5 ms·

Do loud pipes save lives? (2021)

43 points by luu 3y ago

bradley13 3y ago
[flagged]
phildenhoff 3y ago
Anecdotally, anyone who rides will you tell you this. It doesn’t matter how high your high viz vest is, or how loudly you rev your bike, someone will blindly cut you off and not realise you’re there until it’s way too late. I’m glad to see the data to back that up. Maybe now my fellow riders can agree that their motorbikes are a bit too damn loud, and tone it down.
- wintermutestwin 3y ago
  >Maybe now my fellow riders can agree that their motorbikes are a bit too damn loud, and tone it down. It would be awesome if the rest of us didn't have to rely on the possible good sense of a motorcyclist and, instead, noise pollution laws were strictly enforced. I highly doubt any Harley out there is even capable of operating below the legal limit in CA of 80dbA.
  - Fire-Dragon-DoL 3y ago
    I literally feel pain in my ears every time a Harley pass by. I wish I could sue for damage all of those, because I'm pretty sure that's what's happening
  - throw0101d 3y ago
    > I highly doubt any Harley out there is even capable of operating below the legal limit in CA of 80dbA. All Harleys that are sold comply with the legal limit. It's the owners that put on third-party exhausts that cause the noise.
- markbnj 3y ago
  Agree with you about loud pipes, but I am not sure why you had to throw high-vis clothing in there, unless the point is simply not to rely on any one advantage and to assume every driver is going to try to kill you. I do and heartily encourage every other rider to do as well. There is data to argue in favor of high vis clothing, and honestly given that the only downside to it is a perception of personal style I don't get why every rider isn't wearing it.
  - phildenhoff 3y ago
    My point is that no matter what you do or wear, you should assume you are invisible and, like you said, ride like every driver is trying to kill you. High viz vests CAN be beneficial. Don’t rely on them.
- growse 3y ago
  I used to ride in London every day. The difference in rate of almost-crashes before and after I get a different (yet still legal) exhaust was substantial.
- tmnvix 3y ago
  In my experience, there is a difference between something like a loud harley and a loud sportsbike. With a harley, I can't easily tell which direction the sound is coming from, but with a sportsbike I can. Frankly, I don't understand how it is that there are so many obnoxiously loud bikes on the road. I've always assumed that it has nothing to do with safety and is more a reflection of the (deliberately) inconsiderate nature of some people.
- throw0101d 3y ago
  > Anecdotally, anyone who rides will you tell you this. Not really? Most folks in, e.g., /r/motorcycles think it is a bunk claim. The stereotype is that it is mostly Harley riders who say it.
taminka 3y ago
lowkey this is a testament to how insanely dangerous cars are, if even such a deafening sound still leaves the driver unaware of their surroundings
- rad_gruchalski 3y ago
  I can perfectly fine grasp the traffic around me until a motorbike comes from behind overtaking left and right, then sitting on my bumper for 5 seconds and hiding behind the c-pillar because he’s eyeing the next overtake. Don’t ride like a dick and you’re visible.
whimsicalism 3y ago
If motorcycles require loud pipes to be safe, they should probably be banned altogether - but I don't really think it is necessary to have loud pipes.
- growse 3y ago
  Bikes are perfectly safe. It's car drivers who aren't.
  - whimsicalism 3y ago
    most motorcycle accidents involve only the motorcycle and no other vehicle and motorcycles have a considerably higher rate of fatal crashes due to things like hitting fixed barriers.
    - djbusby 3y ago
      https://www.nhtsa.gov/book/countermeasures-that-work/motorcycle-safety https://www.nhtsa.gov/book/countermeasures-that-work/motorcy... Here is some data from USA, I've not read it.
    - growse 3y ago
      What that stat doesn't tell you is the rate of near misses. It's anecdotal I know, but as someone who commutes on a bike, the number of times I almost crash by myself per journey is near zero, yet the number of times a car tries to inadvertently occupy the same piece of road as me is multiple.
      - whimsicalism 3y ago
        motorbike? or bicycle bike?
        growse 3y ago
        Motorbike
    - 3y ago
bifrost 3y ago
This is total garbage lol. You can absolutely watch cars move out of the way when motorcycles with loud pipes come through... Its amazing to experience on your own as well.
- djbusby 3y ago
  IME the Doppler effect makes it hard to hear on approach, and then loud after they've passed.
  - 01HNNWZ0MV43FF 3y ago
    I don't think it's even that, it's just that most of the noise points backwards. So I can only hear them when they're in plain sight
- 01HNNWZ0MV43FF 3y ago
  Move? I'm staying in my lane. And I can't hear them if they're behind me.
  - mikeyouse 3y ago
    In California traffic they can lane split so many drivers when they hear a bike coming up (or see one) will hug the outside of the lane to allow them space to safely pass.
- nanocode 3y ago
  You realise you're posting under a scientific study conducted by Association for the Development of Motorcycling, the Polytechnic University of Bucharest and a noise emission specialist from Netherlands In the study somebody actually tried to measure this. You need a stronger rebuttal than "this is total garbage lol". You can make your own scientific study if you believe this results are for some reason incorrect, or at least try to point out where the study made a mistake.
  - bifrost 3y ago
stevebmark 3y ago
In the hierarchy of road hatred, loud motorcycles are by far the most hated by all others (cars, pedestrians, cyclists, etc). Happy to hear there's no science/safety reason to encourage loud motorcycles.
- exe34 3y ago
  I don't normally condone body shaming, but as somebody who really struggles with sudden loud noises, I will always insinuate that those with loud cars and motorbikes are compensating for something.
  - projektfu 3y ago
    As someone who rides an unmodified bike, I hear the transmission more than the exhaust, which is more high-pitched. I can understand wanting better acoustics. But really annoyingly loud bothers me too and I never hear bikes in my car until they're past me.
- loeg 3y ago
  I don’t know, drivers really really hate bicyclists.
  - quantified 3y ago
    In a different way. Loathe loud motorcycles and really hate bicyclists? But you are right. I can't recall the time anyone rolled coal on motorcyclists, much less killed them trying.
  - bifrost 3y ago
    Bicyclists earn it too.
    - matsemann 3y ago
      Of course they don't. Don't judge a group based on characteristics you don't like from some of them. In that vein, the hate for drivers should then be a hundredfold. How many haven't lost a dear one to a car driver?
olix0r 3y ago
Betteridge’s law applies https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betteridge%27s_law_of_headlines https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betteridge%27s_law_of_headli...
supernova87a 3y ago
If they really did save lives, you would think the highway patrol officers who rely on their bikes for their safety and entire professional existence would be equipped with them. No, this is just obnoxious leisure bikers wanting to justify their unnecessary noise they inflict on the rest of us.
- rudedogg 3y ago
  Most police bikes I see in the US are Harleys, I don't think they're buying anything out of practicality. If they were, you'd see a lot more BMW police motorcycles.
  - ProjectArcturis 3y ago
    US police buy almost exclusively domestic vehicles.
    - zoky 3y ago
      Not when it comes to motorcycles. BMW and Honda are both extremely common police bikes. LAPD’s motorcycle fleet used to be almost entirely Kawasakis.
  - jrwoodruff 3y ago
    Michigan State Police somewhat controversially switched to BMW motorcycles in 2012, and actually disbanded the motorcycle unit for awhile because of safety issues. Apparently it's returning this year, still using the BMWs. https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2024/02/15/michigan-state-police-motorcycle-unit-returns-metro-detroit/72586242007/ https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2024/02/15/m...
    - defrost 3y ago
      BMW models with direct shaft drive and horizontally opposed twin pots are better for safety in several ways. Lower centre of gravity, some "extra" leg protection in sideswipes | converging hits on roundabouts (from the pots and pot crash bar protectors), and zero chance of chain wear with better direct power pickup | engine braking from the shaft. These are all grounds for some heated debate wherever two wheels gather, but I'll swear by them.
kaikai 3y ago
Flawed premise in their research. They’re saying you can only hear motorcycles within 33ft, which is too late to react anyhow. The times when I’ve intentionally revved my engine to get attention, it’s because a driver was about to merge into me, and they were very close. In heavy traffic I’m often feathering the clutch, and pulling it in quickly to rev is an easier reach than hitting my horn. Anecdotally, when I switched from a small somewhat quiet bike to a full size cruiser I had WAY fewer sketchy interactions with drivers. They noticed me much better, which kept me safer. I also find loud pipes annoying, but not as annoying as people in cars killing others with the inattention.
- jdbernard 3y ago
  Anecdotally I have had the opposite experience. My smaller bike with a v-twin engine and loud aftermarket exhausts is apparently much less noticeable than my larger sport-touring bike with quiet stock exhausts.
Apreche 3y ago
Not only does the sound from bikes not reduce traffic violence, the sound itself causes immense amounts of measurable and real harm in the form of noise pollution. Many studies are confirming that noise pollution causes way more damage to the health of human beings than we realized. Obviously, some things in the world are necessarily loud, like a jet engine on a plane. Or they are loud with a meaningful purpose, like a big sound system at a concert. But some things are unnecessarily loud with no purpose. Mostly vehicles with modified exhaust and sound systems, but also some other things. If the noise pollution studies are accurate, reducing or eliminating these sounds will extends the lives of untold numbers of people. People will be healthier thanks to getting better sleep not being woken up. People will have lower blood pressure, and therefore reduce heart disease. People will have less road rage, which will in turn reduce traffic violence. How do we actually reduce these sounds? Our current policies are not working. Fining people, impounding vehicles, I don't believe any of that will work. It will simply create revenues for the government. But what solutions does our current society offer that will work? The criminal justice system is not a solution, and will simply cause even more harms. Any solution I can think of that will work is ludicrous and unrealistic. The best thing I can think of is to simply ban the import or manufacture of the exhaust pipes to begin with. If the supply of them is greatly reduced, and the prices go way up, that could go a long way. It's too much to enforce any restriction one by one. It has to be from the top.
miduil 3y ago
I can't find it anymore, but I remember seeing some article or infographic about how many 10 thousand people are loosing sleep whenever one person is driving with a loud pipe through an urban area at night. I get why you love your pipe and your car and driving and everything, but ultimately everything is broken when it comes to urban areas.
RedShift1 3y ago
How do I control the volume of pipes in bash?
cryptoz 3y ago
These ones do: https://youtube.com/watch?v=64liF2VuLxI https://youtube.com/watch?v=64liF2VuLxI
mtreis86 3y ago
I am keeping the stock pipe on my bike, the folks at Honda did a good job making it have a nice tone without being loud. Decent burble I can hear while riding but only just barely over the wind. I really don't need anyone else knowing what RPM I am at as long as I can hear it myself I can use it to guide my shifting. Plus the last thing I want is to wake the neighborhood when I leave early or arrive home late. I once had a VW pickup truck, 70hp, which at one point had a broken header. I bring up the power and model just so you know how ridiculous it was to drive around at a Nascar sort of volume. I hated driving it for the week it took to get parts. I don't mind nicely tuned exhausts, you can make a bike sound really nice compared to the near silence out of so many stock systems. Somewhere around 80-90db both sounds good and is auditory to the rider. Tinnitus is no fun, the wind noise already aggravates mine as is. I wouldn't risk a ride on my neighbor's Harley for more than a couple minutes, must be something like 125db.
noodlesUK 3y ago
I can’t load the article because of the captcha, but based on the comments I’m assuming it’s about loud motorbike exhausts. It’s not just bike exhausts that are loud either. Every night I hear a nearly endless stream of modified cars with pop and bang tunes. There’s not even the supposed justification that it makes you safer in a car, it’s just people doing deliberately inconsiderate things with their vehicles. It’s inflicting annoyance and misery on people for no reason but clout, and we should have less tolerance for it in society generally. It’s also the same drivers who are racing through city centres. I don’t know if they’re just racking up loads of fines and not paying them, or if they’re using swapped plates, but either way, it needs to be enforced better.
matsemann 3y ago
> Researchers found that even the loudest pipes are very hard to hear in a modern car. Somewhat related, but I think it's so weird all the hate cyclists listening to music get. I don't do it myself, but I soo often read online motorists being angry on some cyclist with their airpod in or something. But even then, a cyclist is probably much more aware of their surroundings. If that's the standard that should be applied, drivers should be mandated to drive with their windows rolled down and no music as well.. Also, this shows how useless a small bell is on a cycle to alert drivers. Hence why have a 115 dB AirZound attached to my bike as well. Sure gets their attention when they think their negligence was about to get them t-boned by a truck.
thereisnospork 3y ago
>With the motorcycles’ front wheel next to the car’s rear wheel, one of the motorcycles can be heard inside the car and three motorcycles can almost be heard but, “unfortunately it is too late to be safe.” These sound like very quiet cars[0] or not very loud motorcycles. Maybe my anecdata is flawed but I'm pretty sure I can make out motorcycles (and loud cars) on throttle driving an entirely different road, 100's of ft away when I'm driving, nevermind a straight piped harley 2 car lengths behind. [0] I don't drive a new enough vehicle to attest to modern NVH isolation, but if the driver of a car truely can't hear a ~105 db exhaust noise (~comparable volume to say a horn, or the scream of someone being run over) the problem might lie with the car. edit: for comparison, a car horn is apparently ~110-115db vs an allegedly 105db motorcycle that was tested. (5-10db is a lot more than it looks, but that should be the ~equivalent of hearing a horn honk from ~100ft away @-6dB/100ft)
- timbit42 3y ago
  Even if you can hear them, you can't tell where they are unless you can also see them.
squarefoot 3y ago
I have been a 100% motorcycle rider (that is, no cars) for roughly 38 years until my last accident ended it all, but no, I don't regret anything of it: riding bikes is simply a wonderful experience. In my youngest years I would love having a loud pipe, and I had a moderately loud one, until the day they stole my muffler in the school parking lot and that moderately loud turned into an absolute mess. Anyway, having been young and full of testosterone, I perfectly understand why some people want loud motorcycles (and cars). To me it all boils down to ancient instincts: the loudest beast is the one who marks the larger territory, and is perceived as the most powerful one, that is, the one who collects more females. This can be understandable in youngsters, not so much in grown ups.

43 points by luu 3y ago

[flagged]

Anecdotally, anyone who rides will you tell you this. It doesn’t matter how high your high viz vest is, or how loudly you rev your bike, someone will blindly cut you off and not realise you’re there until it’s way too late. I’m glad to see the data to back that up. Maybe now my fellow riders can agree that their motorbikes are a bit too damn loud, and tone it down.

wintermutestwin 3y ago
>Maybe now my fellow riders can agree that their motorbikes are a bit too damn loud, and tone it down. It would be awesome if the rest of us didn't have to rely on the possible good sense of a motorcyclist and, instead, noise pollution laws were strictly enforced. I highly doubt any Harley out there is even capable of operating below the legal limit in CA of 80dbA.
- Fire-Dragon-DoL 3y ago
  I literally feel pain in my ears every time a Harley pass by. I wish I could sue for damage all of those, because I'm pretty sure that's what's happening
- throw0101d 3y ago
  > I highly doubt any Harley out there is even capable of operating below the legal limit in CA of 80dbA. All Harleys that are sold comply with the legal limit. It's the owners that put on third-party exhausts that cause the noise.
markbnj 3y ago
Agree with you about loud pipes, but I am not sure why you had to throw high-vis clothing in there, unless the point is simply not to rely on any one advantage and to assume every driver is going to try to kill you. I do and heartily encourage every other rider to do as well. There is data to argue in favor of high vis clothing, and honestly given that the only downside to it is a perception of personal style I don't get why every rider isn't wearing it.
- phildenhoff 3y ago
  My point is that no matter what you do or wear, you should assume you are invisible and, like you said, ride like every driver is trying to kill you. High viz vests CAN be beneficial. Don’t rely on them.
growse 3y ago
I used to ride in London every day. The difference in rate of almost-crashes before and after I get a different (yet still legal) exhaust was substantial.
tmnvix 3y ago
In my experience, there is a difference between something like a loud harley and a loud sportsbike. With a harley, I can't easily tell which direction the sound is coming from, but with a sportsbike I can. Frankly, I don't understand how it is that there are so many obnoxiously loud bikes on the road. I've always assumed that it has nothing to do with safety and is more a reflection of the (deliberately) inconsiderate nature of some people.
throw0101d 3y ago
> Anecdotally, anyone who rides will you tell you this. Not really? Most folks in, e.g., /r/motorcycles think it is a bunk claim. The stereotype is that it is mostly Harley riders who say it.

taminka 3y ago

lowkey this is a testament to how insanely dangerous cars are, if even such a deafening sound still leaves the driver unaware of their surroundings

rad_gruchalski 3y ago
I can perfectly fine grasp the traffic around me until a motorbike comes from behind overtaking left and right, then sitting on my bumper for 5 seconds and hiding behind the c-pillar because he’s eyeing the next overtake. Don’t ride like a dick and you’re visible.

whimsicalism 3y ago

If motorcycles require loud pipes to be safe, they should probably be banned altogether - but I don't really think it is necessary to have loud pipes.

growse 3y ago
Bikes are perfectly safe. It's car drivers who aren't.
- whimsicalism 3y ago
  most motorcycle accidents involve only the motorcycle and no other vehicle and motorcycles have a considerably higher rate of fatal crashes due to things like hitting fixed barriers.
  - djbusby 3y ago
    https://www.nhtsa.gov/book/countermeasures-that-work/motorcycle-safety https://www.nhtsa.gov/book/countermeasures-that-work/motorcy... Here is some data from USA, I've not read it.
  - growse 3y ago
    What that stat doesn't tell you is the rate of near misses. It's anecdotal I know, but as someone who commutes on a bike, the number of times I almost crash by myself per journey is near zero, yet the number of times a car tries to inadvertently occupy the same piece of road as me is multiple.
    - whimsicalism 3y ago
      motorbike? or bicycle bike?
      - growse 3y ago
        Motorbike
  - 3y ago

bifrost 3y ago

This is total garbage lol. You can absolutely watch cars move out of the way when motorcycles with loud pipes come through... Its amazing to experience on your own as well.

djbusby 3y ago
IME the Doppler effect makes it hard to hear on approach, and then loud after they've passed.
- 01HNNWZ0MV43FF 3y ago
  I don't think it's even that, it's just that most of the noise points backwards. So I can only hear them when they're in plain sight
01HNNWZ0MV43FF 3y ago
Move? I'm staying in my lane. And I can't hear them if they're behind me.
- mikeyouse 3y ago
  In California traffic they can lane split so many drivers when they hear a bike coming up (or see one) will hug the outside of the lane to allow them space to safely pass.
nanocode 3y ago
You realise you're posting under a scientific study conducted by Association for the Development of Motorcycling, the Polytechnic University of Bucharest and a noise emission specialist from Netherlands In the study somebody actually tried to measure this. You need a stronger rebuttal than "this is total garbage lol". You can make your own scientific study if you believe this results are for some reason incorrect, or at least try to point out where the study made a mistake.
- bifrost 3y ago

stevebmark 3y ago

In the hierarchy of road hatred, loud motorcycles are by far the most hated by all others (cars, pedestrians, cyclists, etc). Happy to hear there's no science/safety reason to encourage loud motorcycles.

exe34 3y ago
I don't normally condone body shaming, but as somebody who really struggles with sudden loud noises, I will always insinuate that those with loud cars and motorbikes are compensating for something.
- projektfu 3y ago
  As someone who rides an unmodified bike, I hear the transmission more than the exhaust, which is more high-pitched. I can understand wanting better acoustics. But really annoyingly loud bothers me too and I never hear bikes in my car until they're past me.
loeg 3y ago
I don’t know, drivers really really hate bicyclists.
- quantified 3y ago
  In a different way. Loathe loud motorcycles and really hate bicyclists? But you are right. I can't recall the time anyone rolled coal on motorcyclists, much less killed them trying.
- bifrost 3y ago
  Bicyclists earn it too.
  - matsemann 3y ago
    Of course they don't. Don't judge a group based on characteristics you don't like from some of them. In that vein, the hate for drivers should then be a hundredfold. How many haven't lost a dear one to a car driver?

olix0r 3y ago

Betteridge’s law applies https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betteridge%27s_law_of_headlines https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betteridge%27s_law_of_headli...

supernova87a 3y ago

If they really did save lives, you would think the highway patrol officers who rely on their bikes for their safety and entire professional existence would be equipped with them. No, this is just obnoxious leisure bikers wanting to justify their unnecessary noise they inflict on the rest of us.

rudedogg 3y ago
Most police bikes I see in the US are Harleys, I don't think they're buying anything out of practicality. If they were, you'd see a lot more BMW police motorcycles.
- ProjectArcturis 3y ago
  US police buy almost exclusively domestic vehicles.
  - zoky 3y ago
    Not when it comes to motorcycles. BMW and Honda are both extremely common police bikes. LAPD’s motorcycle fleet used to be almost entirely Kawasakis.
- jrwoodruff 3y ago
  Michigan State Police somewhat controversially switched to BMW motorcycles in 2012, and actually disbanded the motorcycle unit for awhile because of safety issues. Apparently it's returning this year, still using the BMWs. https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2024/02/15/michigan-state-police-motorcycle-unit-returns-metro-detroit/72586242007/ https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2024/02/15/m...
  - defrost 3y ago
    BMW models with direct shaft drive and horizontally opposed twin pots are better for safety in several ways. Lower centre of gravity, some "extra" leg protection in sideswipes | converging hits on roundabouts (from the pots and pot crash bar protectors), and zero chance of chain wear with better direct power pickup | engine braking from the shaft. These are all grounds for some heated debate wherever two wheels gather, but I'll swear by them.

kaikai 3y ago

Flawed premise in their research. They’re saying you can only hear motorcycles within 33ft, which is too late to react anyhow. The times when I’ve intentionally revved my engine to get attention, it’s because a driver was about to merge into me, and they were very close. In heavy traffic I’m often feathering the clutch, and pulling it in quickly to rev is an easier reach than hitting my horn. Anecdotally, when I switched from a small somewhat quiet bike to a full size cruiser I had WAY fewer sketchy interactions with drivers. They noticed me much better, which kept me safer. I also find loud pipes annoying, but not as annoying as people in cars killing others with the inattention.

jdbernard 3y ago
Anecdotally I have had the opposite experience. My smaller bike with a v-twin engine and loud aftermarket exhausts is apparently much less noticeable than my larger sport-touring bike with quiet stock exhausts.

Apreche 3y ago

Not only does the sound from bikes not reduce traffic violence, the sound itself causes immense amounts of measurable and real harm in the form of noise pollution. Many studies are confirming that noise pollution causes way more damage to the health of human beings than we realized. Obviously, some things in the world are necessarily loud, like a jet engine on a plane. Or they are loud with a meaningful purpose, like a big sound system at a concert. But some things are unnecessarily loud with no purpose. Mostly vehicles with modified exhaust and sound systems, but also some other things. If the noise pollution studies are accurate, reducing or eliminating these sounds will extends the lives of untold numbers of people. People will be healthier thanks to getting better sleep not being woken up. People will have lower blood pressure, and therefore reduce heart disease. People will have less road rage, which will in turn reduce traffic violence. How do we actually reduce these sounds? Our current policies are not working. Fining people, impounding vehicles, I don't believe any of that will work. It will simply create revenues for the government. But what solutions does our current society offer that will work? The criminal justice system is not a solution, and will simply cause even more harms. Any solution I can think of that will work is ludicrous and unrealistic. The best thing I can think of is to simply ban the import or manufacture of the exhaust pipes to begin with. If the supply of them is greatly reduced, and the prices go way up, that could go a long way. It's too much to enforce any restriction one by one. It has to be from the top.

miduil 3y ago

I can't find it anymore, but I remember seeing some article or infographic about how many 10 thousand people are loosing sleep whenever one person is driving with a loud pipe through an urban area at night. I get why you love your pipe and your car and driving and everything, but ultimately everything is broken when it comes to urban areas.

RedShift1 3y ago

How do I control the volume of pipes in bash?

cryptoz 3y ago

These ones do: https://youtube.com/watch?v=64liF2VuLxI https://youtube.com/watch?v=64liF2VuLxI

mtreis86 3y ago

I am keeping the stock pipe on my bike, the folks at Honda did a good job making it have a nice tone without being loud. Decent burble I can hear while riding but only just barely over the wind. I really don't need anyone else knowing what RPM I am at as long as I can hear it myself I can use it to guide my shifting. Plus the last thing I want is to wake the neighborhood when I leave early or arrive home late. I once had a VW pickup truck, 70hp, which at one point had a broken header. I bring up the power and model just so you know how ridiculous it was to drive around at a Nascar sort of volume. I hated driving it for the week it took to get parts. I don't mind nicely tuned exhausts, you can make a bike sound really nice compared to the near silence out of so many stock systems. Somewhere around 80-90db both sounds good and is auditory to the rider. Tinnitus is no fun, the wind noise already aggravates mine as is. I wouldn't risk a ride on my neighbor's Harley for more than a couple minutes, must be something like 125db.

noodlesUK 3y ago

I can’t load the article because of the captcha, but based on the comments I’m assuming it’s about loud motorbike exhausts. It’s not just bike exhausts that are loud either. Every night I hear a nearly endless stream of modified cars with pop and bang tunes. There’s not even the supposed justification that it makes you safer in a car, it’s just people doing deliberately inconsiderate things with their vehicles. It’s inflicting annoyance and misery on people for no reason but clout, and we should have less tolerance for it in society generally. It’s also the same drivers who are racing through city centres. I don’t know if they’re just racking up loads of fines and not paying them, or if they’re using swapped plates, but either way, it needs to be enforced better.

matsemann 3y ago

> Researchers found that even the loudest pipes are very hard to hear in a modern car. Somewhat related, but I think it's so weird all the hate cyclists listening to music get. I don't do it myself, but I soo often read online motorists being angry on some cyclist with their airpod in or something. But even then, a cyclist is probably much more aware of their surroundings. If that's the standard that should be applied, drivers should be mandated to drive with their windows rolled down and no music as well.. Also, this shows how useless a small bell is on a cycle to alert drivers. Hence why have a 115 dB AirZound attached to my bike as well. Sure gets their attention when they think their negligence was about to get them t-boned by a truck.

thereisnospork 3y ago

>With the motorcycles’ front wheel next to the car’s rear wheel, one of the motorcycles can be heard inside the car and three motorcycles can almost be heard but, “unfortunately it is too late to be safe.” These sound like very quiet cars[0] or not very loud motorcycles. Maybe my anecdata is flawed but I'm pretty sure I can make out motorcycles (and loud cars) on throttle driving an entirely different road, 100's of ft away when I'm driving, nevermind a straight piped harley 2 car lengths behind. [0] I don't drive a new enough vehicle to attest to modern NVH isolation, but if the driver of a car truely can't hear a ~105 db exhaust noise (~comparable volume to say a horn, or the scream of someone being run over) the problem might lie with the car. edit: for comparison, a car horn is apparently ~110-115db vs an allegedly 105db motorcycle that was tested. (5-10db is a lot more than it looks, but that should be the ~equivalent of hearing a horn honk from ~100ft away @-6dB/100ft)

timbit42 3y ago
Even if you can hear them, you can't tell where they are unless you can also see them.

squarefoot 3y ago

I have been a 100% motorcycle rider (that is, no cars) for roughly 38 years until my last accident ended it all, but no, I don't regret anything of it: riding bikes is simply a wonderful experience. In my youngest years I would love having a loud pipe, and I had a moderately loud one, until the day they stole my muffler in the school parking lot and that moderately loud turned into an absolute mess. Anyway, having been young and full of testosterone, I perfectly understand why some people want loud motorcycles (and cars). To me it all boils down to ancient instincts: the loudest beast is the one who marks the larger territory, and is perceived as the most powerful one, that is, the one who collects more females. This can be understandable in youngsters, not so much in grown ups.