Aftermarket Exhausts - Got one? Want one? Consider this...

[Spiderman]

As much as you like the sound of an aftermarket exhaust, or as much as you like the extra power it gives you, it may not be worth it in the long run.

This is from the March edition of American Motorcyclist magazine - the magazine that comes free with your membership in the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA).

Click here if you find the following image too difficult to read



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[SS929]

But some times the only reason I think people around me know about me is because my bike makes some noise. I would hope is below 80db even at WOT but I have no way of really knowing for sure.

[R1chie]

The problem has been around for some time. The Springs already have laws in place that state if you have anything other than stock you can get a ticket. The db level makes no difference, the officers do not have to carry a db meter. If it sounds "too loud" for them, they can pull you over. If they see it is not stock, they can give you a ticket. The stock exhaust is too loud now but people have to tolerate it, but as people make their bikes and cars louder with aftermarket, you will see new laws to make stock even quieter. Making aftermarket even more offensive. Even the "off-road or closed course" sticker will not mean much because even racetracks and off-road are feeling the effects of people saying no to loud vehicles if the race track or off road area is within ear shot of them. This may not seem fair but loud exhaust system infringe on everyone’s rights and are annoying at least. The "loud pipes save lives" argument is quickly losing support. Be considerate of others, do not ride with loud pipes or more laws will be passed to rid people of the problem completely. Simple as that.

[King Nothing]

I'm gonna get a system so loud it will destroy the world!

[Mac020]

I think the carbon fiber Tremi's are actually quieter than the stock Termi's that came with my bike.

[R1chie]

I think the carbon fiber Tremi's are actually quieter than the stock Termi's that came with my bike.

Doesn't matter, you can still get a ticket if it is not stock. Because of the people who ride with loud pipes without thinking how it affects other people, this city has a law that now give cops free reign to write tickets to anyone with a non stock pipe no matter what the DB rating is. People can joke about it but it is becoming a much bigger issue that now affect everyone in CS but it will continue as long as people continue to buy pipes that are not meant for street riding because of noise level.

[Mac020]

I know, but how's yer average popo gonna know the differance between stock Termi's and the carbon fiber ones, or even if the stock ones are even stock? I doesn't say anything about it on the cans. Guess it would be my responsibility to defend a ticket if I get one. Thing is, is that I try not to create an excessive amount of noise by racing my engine or doing squidly stuff in or around neighborhoods anyway. Hell I've heard steros that are louder and more annoying than my bike. And I'll bet my bike is quieter than most Harley's (Faster too! ) Oh, I forgot about how much noise my clutch makes.

[Zanos]

A Hardley is louder than any sportbike i feel. And those are mostly stock off the show room floor....

To Richie...
What do we do about the Hardley's that are louder than our streetbikes stock? Should we get mad at them? Should we tell them to add aftermarket to make it SILENT? Should we change the stock of th Hardley to not cause it to be loud?

And like they say..
Loud pipes save lives.

I think it is true, because there are times where someone has not been able to see a bike, but know its there. Where as if i am behind them, they can not hear me at all. And with all the stupid drivers on the road nowadays. Anything that saves a riders life or prevents a hospital visit should be legal.

Now if you are up and down the street with you loud pipes pissing off your neighborhood, thats a little different. But driving by? Come on now.

[FZRguy]

Loud pipes have nothing to do with safety. It’s your brain and your level of skill that determines your personal safety while on two wheels.

[Mel]

You know, I (personally) agree with the gist of that, i.e. that we don't need to do any more to piss off the general public. However, most all aftermarket exhausts on a sport bike are still quieter (db lever) than a Harley or similarly displaced V-twin...while I concur that SOME people with SOME exhausts will piss people off, I don't think it is the guy who commutes to work and does the occasional canyon ride with his aftermarket exhaust that pisses people off. It is the squids in traffic who pull wheelies or sit an rev their bikes at lights (no matter what exhaust) that kill the "sportbike cause".

[R1chie]

\To Richie...
What do we do about the Hardley's that are louder than our streetbikes stock? Should we get mad at them? Should we tell them to add aftermarket to make it SILENT? Should we change the stock of th Hardley to not cause it to be loud?

.

A new saying is emerging "loud pipes risk rights" and I would have to agree. Some people believe the perception is often more important than reality.

Human hearing is most sensitive at 2k-5khz http://www.silcom.com/~aludwig/EARS.htm

As shown in the subjective loudness chart fig.3
http://arts.ucsc.edu/EMS/Music/tech_.../teces_03.html

In this article it is noted "Note that a motorcycle with a deep "clean" note will have the energy level discounted in the test, but a motorcycle with higher frequencies in the exhaust note may not only fail the test, be also be "annoying'. Here we have the reason why "trail bike noise" is marked for attention by authorities, yet ordinary street registered machines mostly pass unnoticed by the general population - unless surprised by it, or in a very quiet location where any noise would be a disturbance"
http://www.mccofnsw.org.au/a/117.html

It would seem that the general population are more offended by the higher frequency sounding bikes, (two stroke dirt bikes are more annoying than 4 strokes of similar db levels and high revving 4 stroke sportbike engines are more annoying than that slower revving Harley 4 strokes.

So IMHO it does not matter if we are "mad at them". It matters if the public is mad at them or mad at us. B

Stock Harleys have to meet the same EPA standards that sportbikes do. (Link below) "The federal Environmental Protection Agency limits decibel levels to 80 decibels for on-highway bikes, 82 decibels for off-road bikes and 78 decibels for automobiles, according to an article published by the Motorcycle Riders Foundation"

In the article below it states ""If it sounds loud, it's probably illegal," Gibbs said. "I don't know if we (police officers) have more of a trained ear, but loud is loud.
"If it's drawing attention to officers, I expect they'll pull 'em over to determine if they have a loud exhaust system. "If they determine it is, they'll issue a ticket," Gibbs said"

Also, even with a stock exhaust, if you run in a neighborhood with either a Harley or a sportbike at 45mph in first gear and at full throttle acceleration the bike is producing the max amount of noise and is probably heard even inside houses. When doing this, the exhaust and intake noise are much higher than what is probably tested as a norm. (Testing is not standard, how many feet away from the bike, at idle/5th gear cruising or full throttle acceleration change the loudness substantially.
http://www.gazetteextra.com/pipes052106.asp

I am not expert but if you are going to get mad at people, get mad at people who get a loud exhaust system, start it, rev it at 5am in the morning, ride the bike "on the pipe" all the time especially in neighborhoods at full throttle accelerate to get peoples attention. They get the attention as people turn their heads pissed off because some idiot is disturbing the peace and quiet. It is bad attention and it has affected our laws to the point that if the police even think it is too loud.. It is and you get a ticket.

[Butterfly]

Where's my popcorn, this is getting good

[R1chie]

Where's my popcorn, this is getting good

It is a very subjective post. I tried to support my position with some web info but really statements like, people find one motorcycle sound more offensive than the other is very subjective. Zanos has a point. Shouldn't Harley riders have to quiet down? I found that sound can be offensive too but IMHO the sound problem is only going to get worse for street/dirt competition and non competition alike. His point also shows that his ears find after market Harleys louder than sportbikes seems also to be true (straight through) because again it is subjective. My point is the problem is bad enough that in the Springs, gov has given police the ability to decide what is too loud without any type of testing. A guilty until you prove yourself innocent approach in regards to if an officer thinks you are too loud and once they discover your pipes have been modified, you are ticketed. The other debate is this actually an attempt to quiet vehicles or to generate revenue. The pursuit of happiness seems always threatened and squelched by anyone who is offended easily or by government trying to generate revenue. So who best to keep them off our backs, the manufacturers to make quieter bikes? To some extent, but clearly it seems to me the most effective method is to show them courtesy by not installing loud pipes and then running up and down the neighborhood and in the city at 12k rpm in first gear.

[Bueller]

Harley is discontinuing the "Screaming Eagle" and the Buell "Pro Race" line of factory exhausts and will no longer install these (and other aftermarket) exhausts at the dealerships. This is a direct result of the excessive noise problems that they are associated with. The company is looking to limit it's liability in this respect. Any aftermarket loud pipes will be the sole responsibility of the individual owners.
I know I have used my pipe to get the attention of idiot cagers, but more often than not it has been after they pulled a bone head move, and I am letting them know that I was there. Rarely does it prevent an incident.

[Zanos]

Very interesting and enlightening post. Richie. Thanks. I understand what you mean. And im not arguing with you. I just wanted you to say just that. A lot of that stuff i did not know.

My point again was: "Why are they picking on our aftermarket exhausts and not Harleys stock." Which you explained.

Thanks richie.

[pg_rider]

How can anyone NOT love the sound of a screaming inline-4? I mean really! Now, the sound of a tract-- er, I mean V-twin -- makes me want to put a bullet in my head, but I could listen to an inline-4 at redline all day and not get sick of it....

[rforsythe]

I'm gonna get a system so loud it will destroy the world!

So you're gonna strap Bertha's ass to your bike?

[Bueller]

Now, the sound of a tract-- er, I mean V-twin -- makes me want to put a bullet in my head

Come to one of the races, and when SuperTwins GTO runs no one would even hear the shot

[SS929]

I'm not sure how many of you have been in or around Sturgis during the Rally. I grew up in Rapid City, 32 miles from Sturgis. I can tell you that the noise of those bikes is insane. The whole purpose of most Harley exhaust systems is to draw attention to the bike. I personally feel that they are much loader and more aggrivating than my sports bike.
My father has a 64 Harley 250 spring isn't so bad, but his 71 BSA 650 Lightning with straight pipes is stupid loud. I grew up on hondas and they are fairly quiet compared to the kawis and other misc stuff my brothers had. Like Rich said its mostly preception that will get us in the long run.
I think my proverb has a specail meaning to this post.

[freezincold]

I'm gonna get a system so loud it will destroy the world!

hahaha!

[CYCLE_MONKEY]

Sorry to disappoint you R1CH, but your referenced articles are BS, irrelevant, and meaningless. In fact, one looks doctored with the "clear low tone" BS at the bottom. There was no legitimate comparison with Hardleys and sportbikes, measuring frequency-spectrum and energy. And so, it's all irrelevant.

I'm sure 90% of the problem is those ass holes on their straight-piped Hardleys at full throttle wherever they go. 'Course, if you've only got 60hp max, maybe it HAS to be full throttle everywhere!

[Lee]

A brief note about the Suzuki K5 and K6:

The intakes seem to be louder than the exhaust when the throttle is well open. I thought it was just my imagination, then I noted a reviewer in a motorcycle magazine had the same comment; he went on to remark that none of the other liter bikes he tested exhibited this characteristic.

The intakes are loud enough that I can hear them above wind noise at 150+ mph. I wonder if the sound they produce is exempt from Federal noise standards?

Lee

[Lee]

I'm sure 90% of the problem is those ass holes on their straight-piped Hardleys at full throttle wherever they go. 'Course, if you've only got 60hp max, maybe it HAS to be full throttle everywhere!

If you put too quiet an exhaust on them, the engine might not run.

Lee

[R1chie]

Sorry to disappoint you R1CH, but your referenced articles are BS, irrelevant, and meaningless. In fact, one looks doctored with the "clear low tone" BS at the bottom. There was no legitimate comparison with Hardleys and sportbikes, measuring frequency-spectrum and energy. And so, it's all irrelevant.

I'm sure 90% of the problem is those ass holes on their straight-piped Hardleys at full throttle wherever they go. 'Course, if you've only got 60hp max, maybe it HAS to be full throttle everywhere!

I pull up articles that at least give my side a little weight, you say it is meaningless and no ever make a point or substantiate that point in any way. Sorry to disappoint Monkey but your opinion is irrelevant because you don't even have one or anything to substantiate the opinion you think you have. Where did you get 90% number? You can speak for 90% of the population without even a poll or study to back it up? As a matter of fact one looks like it is doctored? What does that mean it is a fact they you have some perception the authenticity and accuracy of the article with no proof LOL. Besides not wanting to get a ticket, my pipes are stock because I don't want to have to hear that noise in my helmet all through the ride let alone bother other people. I give you a B (for BS )