Tim C wrote:
Actually, loud pipes let cars (mostly driven by blithering idiots who fail to see anything smaller than a Suburban) know you're there.
That "Loud Pipes Saves Lives" mentality is based in junk science. The only time you can hear them at highway speeds is when the bike is in front of you, because the pipes point to the rear of the bike! All it is is pointless noise pollution thrust upon the general public in the name of saving lives by people who have no concept of the nature of sound waves or the Doppler Effect.
The real problem is that drivers in cars are never taught driver responsibility or instructed in the proper operation of their vehicles - much less to be aware of pedestrians and motorcycles on or near the roadways. Until such education is required for obtaining a license, all the straight pipes in the world won't save the average RUB on his Harley from Sally Soccermom's suburban assault vehicle.
-- John L. Ervine 1981 240D 4-spd 268+kmi 1980 300TD 170+kmi 1980 300SD 277+kmi 1977 280S 4-spd 80+kmi
