I own a streetbike and I agree - mostly. Nearly all stock motorcycles (well, the Japanese stuff anyway) have mufflers that are so quiet the bike is near silent, and therefore laregely invisible to cage drivers. (Don't believe me? Ride a bike on the street for a day, then we'll talk.) A less restrictive muffler usually frees up a few ponies, and also sounds a lot nicer. Think of a Camaro with a set of Flowmasters installed. Deep rumble, but not obnoxious. Same deal with the bike - it's not silent anymore, but not obnoxious either. And it gets you auditory visibility, which is important to stay alive on the street these days.
Now, there is a different crowd, usually with Harleys, that have huge twin-cylinder engines that like to run straight pipes with NO mufflers. And those things, especially at WOT, are beyond obnoxious. They're usually obnoxious at idle, part throttle, and cruising, too... unlike what I mentioned above (which is usually just questionable at WOT). If you can't talk over it at idle, there's a problem, IMO. I think the open-piped Harleys are the ones that cause a lot of anger by the non-bike crowd. And some of the more, um, mature bikers as well. ;) Loud pipes can save lives, but they don't have to be ear-splitting and obnoxious to do so. (flame suit on) :) -dm > ------------------------------ > Date: Thu, 26 Jan 2006 07:23:38 -0800 > From: "Tim C" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Subject: Re: [MBZ] Bike rider, loud pipes > > Actually, loud pipes let cars (mostly driven by blithering idiots who fail > to see anything smaller than a Suburban) know you're there. A friend had an > obnoxiously loud bike (he bought it that way, wasn't trying to say "look at > me") could hear him for about 3/4 of a mile away - he stated that cars > stayed away from him, even moving to the other side of their lane as he > passed. I know if I rode a bike, I'd want that kind of situation - not > being seen usually has disastrous results when you don't have a frame around > you. > > T
