B
ballisticexchris
Guest
Loud obnoxious exhaust only scares and ultimately pisses people off.
It’s totally unnecessary.
Riders don't put on loud pipes in an effort to save their life. That's just the best reason they can come up with. Are they trying to save their life when they bust through a subdivision leaving for work at 5:30am waking everyone up and jarring windows? No. Are they trying to save their life when sitting stopped at a red light blipping the throttle? No. They put on loud pipes so people will notice them and look at them. "Hey look at me, I have a motorcycle".
I was riding through White Sulphur Springs WV on a quiet Goldwing a few years back. I had always wanted to stop at the Greenbriar and look the place over. I was turned around at the gate "no motorcycles allowed". I had a friend that rode out to San Francisco and I told him to make sure and ride through Seventeen Mile Drive. No way, "motorcycles not allowed.
Loud pipes have did more harm and turned more people against motorcycles than anything else I can think of.
Hi there, all my dark joking aside, I agree 100% with SJC and OldRider. I do live, ride, and drive in major cities daily (LA, Orange County, San Diego) and no I don't think different. Instead of using loud pipes, how about using defensive riding skills and keep your eyes moving. Sadly even then, we all take a chance when we swing a leg over a bike or get behind the wheel of a vehicle. Loud pipes are not going to make you any safer. They are just going to make you a target.Where you live..not much traffic. Ride in daily traffic here in DFW, Texas or any other major city....then I promise you, you would think different. Especially in this age of cell phones..
Loud pipes were for the days when I was a dumb teenager and looking for attention. Now I'm a dumb adult but smart enough to not wanting to draw attention to myself with stupid loud exhaust noise.
Want proof of how serious I am? Here you go:
My 300 blew just above 84db at a local District 37 Desert race back in the early 2000's. A KTM 200 with stock exhaust was the only other one that was quieter. I used foam in between skid plate and motor and made sure every nut/bolt was tight. As an added bonus I passed many racers in slow technical sections without them even hearing me. I'm very serious about quiet exhausts!!
I do have the aftermarket Yoshimura on my ST but it's pretty darn quiet with the insert. I only got it because it takes the weight off the bike up high. My Beta currently has a Leo Vince muffler with quiet insert and foam between skid plate and motor. The air box is stock and I repack the muffler at first signs of getting noisier.
Another trick to keeping quiet is run a gear or two high when cruising around town. The Super Tenere lugs pretty good with plenty of torque at the twist of the throttle.