# I am so sick of loud motorcycles **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 15, 2012, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-so-sick-of-loud-motorcycles/618886 "2012-04-15T21:57:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2012, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-so-sick-of-loud-motorcycles/618886/81 "2012-04-17T15:24:59Z")
Yes. _Cf_. the fine, underrated 2006 documentary _Idiocracy_. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2012, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-so-sick-of-loud-motorcycles/618886/82 "2012-04-17T15:40:50Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > If only this attitude were fatal, or at least concurrent with sterility. Maybe one day! Perhaps there is some comfort to be had from the fact that motorcyclists who favor loud pipes also tend, as a group, to drive carelessly. As a result, they are involved in collisions, lose control of their vehicles, and otherwise get high speed introductions to solid objects. Many do not survive the experience. Alas, those that do often blame “cagers” for their injuries. One thing that gives me an inordinate amount of satisfaction is when Mr. Midlife Crisis biker gets himself a chrome-covered behemoth that he is not physically strong enough to handle. Watching one fall over in a parking lot because his legs aren’t strong enough is hilarious. Watching him struggle in vain to get the bike back upright, even more so. ---
**Author:** ![Bambro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/df705f/32.png) [@Bambro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bambro)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2012, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-so-sick-of-loud-motorcycles/618886/83 "2012-04-17T16:07:28Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > What an excellent and thoughtfully considered answer. And so useful! > > “Why do you throw your garbage all over the ground when there are trash cans nearby? People work hard to keep this park clean.” > > “Why don’t you flush the toilet after you use it? Do you really think people want to see and smell your shit?” > > If only this attitude were fatal, or at least concurrent with sterility. Maybe one day! Clearly you missed the part of my post that explained that I do not care. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2012, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-so-sick-of-loud-motorcycles/618886/84 "2012-04-17T16:20:22Z")
I’m not particularly bothered by loud pipes. I can’t hear anything at my home, and out in the world, it’s not a major problem. I do find it amusing that something designed to make people think you’re “bad ass” really just makes people think you’re an asshole. I always comment to my wife that “it’s a shame that guy can’t afford a better muffler for his bike.” That someone would make something louder on purpose defies belief. But, I’m getting old and like things nice and quiet. Just don’t drive on my lawn and we’re cool. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2012, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-so-sick-of-loud-motorcycles/618886/85 "2012-04-17T16:21:17Z")
> [@Bambro](#): > > Clearly you missed the part of my post that explained that I do not care. You’re not being addressed, **Bambi** ; you’re being mocked. Can’t really fault you for not knowing the difference, though, considering. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2012, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-so-sick-of-loud-motorcycles/618886/86 "2012-04-17T16:22:36Z")
I’m willing to put up with a lot of traffic noise, having grown up less than 100 yards from a freeway. But what I don’t get is the motorcyclist who comes to my neighbor’s house every evening and idles in their driveway while he chats with the neighbors and they check out his bike. Not sure why it needs to idle, not sure why it needs to happen every day. But there it is. The frequency of his exhaust somehow disturbs the frequency of my home and my skull and my entire world buzzes uncomfortably during this guy’s idling sessions. And it’s not like we’re on tenths of an acre here…our lots are half acres and this guy is across the street and one property over. It can be so bad here with motorcycles and ATVs and tricked out trucks (NO I DON’T EVEN LIVE IN THE SOUTH OR A RURAL AREA!) that I am willing to put up with whatever drives by on occasion as long as the regular and long-lasting stuff stops. ---
**Author:** ![Bambro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/df705f/32.png) [@Bambro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bambro)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2012, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-so-sick-of-loud-motorcycles/618886/87 "2012-04-17T16:28:54Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > You’re not being addressed, **Bambi** ; you’re being mocked. Can’t really fault you for not knowing the difference, though, considering. And not a single fuck was given. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2012, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-so-sick-of-loud-motorcycles/618886/88 "2012-04-17T16:49:58Z")
> [@Bambro](#): > > And not a single fuck was given. Nor received. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2012, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-so-sick-of-loud-motorcycles/618886/89 "2012-04-17T16:59:23Z")
> [@Bambro](#): > > And not a single fuck was given. You give enough of a fuck to keep coming back to this thread to explain that you don’t give a fuck. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![brewha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@brewha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brewha)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2012, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-so-sick-of-loud-motorcycles/618886/90 "2012-04-17T16:59:37Z")
> [@Bambro](#): > > And not a single fuck was given. And yet you’re glued to this thread to ensure that we all know just how little you care about it. ---
**Author:** ![brewha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@brewha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brewha)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2012, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-so-sick-of-loud-motorcycles/618886/91 "2012-04-17T17:00:39Z")
magnificent simulpost! ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2012, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-so-sick-of-loud-motorcycles/618886/92 "2012-04-17T17:14:36Z")
**FUCK** fuck fuck fuck fuck **FUCK FUCK FUCK** fuck fuck fuck fuck **FUCK** fuck fuck **FUCK FUCK FUCK** fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2012, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-so-sick-of-loud-motorcycles/618886/93 "2012-04-17T17:17:13Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > **FUCK** fuck fuck fuck fuck **FUCK FUCK FUCK** fuck fuck fuck fuck **FUCK** fuck fuck **FUCK FUCK FUCK** fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck By my count, you’ve given away 25 fucks. Congratulations. Your prize is in the mail. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![mister\_nyx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@mister\_nyx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mister_nyx)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2012, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-so-sick-of-loud-motorcycles/618886/94 "2012-04-17T17:30:04Z")
> [@Bambro](#): > > And not a single fuck was given. It’s funny, because if you actually weren’t desperately worried about getting people to think about you, you wouldn’t have those loud pipes in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2012, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-so-sick-of-loud-motorcycles/618886/95 "2012-04-17T22:41:45Z")
> [@Shakes](#): > > Bike rider here. This is just wrong. When you are riding with the flow of traffic, people around you are more aware of your existence. Hence, I would argue that louder pipes are _safer_ for the rider. > > But all that doesn’t mean shit when the rider isn’t wearing a helmet. > > I have asshole pipes. For those who didn’t know, there are varying levels of asshole you can buy. Mine are somewhere in the mid range. > > That being said, there are things you can do to NOT offend people. > > Myself, I let my bike idle (or just slightly more than idle) until I’m out of the neighborhood and on the major roads. > > No, early morning start ups. Unless I’m riding my bike to work. > > I wont argue loud pipes saves lives. All I can say is I’ve had both. With the quite pipes, I pretty much had to drive like I was invisible. Because nobnody ever thinks to look for bike riders when they are driving down the road. With the loud pipes, this happens less often. > > That’s been my experience anyway. 36 years of riding and my experience mirrors this. While driving my truck I sometimes first notice motorcycles around me in traffic when I hear them. ---
**Author:** ![Uber\_the\_Goober](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/58956e/32.png) [@Uber\_the\_Goober](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uber_the_Goober)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2012, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-so-sick-of-loud-motorcycles/618886/96 "2012-04-18T02:09:07Z")
> [@Bambro](#): > > I don’t know why I don’t care. I just know that I don’t. If you ride down the road saying to yourself “I don’t care that this is loud and you don’t like it.” Then yes, you do care, and you are gaining some level of satisfaction from the discomfort of others that you are directly causing. You are at least sociopathic, and at worst a total fuckwad, and should see a shrink. If you have honestly never once thought about how your loud pipes might affect others, then you truly don’t care. But since you already did say that you know it wakes some people up and you don’t care, I’d tend more towards the first one. ---
**Author:** ![SweetLucy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bcef8e/32.png) [@SweetLucy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SweetLucy)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2012, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-so-sick-of-loud-motorcycles/618886/97 "2012-04-18T04:01:32Z")
Some cars and pickups are louder even than motorcycles! There are these wonderful inventions called “Mufflers,” sheesh! :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2012, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-so-sick-of-loud-motorcycles/618886/98 "2012-04-18T04:28:40Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > Certainly, being loud makes people more likely to look for you, and many drivers of cars are fairly insulated from the sounds outside. So part of what the proverb is for is communicating safety. But as people pointed out above, there are other ways of being safe, and most motorcyclists don’t want to do these (some or all of not being on a motorcycle at all, wearing reflective dayglo colours, not splitting lanes, keeping with the flow of traffic). Good post but this: > [@VinylTurnip](#): > > Yeah, I lay on my horn when I’m driving my car. I know it’s loud, but I don’t care. I like the sound and the way the Naugahyde feels against my elbow. Besides, dogs bark and I’m saving lives and you can’t stop me. I wet the bed until I was sixteen. …is the other key point. Assholes with loud pipes who do it for safety (and I don’t actually believe that’s the real reason, but nevermind that now) are performing a classic dick move where they do something selfish that works for them only because other people don’t do what they do. If you are a biker who thinks that it is acceptable to increase your personal safety by annoying the living shit out of everyone around you by making loud noise then logically you must think that everyone else has the same right. And logically that means every vulnerable street user (bikers, pedestrians, cyclists, persons in small cars etc) should be packing a siren, and every car should really have one too, for the safety of those around them. But if everyone did this, our cities would be utterly unliveable _and it would become pointless since the cacophony would negative any safety benefit_. > [@echo6160](#): > > If you ride down the road saying to yourself “I don’t care that this is loud and you don’t like it.” Then yes, you do care, and you are gaining some level of satisfaction from the discomfort of others that you are directly causing. You are at least sociopathic, and at worst a total fuckwad, and should see a shrink. This. And posting repeatedly to point out how much he doesn’t care points in the same direction. He does care: he likes the negative attention. ---
**Author:** ![curlcoat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea5d25/32.png) [@curlcoat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curlcoat)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2012, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-so-sick-of-loud-motorcycles/618886/99 "2012-04-18T04:36:50Z")
> [@iamnotbatman](#): > > [Nitpick: “sociopath” and “psychopath” are considered more or less synonymous in the psychiatric community, although both terms are now outdated. [aside] What is the current term for sociopath/psychopath? [/aside] ---
**Author:** ![Hbns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hbns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hbns)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2012, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-so-sick-of-loud-motorcycles/618886/100 "2012-04-18T07:03:03Z")
DILLIGAF I always love that one. Really? If you gotta announce it, you must. Personally, while unmuffled bikes can be annoying for brief periods of time, my neighbors insistence on mowing his lawn at 7:00 AM every Saturday is just too much. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-so-sick-of-loud-motorcycles/618886.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-so-sick-of-loud-motorcycles/618886.md?page=6)