what's the point of having loud pipes on 2 wheelers, since you can't hear them anyway til after they pass

Question

and wouldn't 4wheelers get a ticket for having extremely loud pipes, when bikes don't?.. someone please enlighten me...

because sirens are designed to be projected outward in all directions, pipes are pointed at the back

and if loud pipes save lives, why wouldn't all cars and trucks have loud pipes?then we'd all be safer.

ok, i guess its true that all cars and trucks wouldn't need extra safety, but i just don't see how the pipes pointed at back of bike and you can't hear them til after they pass, really helps anything, and in some cases it would be so loud it could scare you, (and when you're cruising 60 mph and get startled by something you never saw coming, results could be disastrous)when they fly by at 100 mph, those are the folks who never need to be on the road.

tailgaters... bikes and cars, are problem for everyone, bikes and cars, so cancel that arguement out right there

you don't know how many times i've had a bike come out of nowhere and almost lost control of my car when they ZOOM by at 110 mph. in a no passing lane. or when they cut in between cars just to cut ahead of someone(again illegally).so safety works both ways.

i've got clobbered before by inattentive driver, but i also have about been run off road by motorcycles. just as many bad bikers as bad car drivers, and vice versa

Answer 1

The answer to your question is simple. Guys (and gals) have loud pipes because they like how they sound, period.

Here's my take. I personally like a pipe that is a bit louder than stock because I like the deeper tone/rumble, but not so much as to be obnoxious. I have aftermarket pipes on my personal ride. Loud pipes dont' save lives, I don't care what anybody, newbie or long time rider, says. Attentive riding and keeping your head on a swivel saves lives.

As a motorcop, I ride a Harley and the siren pointed straight forward rarely gets any driver's attention unless I am right on their bumper or they have their window down, so I know they can't hear my pipes. There are guys on my squad that have installed loud pipes on their bikes. When they are riding behind me, the sound level from their bike is barely enough for me to hear and I'm not surrounded by steel and glass like a car driver. I can hear them to the point of annoying when they are riding in front of me, however.

About the only time the pipes could conceivably help you is if you are riding right next to the driver's door in the blind spot (unsafe practice in itself and avoidable). Perhaps, in that instance, the driver is close enough to the back of the bike to hear the exhaust pipes, but that's certainly no guarantee when they are listening to the radio, talking on the cell phone and reading or eating while driving.

All the die hard loud pipers go ahead and flame me to your heart's content. But I defy anyone to site a true example where loud pipes actually saved a rider. If your answer is, "well, I have loud pipes and have never been hit", all that means is you were either riding safe, the driver was driving safe, or you have been lucky. While I have a louder pipe on my personal bike, I have quiet (stock) pipes on my work bike and have never been hit either, so there goes that argument.

So go ahead and give me a bunch of "thumb's down" if you can't take the truth or are unwilling to step up and say you have loud pipes simply because you like the sound they make.

Answer 2

Bikes do get tickets for loud pipes, just not often enough. Deaf people get driver's licenses, that's another reason emergency vehicles use lights as well as sirens. Besides, most cars have good sound insulation and radios, and other noise makers, inside that are of much more interest than the surrounding traffic. If the driver is not paying attention, a horn works better than any pipes. I've been hit, so I know. Being prepared to take evasive action is best. Some people do not know that discrimination is illegal, so are pipes that are loud enough to cause damage, to you or the peace of the neighborhood around you.

Answer 3

I'm getting a freakin headache !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!... By the way in which a few bike rider deaths had been attributed to the rider dressed in a helmet. Seems that there are occasions in which the load of the helmet and it is ahead inertia while in your head will holiday a men and women neck while the ahead movement of the rider is all of the sudden stopped in a few twist of fate circumstances. Moral of the tale it should prevent, it should kill you. By the way in which did the "HURT REPORT" deal with while the rider of a bike is journeying adjoining to an vehicle, maybe within the drivers blind spot? Defensive using would possibly retailer a bike rider from an twist of fate with an extra automobile while the opposite automobile is forward of the bike. Defensive using is not going to do so much for you while your adjoining to a vehicle and that driving force makes a decision he'll difference lanes given that he do not see you. I'll maintain my semi-obnoxiously loud pipes. Thank you very so much!

Answer 4

I own a 2002 Buell Cyclone (it has basically a Harley Sportster motor) i have a D&D motorsports glasspack muffler(its loud). I ride my bike to work often and even though its a small town drivers still pay little attention to me(there arent many other bikes out at 6:30 when i go to work either) but when i see a driver waiting to turn at an intersection constanly creeping forward and never looking my way ill either goose the throttle a little or pull in the clutch and give er' a little rap and they suddenly become aware of me so my loud pipes work and as long as they're legal theres not much anyone can do about it.

Answer 5

I agree with your statement: "Safety works both ways".
There are two growing movements right now.
One is against loud pipes. I understand it.
The other is Loud Pipes save lives. I understand this one as well.

Automobile drivers have less respect for other vehicles than at any other time in the past. They don't look, they don't pay attention,and they certainly don't take responsibility for thier actions.

Even when my bike got totalled by an inattentive driver, I didn't switch to loud pipes.
Now that things have been getting considerably worse on the roads for motorcycles, my exhaust has been getting gradually louder.
It's a real shame when someone who feels as you do has to change into one of the "others" merely for self preservation.



You obviously didn't get my point. I seriously doubt you almost got run off the road by something smaller than you.
Welcome to Bike Week. Stay inside.

Answer 6

Cars and trucks aren't in the same danger as bikes because of the amount of protection you have in that type of vehicle, so no, it would make no sense for them to have loud pipes. Remember, there is no such thing as a fender bender on a bike. I know this is a big debate but I don't mind the loud pipes so much except for the people that are obnoxious about over-revving their bikes when it is not necessary.

Answer 7

Customizing a motorcycle or a car or your body is just an expression of one's personality. Wheels, tires, tattoos and paint jobs are not offensive. But those speakers that people put in their cars that shake the ground are offensive and so are loud motorcycle pipes. I'm an older motorcycle rider who enjoys the freedom and performance of a motorcycle. I own a V MAX and I won't alter the pipes. I also am not trying to project an image of cool, or bad, or tough. Noise does not impress me. I get angry when a loud motorcycle disturbs my peace. So for my fellow motorcyclists that get turned on by making a lot of noise, I apologize. There's an old Italian saying that I can't write in Italian. When the winemakers went to the cellars to check which barrels had the most wine in them they'd hit them with a wooden mallet. "The empty barrel makes the most noise!" The saying was also used to describe a loudmouth with little inteligence who felt that if he made his point LOUDLY more people would listen.

Answer 8

I will speak from experience, I have ridden motorcycles for years (since 1988) and I have owned and operated many makes and models. Driving down I10, during the day on a 1980 Honda CB400T Hawk wearing a bright blaze orange riders vest and riding safely I was ran off the road by an RV because, “they didn’t see me.” I was fine, bike and jacket got toasted.

Riding a 87 Kawasaki KZ 750 – again wearing riding vest during the daylight hours had a car pull out in front of me I barely swerved to avoid, again he was sorry because he didn’t see me.

Now riding a 2003 Harley with Thunderheaders and still safety vest – I get the finger or “that look” from people who hear me, notice me and SEE ME! It is not a machismo thing it is a safety thing, people hear the pipes before they see you, when you are passing a car they hear you. They may not see you, they may think you are an A$$hole or compensating for a small Penis or whatever. I could care less what they think as long as I can safely get home.

Answer 9

You can't hear them until you pass. That's great for the bike rider, who can irritate everyone else without having to listen.

Answer 10

I have had open pipes, loud pipes and quiet ones. When they are quiet the rider can think, and so can those around him/her.

Riders who believe extreme loudness is a positive value are simply not thinking about it...enough. Loudness is nothing but noise and loud noise annoys everyone, and angers some.

After thirty years on motorcycles, I still feel that loud pipes are a poor substitute for brain usage.