BellaOnline Forums Home and Garden Motorcycles LOUD PIPES SAVE LIVES

"my rumbly pipes seem to be pretty rumbly all the way around... "

really? You don't notice that all the sound is coming out of the open end of the pipe?

"Behind, on the side, in front, down the street - if they are loud, you can hear them"

You can say it, but it is simply not true. It is a simple law of physics. When you use a cone megaphone is your voice as loud behind you as it is in front of the megaphone? Why do you think exhaust pipes work differently?


Riding down the highway at 60 mph, how far back from you will you hear an open-exhaust motorcyle? How about when you are approaching that cycle from the rear? How far ahead of you when you hear them? Much further than when they are approaching you, right?

Ever ride on both the non-exhaust side and the exhaust side of a bike? Notice any kind of difference?

I've been riding my full muffled Beemer with shotgun piped HDs for years.

No, it seems to be coming from all around me as I am sitting on the bike... It is quite loud, to me anyway.

What about specialty pipes that people add on to their bike to make them loud (which is what mine are)?

In the car, I hear them when they begin to pass me. Not necessarily from behind. Once they get in front and are far in front, I don't hear them anymore. So, for me it is when they are side by side or coming around me. My bike rumbles as well, I hope not too loudly. We will see if I get ticketed, since I live in one of those areas. My neighbors have no problem and I live in a residential area of retirees. They think it is great.

Frank

I am so thankful that we have such an experienced and biker educated forum participant to help us "think" about what we are saying. I will certainly pay closer attention when I am riding or driving, just to see when I hear other motorcycles. This is essential in the battle against loud pipes vs. noise poluution.

While this statement seems to support my view "In the car, I hear them when they begin to pass me. Not necessarily from behind." it is a little hard to tell because of "Once they get in front and are far in front, I don't hear them anymore"

Now that could mean no more than once they are far away, but it's hard to tell.

Doesn't matter because in light of the following exchange I have to give up:

I asked "You don't notice that all the sound is coming out of the open end of the pipe?"

The response? "No."

What can I do or say in light of that?

If what you say here is completely true, people standing behind me wouldn't be able to hear the words I say. Sure the pipe directs the sound, but it still goes in all directions.

"If what you say here is completely true, people standing behind me wouldn't be able to hear the words I say."

Why not?

Well, if it is loud enough, they actually can't hear you anyway. try this experiment.

Stand by your throttle. Have someone else stand behind your pipes directly in the exhaust flow. rev the bike up and try to have a conversation. Now have them stand on the other side of the bike, by the clutch lever. Rev the bike up and talk to them. You sdhould notice the difference.

Here's another experiment. Put your ear up near the exhaust flange. BE VERY CAREFUL. Have someone rev the bike. Next stand behind the exhaust in the exhaust flow. You will notice a great difference in volume. Up near the head, you can likely hear the valve train operating inside the engine. That's because the great mass of the sound is directed away from you.

Don't take me to extremes - I have never said that you cannot hear your exhaust beside or in front of the bike. I am saying that loud pipes do not work as a safety measure when motorcycles are behind cars because the volume of sound (which actually means the volume or amount of unblemished sound waves)is greatly diminished by virtue of the fact that it is directed to the rear of the motorcycle.

Frank, if you are going to quote me, please do not take it out of context. I do not have to do an experiment at the risk of burning my ear off to know that if it is too loud I will hear it, regardless of where it comes from. That is the law of physics.

"Frank, if you are going to quote me, please do not take it out of context"

Until just now, I haven't quoted you at all,have I?

I did quote froggie, to wit:"If what you say here is completely true, people standing behind me wouldn't be able to hear the words I say."

I did take it out of her post, but I see nothing that this statement requires to give it context, so I fail to see that I have taken it out of context. However, I will provide the remainder of the post

"Sure the pipe directs the sound, but it still goes in all directions."

I fail to see how this gives any sort of context to the first sentence.

In what context do you want me to view the sentence?

I have to quote you a second time now, because you have apparently missed the context of what I was saying entirely.

"I do not have to do an experiment at the risk of burning my ear off to know that if it is too loud I will hear it, regardless of where it comes from"

The experiment is to prove that the exhaust note is will be much quieter not regardless of where it comes from but rather depending on where it comes from. You see the difference? This has been the main thrust of my argument. I have posited almost the opposite of your rejoinder.

You and/or froggie seemingly are disputing that the volume of the exhaust note in line with the outlet of the exhaust pipe is louder than the volume of the exhaust note in front of the bike. I am providing ways to prove it to yourself, (that the sound is louder facing the sound outlet than behind, beside or above the sound outlet), so you don't have to take my word for it.

I don't want anyone to risk ear burning, that's why I said "BE VERY CAREFUL". In such an activity (or to be a little froggy myself, in the context of the proposed experiment) care can eliminate risk.

"Behind, on the side, in front, down the street - if they are loud, you can hear them"

Yes, you have, in your 3/7 post.

The original point was "loud pipes saves lives". I will repeat, that loud pipes can cause someone to have a heart attack. Loud pipes to some are a pride that goes along with their cycle - to others it is just an annoyance and a heart stopper.