Loud pipes save lives?

[FastDoc]

I never would have agreed with that statement until recently. My KLX with its Two Brother's Racing exhaust does indeed seem to provide me an extra margin of safety. A couple of recent experiences illustrate that.

A minivan (go figure :roll: ) was limping on a country road ahead of me, 15 MPH below the speed limit. I am following and can see the soccer mom on her cell phone. Lord I apologize but my anger started to boil. As I pass her (her driver's window was down) I downshift the KLX and twist the throttle. The cacophony aroused her from her drooling stupor and she appeared momentarily alert. Terrified even. I then administered the universal signal to Hang Up And Drive and continued safely on my way :evil: . Maybe she learned something? Maybe not, but I tried.

Leaving work last night the light turns green (there is only one light and no stop signs on my commute ) and the soccer mom in the minivan in front of me is too busy texting to notice this little detail. I hold my anger, out of curiosity to see how long it will take her to stop texting her girlfriend about her nail appointment. The cars behind me start honking, she does not notice. It's been about 15 seconds, and it feels like an eternity. She is still stopped when I blast by her, 9,000 RPM and full throttle, front wheel held down by my weight over the handlebars. I look back to see her startled awake. I again administer the appropriate gesture :evil: .

Many times I see someone in the next lane drooling on themselves in sleep apnea while driving awaken before they slip into my lane in attempted vehicular homicide :evil: .

I think Loud Pipes DO save lives.

It makes many people angry, and I understand and respect that, but I don't think I care.

[Barnone]

I see people pulling out in front of ambulances with sirens blasting and air horns blaring.

I don't trust a loud pipe to save my life.

[FastDoc]

Also true. I was a medic for eight years when I was in college and medical school and saw that happen to me a lot. On the other hand I've observed no one made more alert to their surroundings by the quiet electric hum of my Gold Wing.

I'm not saying the added safety (however slight) of loud pipes replaces EVERYTHING else we have to do to stay alive but it can only help. I think it could have saved me from getting run over in November 2009.

If it saves me one accident per 100,000 miles it's worth it to me. I just wear really good earplugs 100% of the time, even on the Gold Wing.

[2LZ]

Originally Posted by Barnone

I see people pulling out in front of ambulances with sirens blasting and air horns blaring.

I don't trust a loud pipe to save my life.

Directly? no.....BUT....there's little doubt in my mind it makes a HUGE difference, in most cases.
Hearing is a major sense and creating an environment where you can also be heard...not just seen, is a bonus in my book.

I've had Gold Wings and Beemers fly by me in my truck and I've had no idea they were even around! 8O

There is a statistic that has no way of ever being collected.
"Have you ever avoided someone because you heard them?"

I have yet to have someone pull up next to my Vic and say, "I almost changed lanes into you but I heard you back there." It will never happen...but I know for a fact it has.

[FastDoc]

Maybe I can get a CD or MP3 of a Vic or HD and play it through my 6 speaker surround sound stereo of the Gold Wing? :P

The GW's qiuetness is a blessing for me, the rider, but it does tend to not get noticed some despite it's immense size. I think that's because it makes no sound to speak of. It's engine is almost entirely silent, it sounds like a heavily muffled Porsche Flat Six. In this case it's quietness is a safety liability.

[Weldangrind]

Funny, that's the number one complaint about hybrids and electric scooters by the visually impaired. They simply can't hear such a vehicle coming as they try to cross the street.

[FastDoc]

"Have you ever avoided someone because you heard them?"

Yes I have! On the bike and in the Corvette or Ranger I have known there was a bike near me that I heard before I saw it. So if it has happened to me, it's safe to say it has happened to most people.

[Barnone]

Just lock down your horn button and ride around blowing your horn.

[makenzie71]

Loud pipes serve as fair punishment, but always be mindful of punishment; it is never confined to the target, it affects all of their surroundings, and the effects are always permanent.

It's my belief in general that loud pipes cause people to target you. Target fixation is the last thing you want other drivers to have around you while you're riding.

[MICRider]

I'll withhold my opinion on loud bikes, I just witnessed a similar thread on another forum go sideways and get ugly

[JTCAndrew]

Being a Loud Pipe Runner - I do notice it wakes people up and look. Thats my two cents..... :wink:

[makenzie71]

Originally Posted by JTCAndrew

I do notice it wakes people up and look.

When you combine that with the fact that person in a car looking at you is either going where they're looking or not looking where they're going it loses a little bit of it's luster.

[Barnone]

When I was younger I thought loud bikes and cars were cool but now I think they are obnoxious.

[dmmcd]

I don't like loud pipes at all. I don't believe they improve safety. As a motorcycle rider, it is my responsibility to ride like I am invisible, and I take that very seriously. I highly doubt that a few extra decibels are going to make a difference, especially because those that pose the greatest danger (turning left in front of you, or pulling out in front of you) don't see much affect, as the exhaust faces the back and you are traveling in the same direction as the sound waves. Loud horns, yes. Bright and reflective clothing, yes. Highly visible headlight, yes. I just don't buy the loud pipe argument.

My son used to cry whenever a loud bike would roll past, he has very sensitive hearing. Harleys and the like with loud straight pipes annoy me to no end. Loud pipes would lose my bikes. I roll out of my house around 6:30 every morning, and my wife would not tolerate being woken up.

[FastDoc]

I think they are obnoxious.

I kinda agree.

I'm not saying that they are not obnoxious OR that they are politically correct (for which I don't give a rat's a$$), I'm only saying that they improve the chances of a bike being noticed by a drooling narcoleptic cage driver and thus improving our safety.

I can see no compelling argument against the fact that noise makes us noticed, and being noticed reduces the chances some moron will run us over because they did not notice us. :evil:

I'm not saying that loud pipes are nice, friendly, polite, pleasant, or make flowers smell nicer or the rainbows prettier, I'm only saying they improve safety.