I had a guy put the argument to me that bikes with headlights on in the daytime were a safety hazard. Why? Because if one came at you, over a hill, with the setting sun exactly behind him, why that dazzling headlight would look just like some more Sun and instead of seeing him in silhouette you’d just run over him. Seriously.
My favorite thing about a wide open exhaust is how it reduces the Horsepower.
Do you have a cite for that? It’s normally the other way round.
Amusingly enough, sensible bikers not only wear helmets and have sensible exhausts, they also wear earplugs to prevent hearing loss and reduce fatigue.
http://www.inter-bike.co.uk/inter-bikeshop/default.asp?categoryid=182
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completely depends on the cam overlap…there is a brief time on most cams that the intake and exhaust valve are open at the same time…which if the cam overlap is too great the intake charge gets sucked right out the pipe. Having some backpreassure prevents this. cams are tuned to exhaust backpreassure…modern bikes this is significant, but years ago things were simpler and opening up your exhaust would indeed give you a little more oomph in certain rpm ranges. It was always a tradeoff.
When you change the exhaust, it is vital you work on the whole system, the exhaust, the cam, and the fuel system.
Thanks, that’s very interesting. Another cup of water to help douse the fiery wasteland of my ignorance.
Presumably this is not an issue on most cars as the exhaust system is so much longer? I based my orginal post on my (extremely limited) knowledge of how car exhaust systems can affect performance.
We’ve done the hell out of this before…but once again with feeling.
yes, loud pipes make a bike more obvious to automobile drivers. I’ve experienced this first hand many times. Someone trying to change lanes into you and you pull the clutch in and rev the motor and they veer off. I almost got run off a bridge once and was able to get the drivers attention over her stereo because I had very loud pipes on my BSA.
most of the bikers I rode with ran open pipes because of this. Some of the yuppie biker types run it because it sounds cool. Some bikers are assholes
Wearing ear plugs while riding is dangerous and not too bright. No sensible rider I have ever known, loud pipe or no would do something like that. Listening the radio while riding in traffic is dangerous. Mirrors on motorcycles are somewhat lacking and you need all the help you can get. Loud pipes act like sonar. When a car starts to pull up beside you on ether side you hear a distinct change in exhaust note and that lets you know that some idiot is getting to close so you can take appropriate action (speed up, change lanes, etc. Riders who ride every day for decades without getting hurt are the ones who know where everyone is around them at all times and take EVERY advantage…sometimes including loud pipes.
People do take it to extremes, and people do abuse it. But don’t assume everyone who runs load pipes are just trying to be an asshole.
well, again it depends on the car. the effect isn’t as dramatic on cars because of the long exhaust. And modern computer controlled emissions adjust the fuel system automatically to some extent. On a 67 camero, yeah, your gonna see a boost. On a honda accord, probably a loss or only more power in a limited range.
but I was a motorcycle mechanic, cars weren’t my area of expertise…There’s probably someone more knowledgeable about modern cars that can tell me I’m full of it.
there are some problems with running headlings on motorcycles all the time.
It is harder for a car driver to judge distance of a motorcycle at certain times of the day with the headling on, because the profile of an oncomming motorcycle is so small and a card driver will tend to focus on the light only…and its hard to judge how far away a headlight is.
This is probably offset by the bike being more visable in the first place.
Motorcycle safety is a complicated issue, and there are two sides to every argument.
I’m trying to figure out just how it enhances the safety of the bikers at the intersection in front of my house when they pull up to the light in groups and all rev their motors at once while they wait for the light to change.
Are they afraid someone won’t be able see the grinning wad of assholes?
Ah well, YMMV. All the people I know who ride motorbikes regularly wear them - and they are the kind of people who wear full leathers even in the height of summer. This might be just a US/UK thing, but a quick google shows lots of US articles recommending earplug use as well.
While I don’t ride cruisers I do have aftermarked bolt-ons on my Suzuki (LeoVince SBK Carbon). They are louder than the original ones but still good enough that I can ride at the track without db-killer inserts. I know this is totally unscientific so take it as personal experience, but I have had less cars pull out in front of me from sideroads with the aftermarked cans as opposed to the original and very quiet ones.
I will say though that I agree lots of Harley and other cruiser riders over do it. My neighbour has a Harley that doesn’t seem to do more than roll out to the curb where his friends come by and they all sit and idle and rev’it together. Even with windows and doors closed, it’s so loud that I can’t hear my tv.
Ohh earplugs bdgr, I always wear them, not doing so is a fast road to tinnitus. Not because of the exhaust noise, but because of wind noise. You can still easily hear cars and ambulances and at the same time I find that I’m more concentrated and less fatigued when I don’t have an ear full of high pitched wind noise while I ride.
And yes, I always wear full leathers and a back protector, even in the middle of summer 
I do that with a horn. I just googled, and it appears that you can buy motorcycle horns that go up to nearly 140 dB.
What many people don’t seem to realise is that you can set up your mirrors so you don’t have any rear blind spots. Your side mirrors should be looking at the lanes to the left rear and right rear of you, not directly behind you. You already have a centre rearview mirror directed behind you. If you set your side mirrors so you can just see the side of your car then you’ll find your blind spots have either gone completely or at least been minimised.
I have had a motorcycle sneak into my G-spot, and I only knew it because I…holeeeeeeehotdammmmmmmmmm…felt it. I swiveled around, and around, and around…until I…holeeeeeeeehotdammmmmmmgawdallfuckinmighty…
I don’t necessarily begrudge motorcyclists’ efforts not to be run over, and I know this is anecdotal, but a few months ago, we were on a long car trip, and my 3 yo daughter was cranky and letting making everybody else’s live miserable. Luckily, she fell asleep. There was peace in the valley, so to speak. Then, 3 bikes with extremely loud mufflers passed us and woke her up, triggering another couple of hours of hell for me and the rest of my family. I wanted to run over them, then back up and do it again, just to make sure. Fuckers.
Sorry, buddy, but you’re a fucking moron. Earplugs cut out wind noise, and make other vehicles easier to hear, not harder. Maybe you should try it sometime? Otherwise, you’re not going to be able to hear shit in 20 years, even sans earplugs.
The loud-pipes contingent, even as adequately represented by bdgr, is consistently shot down by actual data:
A summary here
Even the American Motorcyclist Association has taken a position against loud pipes
I now live 18 floors above downtown Chicago, and the only things I can hear with any regularity through the 2.75" of glass and structural steel that keep the city out of my living room is the siren of the ambulance that’s pulling out of the firehouse a block away, the fireworks at Navy Pier, and some asshole with a noisy hog on Lake Shore Drive.
I’ve ridden on and off for a long time and of the bikes I’ve had, none have had loud pipes, and I’m still around. Defensive riding, paying attention to your surroundings and the task at hand and having a bike that people can see is going to save your life a dozen times each before loud pipes do once.
I know plenty of guys who overpay for the brand and mod the exhaust so that no matter what time of the day or night it is, you always hear them thundering through the neighborhood. It’s unnecessary nonsense.
Amen. Six months back into it I started having hearing trouble, I plugged the ears and viola! All better. Further, the important things (car horns, sirens etc) all happen at a higher place on the dB scale than most earplugs block anyway. You’ll hear em, trust me.