smokinjoe73

So not to get anyone up in arms, but was on a discussion elsewhere about this. I did not know this was more of a political statement than a real question of opinion.
Anyway, what do you guys think? Most of us have pipes or are getting them right?
To me its clear. If the bad guys know youre there, they are a bit less likely to kill you. Whether by lights, bright clothing, or sound. (not at motogp earshatter levels, just some sound)
Whats your vote?

kenmoore

Pipes definitely help from a safety perspective although I prefer their entertainment value !

A VTR without Cans is almost sinful I reckon!

Mine have scared the **** out of a few people .( Including me )

I am onto my 3rd set now ( They are loud, but a good loud ) and am happy except for the fact that I now wear ear plugs.

Just love that "beat "

E.Marquez

What do i think?
If loud pipes save lives, imagine what learning to ride would do !

NHSH

+1 Agree on all counts ;-)))
Though the ear plugs is a good practice in any case when you out of town, the wind noise itself is very exhausting, I can do many more miles with ear plugs then without, noise by itself makes you tired, it is a physical and medical fact!
If you haven't been using them already, try it and see for your self.

smokinjoe73

Yes I agree with the earplug thing. Although depending on the helmet I've seen evidence that highway wind buffeting is maybe more damaging than the sound.
I guess I didn't realize that there is a group of bikers who HATE the Harley guys who they associate the slogan with.
So its not even that they see the question but just hate the group so are powerless to objectively answer it.
Heck a lot of them have NEVER ridden a bike that has any sound.
I live and ride in the belly of the beast. Survival is at a premium. Loud (not obnoxious) pipes have saved my life. Point blank.
In my early days I was a silent bike guy. Got hit by many cabs (broadside), a bus, a box truck, a bicycle, a pedestrian, pigeons at 55, etc. With pipes, NONE of that happened.
I have found its more about the concept of bothering others than survival. For me I simply don't have that luxury.
I keep my 2bros slipons newly packed so I barely louder than my buddys stock Aprilia shiver.
I just find it weird how people drink the cool aide and will say to only wear adv bright jackets but stay silent.
99.9% of those guys live & ride through open green meadows with bluebirds helping them with gear.
My experience is vastly different.
Kinda like tae bo vs a south Bronx street fight. Similar motions, much higher stakes.

captainchaos

Definitely agree with earplugs. Eliminates the wind noise and you just hear the wonderful exhaust. I feel it also does wonders for fatigue/focus on a longer ride and you'll probably also keep your hearing a lot longer as well.

Exhaust on our bikes? Absolutely. A large part of why I bought one new back in '99 (aside from the awesome reviews and IMHO the great looks) was simply because they sounded so damn good. It's like owning a VFR or any Ducati with a stock exhaust... I mean why would you? Not sure how much safer it makes the bike (though I can't imagine being LESS noticeable with some more sound), but my own amusement (as well as everyone around me) is reason enough.

Now as far as all the f&@&ing squids riding around with Autozone tailpipes (I'm sorry I guess calling them "shorties" or "MotoGP" pipes allows you to charge hundreds of dollars for them) on their sportbikes? Yeah you're a jackass, and thanks to you other's often assume we're jackasses too. As far as Harleys go I also feel some sort of muffler will always sound better and still be plenty loud enough. Not being an asshat racing your engine looking to get noticed also goes a long way.

And just a side note but I'm not sure if everyone is aware that only the stock exhaust is actually "legal." Thankfully, at least in my experience, there is pretty much zero enforcement of this. Yes I've seen downtown areas that post signs about loud exhausts, but I think if you're sober and don't make a spectacle of yourself you'll usually be left alone. Found this out years ago when I sold an exhaust to someone on Ebay and he wanted a refund because I didn't tell him the exhaust wasn't street legal. After phoning several different exhaust manufacturers I was told by each of them that no one (at least in America) actually makes a "street legal" exhaust other than the OEM stuff.

skokievtr

Like Joe I have a set of the 2Bros C2 slip-ons and try to keep them packed. I've been told by motorcyclists and not that they sound very good and are not too loud (at least compared to the horde of HD riders here in the epicenter of HOG country).

However, the volume and db is primarily expelled rearward, not the direction most threats come from. A loud pair of horns, one pointing forward and another to the right, plus a headlight modulator, bright side marker lights, and an auxiliary brake light of some flavor IMO are essential on the mean streets.

When I have the moola, I plan on getting a full Black Widow system on my FJ-09. My RD400 has expansion chambers and tiny stinger mufflers, so no worries there.

https://www.blackwidowexhausts.co.uk...-sc36-36-c.asp

Wolverine

Loud pipes do save lives. Skip right to 1:05

skifreak

I put aftermarket pipes on both of my bikes (V&H on my VTR and Delkevic on my VFR) not to be safe, but because they sound live gear head heaven. If they alert people to my presence, then that is an added bonus.

I think we all know we depend on our riding skill and defensive riding to save our own lives. Things like riding with two fingers covering the brake in town to lessen reaction time, practicing panic braking skills and maybe an occasional track day to polish our technique will go much farther than loud pipes to save our skin.

Given that, aftermarket pipes on a VTR are a must. Bring on the noise.

thetophatflash

For additional anecdotal evidence on loud pipes see South Park.

Jack Flash

Not sure I completely agree with this theory. Sit in your car, and try and listen to a bum f... Harley coming behind you, you won't hear a damn thing before he gets ahead of you. By then, you no longer need to hear him....he's right there ! And now, his pipes are nothing but annoying.
Yeah if you're standing on a side walk, you can hear them from a mile away, who cares, you're standing and not really a threat.

So do they really save lives, no one seams to be able to come up with proof of this, but claim it. Yet I still see bikes with wide open pipes appear at my shop following a wreck and the most common explanation I get, 'The guy in the opposite lane turned left in front of me because he didn't see me' . And that's when they survive the crash. So no, load pipes haven't saved them in these situations.

Then you have the texters...Oh boy, don't get me started on that sorry gang of **** for brains dumb asses. Left turns and texters scare the hell outta me.
My 0.02$

Wolverine

Well, I live in an area where the deer population is crazy high. Any time of the day, they can hear me coming for miles, so they are alert and aware of my presence. Kind of hard to prove it helped prevent them from running in fromnt of my Casey Stoner shenanigans, saving my life. I am lmao btw, but you get the point. Have to add the YMMV too.

E.Marquez

Even this point has me scratching my head unsure..
I too live in rats with antlers infested county. Deer strikes happen every day and night, multiple times in my daily local area.
At known crossing or grazing points its about a 50/50 chance of my bike "scaring them away" or freezing them in place, or they cross in front of me.(I guess thats a 33.333% chance)
Like most i assume they will cross..Coming home from Austin (where I commonly have work) to my home in Kempner ) on the bike at night is a stress inducing, many dozen of deer encounter game.

kenmoore

Aquasnake

We have the same bloody things here in the States, sold as deer whistles or somesuch name.

fabiostar

i still get a chuckle setting off car alarms as i ride past. and lots of popping and banging on the overrun .

smokinjoe73

In my experience I can hear a bike coming from behind me WAY back. Unless the closing speed is triple digits you know they are coming. In every theory awareness = safer.
How can the insane super politically correct adv crowd swear by neon jackets but then (based mostly on PC and peer pressure) say sound doesn't alert you?
Also, how are loud pipes both REALLY annoying and also unable to be heard simultaneously.??
If they are annoying then MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.

I want to state, though, I mean responsibly loud. Like my TB fully fiberglass packed high mounts. Sound but not deafening sound. I am not trying to hurt peoples feelings, just let them know I am there.

NHSH

I had my share of Kangaroo encounter that left me with dislocated left thumb (sucked with the clutch you can imagine, but was lucky it was just that), not far from your area north west of Woolongong on my XR650 doing offroad, the noise definitely scared the Kangaroo, but instead of hopping away, the bugger decided to hop right in front of me in mid air collision that took me down to the forest floor.
As Eric mentioned, I am not sure if the noise actually help with the wild animals or can cause them to react in an unwanted way....

kenmoore

Wolverine

It's at least plausible. But I agree.
Last season, on the Multistrada my wife and I were hauling the mail on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Came up on a younger deer about 15-20 yards off the road, off all things, taking a dump. It stayed froze during the fly-by. Hilarious event to say the least. Then about a minute or two later I rolled up on a bear cub in the opposing lane ditch. I think he made visual before hearing the bike (full Termignoni system) and took off in the bushes. Traffic was non existent and it was about dusk so the environment was on the quiet side. I don't believe they heard me before they saw me but we'll never know.

skokievtr

I think deer think if they don't move you can't see them. They see some colors well enough but see at night very well.

The bear can see, hear and smell you from quite a ways, and the deer down the road...

E.Marquez

I just want to know why, out of the millions of pictures on the Internet of deer, you picked one that the dear is taking a crap and the other its licking its butt.

On another point.
I heard all about roo's being this scourge of the earth, we were sure to hit some in our transit from Melbourne to Broken Hill NSW, and then more strikes during the race or transit stages ..
Two years running we did that race, and not one roo stike

kenmoore

Wicky

kenmoore

skokievtr

Read post #20...

skokievtr

except it's a trombone...

E.Marquez

2002 and 2003 Australian Out Back Challenge
Team Alaska, a Jeep TJ based truck

https://www.google.com/search?client...UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

https://www.google.com/search?client....0.piDjTvoYCXc

kenmoore

E.Marquez

Well we were on the clock, it was our first year there and making up strategy as we went..
We DROVE the wall in under 4 min the following year.. And my driver stayed clean....