# Why are motorcycles so much louder than cars? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 23, 2016, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-motorcycles-so-much-louder-than-cars/752888 "2016-04-23T12:27:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2016, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-motorcycles-so-much-louder-than-cars/752888/61 "2016-04-25T15:09:15Z")
> [@Bullitt](#): > > In their defense, the AMF days are long gone and they’ve been building a good machine. For many years now. > > Back in the 1980s the running joke (okay, one of the many) was that if you owned a Harley you also needed to own a pickup. And, you’d often see them broken down on the road side from time to time. But not much any more, right? I’m not getting into the middle of the general argument of which Harleys were the best, but there’s no doubt they’re making more reliable machines than ever before. But they still need maintenance and the costs for that are higher than ever as well. (all of the previous is based on the world’s foremost experts on HD motorcycles, which are each owner I talk to). ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2016, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-motorcycles-so-much-louder-than-cars/752888/62 "2016-04-25T15:11:05Z")
> [@Bullitt](#): > > Back in the 1980s the running joke (okay, one of the many) was that if you owned a Harley you also needed to own a pickup. And, you’d often see them broken down on the road side from time to time. But not much any more, right? Reminds me of when a co worker brought his Harley into work on a trailer. So another worker could take it home and work on it. John: Why’s that Harley out there on a trailer? Bob : Thats my Harley. John : Okay, but why? Me : That’s how all Harleys ride. Bob did not think that funny at all. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2016, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-motorcycles-so-much-louder-than-cars/752888/63 "2016-04-25T15:14:03Z")
> [@Bullitt](#): > > In their defense, the AMF days are long gone and they’ve been building a good machine. For many years now. > > Back in the 1980s the running joke (okay, one of the many) was that if you owned a Harley you also needed to own a pickup. And, you’d often see them broken down on the road side from time to time. But not much any more, right? How can it be a running joke if it’s about a Harley? ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2016, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-motorcycles-so-much-louder-than-cars/752888/64 "2016-04-25T15:14:38Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > I’m not getting into the middle of the general argument, but there’s no doubt they’re making more reliable machines than ever before. But they still need maintenance and the costs for that are higher than ever as well. (all of the previous is based on the world’s foremost experts on HD motorcycles, which are each owner I talk to). we joke that the company’s initials are “H.D.” because everything is “Hundreds of Dollars.” but really, there isn’t much that needs to be kept up with on a modern one; they hold up fine. I’ve spent more time helping people fix older Japanese bikes than anything else. back in their day they were more reliable, but many of them have latent weaknesses which means once they’re past their intended life they fall apart. Honda and Yamaha apparently had real difficulty with charging systems in the '80s and '90s; things like shorted field windings (which also nuke the voltage regulator) or burned up stators. somebody I know at work has a Honda VT700c for sale (cheap!) which “just needs a new stator and repaired connector.” I’m seriously thinking of buying it to flip, but the other part of me is hesitant since I fear “Ok, I fixed the alternator, so what else is wrong in here?” ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2016, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-motorcycles-so-much-louder-than-cars/752888/65 "2016-04-25T15:19:13Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > How can it be a running joke if it’s about a Harley? 90% of Harley Davidsons ever made are still on the road. The rest of them made it home. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2016, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-motorcycles-so-much-louder-than-cars/752888/66 "2016-04-25T15:20:49Z")
Funny 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2016, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-motorcycles-so-much-louder-than-cars/752888/67 "2016-04-25T15:23:54Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > Honda and Yamaha apparently had real difficulty with charging systems in the '80s and '90s; things like shorted field windings (which also nuke the voltage regulator) or burned up stators. I had a 83 Yamaha Vision that ate a stator every couple of years. Other than that, the thing was bulletproof. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2016, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-motorcycles-so-much-louder-than-cars/752888/68 "2016-04-25T15:27:16Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > I had a 83 Yamaha Vision that ate a stator every couple of years. Other than that, the thing was bulletproof. “Oh yeah, it’s bulletproof so long as you keep fixing the thing which breaks all of the time. LOL Harley sux amirite?” ---
**Author:** ![leftfield6](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leftfield6/32/18780_2.png) [@leftfield6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leftfield6)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2016, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-motorcycles-so-much-louder-than-cars/752888/69 "2016-04-25T15:35:23Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > I don’t have a loud exhaust on my Dyna. try again. Then congrats on being the exception. As quoted many times earlier in this thread, most HDs are modded to be louder. So, in the interest of SCIENCE!, I just did a little experiment. I have a db meter app on my phone. I puled my bike out in the driveway, started her up, and had it idle. I held my phone/db meter at exactly 5 feet behind the exhaust. Peak db reading at idle was 64 db. I then put the phone/meter on a bar stool, still 5 feet away, and revved the throttle up to about 4K RPM, typical RPMs for my bike heading down the highway. Decibels spiked to 81. As comparison, I did the same experiment with my car. Car was at 61 db at idle, spiked to 76 at 4K RPMs. A quick look over at HDforums and a search there for db levels finds most people referencing numbers of 90 db and up. Probably mostly useless data here though, as db meter apps aren’t necessarily accurate, and how people/jurisdictions measure vary so much. My one takeaway here is that my bike is slightly louder than my 4 cylinder car. So, the OP question was why are bikes louder than cars. Fact is they don’t have to be, but some people want them to be. Take that for what it’s worth. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2016, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-motorcycles-so-much-louder-than-cars/752888/70 "2016-04-25T15:35:57Z")
> [@Bullitt](#): > > I’ve ridden BMWs which are mostly quiet. I like Harleys but have never owned one. Loud pipes annoy me (sometimes they piss me off). Especially when stopped, like at a light, and the rider keeps blipping the throttle. LOUDLY. > > Funny thing is, I once borrowed a Harley with stock pipes, and the rhytmic thumping of the V twin motor with single pin crank has a nice and distinctive sound like “potato potato potato potato potato potato”. > > At stop lights I found myself blipping the throttle. And liking it. Hmm, maybe there’s a Harley in my future. With stock pipes. I always assumed all that throttle blipping Harley riders do was to keep the bike from stalling. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2016, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-motorcycles-so-much-louder-than-cars/752888/71 "2016-04-25T15:42:13Z")
> [@Bullitt](#): > > … the rider keeps blipping the throttle… I like that verb. Do bikers often use it, or did you just type away creatively? ---
**Author:** ![leftfield6](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leftfield6/32/18780_2.png) [@leftfield6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leftfield6)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2016, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-motorcycles-so-much-louder-than-cars/752888/72 "2016-04-25T15:43:21Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > I like that verb. Do bikers often use it, or did you just type away creatively? common language in motorcycling. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2016, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-motorcycles-so-much-louder-than-cars/752888/73 "2016-04-25T15:54:27Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > I always assumed all that throttle blipping Harley riders do was to keep the bike from stalling. Me too. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2016, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-motorcycles-so-much-louder-than-cars/752888/74 "2016-04-25T15:57:43Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > “Oh yeah, it’s bulletproof so long as you keep fixing the thing which breaks all of the time. LOL Harley sux amirite?” Since I was covering about 46-50k between stators and nothing else broke, I’d say that’s pretty good. Especially since it was a known weakness that I could plan for rather than random breakdowns. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2016, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-motorcycles-so-much-louder-than-cars/752888/75 "2016-04-25T16:05:22Z")
My first bike was a 1983 Yamaha XS650 Heritage Special, and it was bulletproof (and **Bullitt** proof!) for 50,000 miles before I sold it in Oklahoma after riding it there from San Francisco. It had a 3.1 gallon tank, and that is a _ **loooong** _ way to ride on such a small tank, having to stop every 100 miles or so for gas. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2016, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-motorcycles-so-much-louder-than-cars/752888/76 "2016-04-25T18:14:52Z")
> [@racer72](#): > > I know quite a few bike riders. Most prefer a loud exhaust, they say it’s safer for them to be heard because they are not always seen… Yes, the old "Loud Pipes save lives’ fallacy. Of course they don’t (in fact the opposite), they just make the rider deaf. [http://www.motorcyclecruiser.com/deadly-dozen-12-motorcycle-safety-myths-and-misconceptions](http://www.motorcyclecruiser.com/deadly-dozen-12-motorcycle-safety-myths-and-misconceptions) \*Myth 2: Loud Pipes Save Lives Yeah, there are a few situations—like where you are right next to a driver with his window down who is about the to change lanes—where full-time noise-makers might help a driver notice you, but all that noise directed rearward doesn’t do much in the most common and much more dangerous conflict where a car turns in front of you. Maybe it’s the fatigue caused by the noise, maybe it’s the attitudes of riders who insist on making annoying noise, or perhaps loud bikes annoy enough drivers to make them aggressive. Whatever the reason, the research shows that bikes with modified exhaust systems crash more frequently than those with stock pipes. If you really want to save lives, turn to a loud jacket or a bright helmet color, which have been proven to do the job. Or install a louder horn. Otherwise, just shut up. \* [http://www.davidpreston.biz/?p=782](http://www.davidpreston.biz/?p=782) \*None of which deters a whit people who believe that loud pipes save lives. After all, they’re not that interested in performance. They’re interested in noise. Loud pipes don’t save lives because the noise is going out the rear of the bike, or perhaps the side, and the motorcycle is moving away from it. Almost all threats to the motorcycle are coming from the front. We could explain the Doppler Effect and how sound travels, but why bother? Those who cling to “loud pipes save lives” are similar to people who rely on Fox News. They will believe what they want to believe, and facts so often just get in the way.\* [http://www.virginiawind.com/byways/loud\_pipes\_save\_lives.asp](http://www.virginiawind.com/byways/loud_pipes_save_lives.asp) > **[Motorcycle mythos](https://thesundaybe.st/motorcycle-mythos/)** > > I've heard this mantra repeated by riders and non-riders alike, but never by anyone that has kids. The premise goes: If a motorcycle is loud enough that every driver on the block is annoyed, then surely the cars won't injuriously or fatally hit the... _That moral browbeating doesn’t actually address the effectiveness of the myth in question, so I’ll present an even better reason why loud pipes don’t save lives: They don’t._ ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2016, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-motorcycles-so-much-louder-than-cars/752888/77 "2016-04-25T18:16:38Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > There is _some_ basis to the “loud pipes save lives” idea. > Well maybe not _loud_ pipes, but certainly on a vehicle much faster than a bicycle, but not much easier to see, it helps to make _some_ noise. Very little, and in fact the opposite- loud pipes are dangerous to the rider. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2016, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-motorcycles-so-much-louder-than-cars/752888/78 "2016-04-25T18:21:54Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > Nonsense. No more than a semi-truck tooling down the highway. > > I live in a quiet, secluded neighborhood. Pulling into my driveway at 1 am with a piped motorcycle, or my car radio loud, or even my wife and I talking loudly in the driveway are completely different scenarios than being out on the open road. > > Complaining about noise from a vehicle late at night in a residential neighborhood is a legit gripe. Whining about the sweet visceral notes of a Harley cruising down the road is just being a puss. No one wants to hear a semi in a residential neighborhood, and in fact they are usually banned. So then, you coast all the way from the highway to your home? :dubious: But I am wrong in one way- Loud Pipes DO Save Lives- motorcycle riders are a good sources of organ donations, which _do_ save lives. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2016, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-motorcycles-so-much-louder-than-cars/752888/79 "2016-04-25T18:23:25Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > Hearing that sound from a distance is soothing and relaxing. . Not even in the slightest. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2016, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-motorcycles-so-much-louder-than-cars/752888/80 "2016-04-25T18:34:19Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > But I am wrong in one way- Loud Pipes DO Save Lives- motorcycle riders are a good sources of organ donations, which _do_ save lives. if so, it’s only because people think they have a god-given right to stare at their phones while obliviously piloting a 3,000 lb hunk of steel down the road. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-motorcycles-so-much-louder-than-cars/752888.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-motorcycles-so-much-louder-than-cars/752888.md?page=5)