BellaOnline Forums Home and Garden Motorcycles LOUD PIPES SAVE LIVES

Hello -

What do you think about the phrase: LOUD PIPES SAVE LIVES? How much is too loud?

I am looking forward to your responses. Come on and change my mind.....

It's funny because we had a Concours which is a very quiet touring bike and when we would stop at a rest stop people would come up and comment on how quiet the bike was. They didn't even hear us passing them. I personally like quiet bikes, they are less wearing on my brain when we ride them.

I'm torn on if I think that they actually save lives. Yes, they are louder, so people that aren't already distracted will likely hear you. But, how about that guy who is already talking on his cell phone with the radio cranked? It's not going to do you any good for the people that are oblivious (or just plain stupid).

Another negative, I feel, is that you can't hear other cars as easily. When you are riding a quieter bike, you can hear people coming up behind your a bit easier. Not so much with a loud bike.

Too loud is waking up your entire neighborhood as soon as you turn on the engine...

Loud pipes have too many negatives to me; they wreck your hearing, jangle your nerves, irritate your neighbors and, as Froggie points out, prevent you from hearing other vehicles.
Give me a fairly quiet ride any time. My own Suzuki is bearable, but my brother's BMW is whisper-quiet, I love it! Too bad I'll never be able to afford one.

I can go either way. I don't like such loud pipes that it wakes me up in the morning, or that I can hear from two or three blocks away. My bike has pipes that you can hear, but not that it shakes windows or keeps me from hearing traffic. I also use an iPod occasionally while riding, but still hear birds chirping, approaching autos, etc. It is all in the moderation. Noise pollution is a serious offense and one of the greatest challenges we face as riders. If laws are passed that prohibit pipes from being a certain decibel range and mine fall within that, I will most certainly change without any qualms. I will say, that I have been in my car and not heard a motorcycle behind and almost hit them because they were going to fast, cutting people off by weaving in and out of traffic. Where that same day I heard a louder bike and knew to look for them. This was all with my stereo on in the car. I do feel safer knowing that the noise could help get some attention.

Those smaller Hondas with the extremely loud pipes just rattle my brain so much I want to scream. Why do they think that is necessary? It should be illegal to have something that loud.

One of the biggest issues facing motorcyclists right now is the noise pollution issue. Many cities have laws regarding how loud a motorcycle is and can fine the rider. I am not sure if they save lives either, there are no studies or fact based data on whether they save lives. As I stated above, everything in moderation.

I am surprised that so many people claim to hear the loud pipes of bikes behind them.

The exhaust notwe of a motorcyle (or car) is uni- directed that is to say the vast majority of sound waves are emitted to the rear of the motorcycle. Add to that the fact that the both the motorcycle (and the car) are travelling away from the sound.

My experience, thirty years of riding, is that one hardly ever hears open pipes from behind until they are right on top of (immediately behind or adjacaent to) the forward vehicle.

I don't know, but my rumbly pipes seem to be pretty rumbly all the way around...

Behind, on the side, in front, down the street - if they are loud, you can hear them. As far as saving lives, I think some pipes are so loud it can give someone a heart attack.