it louder. That’s semi-anecdotal, but I’d think the NHTSA would advocate louder exhaust systems if it increased rider safety.