I really hate loud vehicles, as does anyone who has even the remotest clue. So why do some men (women? I dunno) insist on altering their motorcycles/cars/trucks to make them NOISY?? I just don’t get it. Well, I do have a few ideas: They
think women like it.
are trying to impress other men. (I know some women do this too, in their own ways.)
want attention, negative or not.
think it makes them seem “bad”.
And don’t get me started about those house-shaking stereos-what are they thinking? Noise pollution laws should be enforced, that’s all I gotta say.
Loud motorbikes piss me off. There’s a guy who rides a Harley along my street early each morning as he goes to work, and the loud pop-pop-pop sound never fails to wake me up. It’s not just the volume, but also the nature of the sound itself - sounds like a car engine backfiring.
Having said that, I love the noise some Japanese bikes make, especially the soft whirr of a Yamaha R6. But even then, some folks go out and buy loud “race cans” to fit onto their exhausts, totally ruining the sound of the bike. Perhaps I’m just a purist when it comes to these matters
While I’m at it, I’ll mention my neighbour’s Jeep. It sounds like a bus, and he always insists on revving it up before pulling off. Wouldn’t be so bad if he didn’t leave for work at 4am every morning. It would also be nice if he could work out how to deactivate the alarm without setting it off every time.
When hot rodding got started louder cars were symptomatic of modifications. One of the first things you do to increase performance on a budget is to improve overall aspiration. Now in a carburated car you increase intake and outflow. To ioncrease outflow you use straight pipes out of the block, no muffler. The more you muffle exhaust the more you slow aspiration.
Why do people with fuel injected cars buy loud muffler accessories? Because they are usually dipshits, but on occasion you will fins someone with a properly modded exhaust system and it will be louder.
So the volume was not originally intentional. It was, rather, a byproduct of what the men really wanted which was more power. Nowadays people associate volume with power and since it is cheaper to just be loud than to actually be fast a lot of those upside-down-and-sidewase visor wearing morons just go for loud.
On bikes it is much the same thing, but recall that bikes usually don’t and never had the room for elaborate muffler systems so they were usually louder than cars without modification.
I know a couple of bikers who like their Harleys loud becauses it pisses people off. They especially like gunning their engines in the I94 tunnel in Minneapolis because they like the sound of the echo. And it pisses people off.
I’m secretly convinced that’s part of the reason why alternative fuel/electric cars haven’t caught on yet. They aren’t loud, and as mentioned earlier, some people associate volume with power.
Never mind the limited ranges, the costs, the lack of alternate fuel distribution infrastructure - it’s the damn noise!
Being from the Motor City, I too appreciate the LEGITIMATE low rumble of a for-real big engine. But as you all understood, I was talking about the noise for the noise’s sake, the revving, the race cans, etc. So noise is equated with power, and these guys think women equate that to their sexual power? The thing is, WE KNOW BETTER. Women probably ride loud Harleys to assert their power too. To me it’s all stupid. Personally I prefer a stealth car, so I can zip around under the laser beam.
Bring it on. I have my own way of handling things.
So they like to piss people off to instigate a fight. How productive! I am all for rebellion, when it doesn’t disturb the innocent part of humanity (not to mention the wildlife). If you want to rebel, direct it and do it in a way that will produce a desirable result. Unless all you want to do is fight. Then I say they need to all be together so they can fight until they destroy each other and cleanse the gene pool.
I have a race exhaust on my sportbike. I don’t care if it impresses anyone or pisses anyone off. I have it because I like the sound and I believe it is a bit safer. The horn on my bike is really wimpy but there is no mistaking the sound as I rev the engine to 10k when some jerk tries to run me over.
I love the sound of the old muscle cars too. But I can’t stand the sound of those coffee can exhausts that are popular on Japanese imports. Also, those Harley exhausts are a bit obnoxious.
My husband has a loud bike and a loud muscle car. They do it because they like the sound (and the bike because it is safer - and cool). It doesn’t bother me as much as the little schmuck in the neighborhood that drives by with his bass cranked on his stereo. I can hear it through his window and mine in the dead of winter (at 50 mph, no less).
Well, I do have a few ideas: They
