"Loud Mufflers Are Just Annoying"

[joe camarda]

I wrote a reply to the letter written under previous post " Losers, Safer with Loud Mufflers" and surprisingly it was printed in the local paper (Modesto Bee, Modesto CA USA). See the previous post for the letter from a woman who said that loud pipes save lives. I replied thusly

 

"Loud Mufflers Are Just Annoying"

The letter "Losers, Safer with Loud Mufflers" stated: "The reason for the loud mufflers is safety. If you can hear me coming, hopefully you will see me."

 

Very few motorcycle journalists, safety experts or responsible riders would agree with that statement. The only thing that loud pipes do is alienate the vast majority of non-riders. To improve the liklihood that a motorcyclist will be seen by other motorists, he or she should use a headlight modulator during daylight hours and wear a brightly colored safety vest and a full-face DOT approved haelmet.

 

If a rider insists that loud pipes will improve her safety, she should point them forward so that those of us behind her (who pose no threat) do not have to suffer her desire to be seen hear and noticed.

 

I've ridden motorcycles for about 15 years and read virtually every mainstream motorcycle publication. The after market pipes on my Italian sportbike produce a low rumble, and yes, they are slightly louder than stock, but that is done for my pleasure-not my safety.

 

Joe Camarda, Modesto

 

Thus sayeth I

[Guest Nogbad]

[DeBenGuzzi]

to infinity take that Nogbad.

[helicopterjim R.I.P.]

I was called annoying long before I had my first bike and I will be called annoying long after I can't ride anymore! It isn't the loud pipes that are annoying.

 

Toasters don't burn toast. People burn toast!!!

[jrt]

So, HJ...how is the socialized medicine system doing in Canada? Little slow on the lithium?

[helicopterjim R.I.P.]

So, HJ...how is the socialized medicine system doing in Canada?  Little slow on the lithium?

50908[/snapback]

Sorry mate! I am on the self medication plan. I'm also involved in a lot of research in the field of self medication. I have tried the English, Aussie, German and American plans and so far all of them work well but I have to admit that Old Yale Pale Ale seems to keep me in the best of 'spirits' (their new Sasquatch Stout seems to give me all my vitamins and minerals too!).

[Ballacraine]

Another perennial chestnut.

 

OK I'll bite.

 

I really get choked with these folk who insist 'This is the safe way.....I'm right & you're wrong.'

 

There are differing views. I'm not saying that mine are correct, or even widely accepted, for that matter....Just what seems to work for me, and I have been riding for over thirty years without (touch wood) a serious accident or prosecution for noise pollution.

 

Headlight modulator and safety vest?

 

IMO having a headlight on in daytime may make life more difficult for other road users to assess distance and speed. (Yes, I have tried it on occasion and I thought the results were less than impressive).

 

Safety vest...OK if you think it helps.

 

All of the above rely on being seen. ( As an aside, correct road positioning should help). The human eye is geared up to recognise shapes rather than colours. Think about your average race-rep / sports bike owner. Garish flashes of contrasting various colours on the bike and rider apparel (leathers & helmets).

 

Now think about camouflage paint schemes designed to break up the form of the item you are camouflaging......Garish flashes of contrasting various colours? Seem familiar?

 

Solid colours for bike and rider apparel are probably a lot safer.

 

I also think that modern bikes are dangerously fast and quiet. If someone is coming up at warp speed behind me I want all the warning I can get, not just being dazzled for a fraction of a second by a main beam in the mirrors.

 

What do I wear?.....Usually all black leathers & matt black helmet on a black motorcycle. No headlamp apart from when visibility is reduced, and 'fruity' exhausts.

 

Two of my three bikes have 'freer breathing' exhausts.....Not to the level of offence but enough to give rider satisfaction and maybe help from the safety aspect a little too.

 

The other has a standard big can. On average riding the same route on the same day at the same time usually results in three pull outs or near pull outs to one or zero with the 'fruitier' bikes. Yes, I am looking for a freer can for it.

 

The chances of other road users being blind and deaf is significantly reduced.

 

As ever it is a combination of factors, not just one element, that is significant.

 

I do not have a problem with anyone having a differing opinion.

 

It is just the 'I'm right... you're wrong!' attitude that gets me.

 

OK, Tin hats on, boys!

 

Nige.

[Ballacraine]

I'll cover the helmet chestnut later......

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Probably!

 

Nige.

[DeBenGuzzi]

I'll cover the helmet chestnut later......

Probably! 

 

Nige. 

51002[/snapback]

I only have one question.

What in the HELL is a chestnut?

[Ballacraine]

I only have one question.

What in the HELL is a chestnut? 

51029[/snapback]

 

 

Literally, it is the seed of a tree.

 

Colloquially in English it is a very old topic of conversation which is subject to frequent argument.

 

Nige.

[Skeeve]

Headlight modulator and safety vest?

 

IMO having a headlight on in daytime may make life more difficult for other road users to assess distance and speed. (Yes, I have tried it on occasion and I thought the results were less than impressive).

 

Irrelevant: the BDCs can't judge distance or speed for a small object ("bike") worth spit anyway, & certainly can't judge anything if they don't see you. The modulators work, by virtue of being visually (incredibly!) annoying...

 

Safety vest...OK if you think it helps.

 

Well, it's been statistically proven to do so, so much so that the U.S. military requires it of their property^H^H^H^H^H^H personnel.

 

All of the above rely on being seen. ( As an aside, correct road positioning should help). The human eye is geared up to recognise shapes rather than colours. Think about your average race-rep / sports bike owner. Garish flashes of contrasting various colours on the bike and rider apparel (leathers & helmets).

 

Now think about camouflage paint schemes designed to break up the form of the item you are camouflaging......Garish flashes of contrasting various colours? Seem familiar? 

 

Solid colours for bike and rider apparel are probably a lot safer.

 

I can certainly agree that large blocks of color will be more effective than riding garb done up in a Splintern pattern, but hey, garish neon colors have visual impact regardless. Better something in Splintern neon than all black, all navy, or all grey, like some of the textile riding suits on the market...

 

I also think that modern bikes are dangerously fast and quiet. If someone is coming up at warp speed behind me I want all the warning I can get, not just being dazzled for a fraction of a second by a main beam in the mirrors.

 

Well, considering how many BDCs there are who can't seem to notice emergency vehicles coming up behind them with sirens & flashing lights, until the ambulance hits their "ooga" horn, I suspect that you're going to have to continue bemoaning how quiet motorcycles are these days, since the EPA ain't about to let us ride unmuffled, siren & klaxon-sounding motorcycles no matter how much safer that'd make us!

 

What do I wear?.....Usually all black leathers & matt black helmet on a black motorcycle.  No headlamp apart from when visibility is reduced, and 'fruity' exhausts.

 

Two of my three bikes have 'freer breathing' exhausts.....Not to the level of offence but enough to give rider satisfaction and maybe help from the safety aspect a little too.

 

The other has a standard big can. On average riding the same route on the same day at the same time usually results in three pull outs or near pull outs to one or zero with the 'fruitier' bikes. Yes, I am looking for a freer can for it.

 

The chances of other road users being blind and deaf is significantly reduced. 

 

As ever it is a combination of factors, not just one element, that is significant.

 

I do not have a problem with anyone having a differing opinion.

 

It is just the 'I'm right... you're wrong!' attitude that gets me.

 

OK, Tin hats on, boys! 

 

Nige.

51001[/snapback]

 

Well, you'd be a lot safer & less annoying to your neighbors if you'd buy yourself a shiny gold-lame jacket, good horn, and put a decent muffler back on your bike! Not saying "I'm right & you're wrong," no matter who true it might be, 'cause last I checked this is a free country. But I know people who if you rode past their houses regularly blasting away on a poorly muffled bike, you could expect to find sand or oil start showing up in the corners at the ends of their stretch of road! That sort of indiscriminate "discouragement" affects *everyone* who rides in the area, so think about the results of your actions, is all I'm saying...

[Guest aj howard]

I guess you also have to decide what is meant by "loud" pipes. I have a set of Staintunes on my bike, loudER than stock but not loud IMO.

A 60's Triumph or LeMans was louder than my newer LeMans is stock...

 

I asked a few friends if they though my bike was loud.. no one did..

 

just my

[Guest davidb]

If you don't like my loud pipes, buy some insulation. If I don't like your car, house or music, I will ignore it.

[Guzzirider]

I ride with Mistrals because I like the sound they make- simple as that- no need to justify it with claims of increased safety.

 

Guy

[Bill Hagan]

[Re “safety” vests] Well, it's been statistically proven to do so, so much so that the U.S. military requires it of their property^H^H^H^H^H^H personnel.

 

IMO (as a retired Army lifer and lawyer drone still working for the green machine—and who, btw, loves the Army), the military requires such vests out of paternal ignorance, bureaucratic frustration, and CYA more than any statistical proof of value. Military demographics being what they are, young, stupid (I say that with great fondness), testosteronic young men (for the most part) will do what that class will do. Confronted with tragic and, yes, expensive results of these almost predictable crashes—aside from the personal loss to families and friends, it costs taxpayers lots to retrain these dead or maimed soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines—the military looks for ways to discourage riding. Wearing all of that “crap” is one way; it, i.e., the discouragement, works.

 

Well, considering how many BDCs there are who can't seem to notice emergency vehicles coming up behind them with sirens & flashing lights, until the ambulance hits their "ooga" horn,  .

 

I am, as I so often do, likely missing something, but this seems logically inconsistent with the comment re military, vests, and “statistically proven.”

 

Warm regards from Army Greenland,

 

Bill (eagerly looking forward to riding the twisties from Atlanta to the Guzzi US national rally and points east later this month).