do "loud pipes save lives"?

[redwing-2001]

Loud Pipes Save Lives or The Madness Behind the Myth

[72racer]

This has been a great debate for years,I do think if your exhaust is obnoxiusly loud its not good thing,gotta find a happy medium and nothing can guarantee our safety,but in the first 100 miles on my bike twice i had cars change lanes into my lane while i was riding right beside them,since i put the TBR ehaust people know when im there(not to mention it just sounds great)so nothing take the place of having your head on a swivel but our stock exhausts are way to quiet.........

[jcbrown630]

I'm a firm believer that while passing thru the blindspot a louder pipe will alert a driver who may be about to merge on top of you. However the view that they will hear you coming is most likely not correct considering the exhaust on 9/10 of bikes out there is exiting the REAR, and away from the vehicle you are approaching.

[Spunky99]

Good read but one point he purposely glossed over with minimum discussion was the result of a siren. He stated that cager hears the siren but doesn't know where it's coming from. The cager hears the siren coming from a 360 degree radius and it's the same for loud pipes, they do radiate sound in every direction, not just rearward although more sound is rearward he fails to make any percentage of sound radius directional compass points. The cager starts paying attention and starts looking for the ambulance, fire engine or motorcycle so then it becomes the visual thing that he insisted was the key to safety. So if a motorist does hear a siren or loud pipes he will look to identify where it is coming from. That right there wins the loud pipe issue as positive..game over done, finito!

When splitting lanes with louder pipes I get more than 2 times the cooperation from drivers and my sound is going the wrong direction according to the article.
They separate like the Red Sea when I split lanes because they hear me even though the sound is going in the opposite direction...supposedly. There is always the guy who refuses to budge or the guy with the music so loud he couldn't hear a thermonuclear bomb go off next to him. That reality.

I keep my RPM and noise levels to a minimum in residential areas and around town so as not to be a nusiance but the louder pipes do make a difference on the road. Cagers do hear you and that sets up a chain of events that are good for the motorcyclist. 1. Cager hears a loud motor. 2. Cager tries to identify where the loud motor noise is coming from. 3. Cager now has visual contact with loud motorcycle. 4. Cager avoids maneuvers that may cause an accident with the motorcycle.

Loud pipes save lives by alerting cagers to your presence

[FZ1inNH]

No they don't, but riding skills do save lives.

[dart1963]

Originally Posted by Spunky99

The cager starts paying attention and starts looking for the ambulance, fire engine or motorcycle so then it becomes the visual thing that he insisted was the key to safety. So if a motorist does hear a siren or loud pipes he will look to identify where it is coming from. That right there wins the loud pipe issue as positive..game over done, finito!

Problem is, cagers are taught to look for sirens, not loud pipes. That he did cover, the cager has to have a care about what is going on.

I'm glad you can split lanes and cars work with you, it's not like that in most places, here in the NOVA area, cagers don't respect other cagers, let alone a "noisy MC", they'll continue talking on their cell, playing with their ipods, or eating their cereal regardless how much noise you make., then they'll cut you off with no turn signal, no head check, nothing, no indication they were considering a lane change. That's why when I go to pass a car, I don't gun it to get around them and I always make sure I have an out if they do suddenly come into my lane.

[Spunky99]

I agree 100% that rider skills are necessary but would you as a highly skilled rider prefer to have loud or semi loud pipes or a completely silent motorcycle that has no sound at all?

A combination of riding skills and some pipe noise is preferable to an electric/silent motorcycle.

[Stephenfz6r]

I drive as if no one can see me, that way I don't get any surprises. The drivers out there that own the road don't care about motorcycles, they do what they want whether they see you or not. In Montreal Noisey exhaust gets you an invitation to the inspection center. I ride with the high beam on during daylight hours and at night if cars are far away so I can be seen.

[FZ1inNH]

Questions? Can you hear every car beside you in a cage? Do they all have loud pipes? No. What about the hybrids? They make no sounds at all in your blind spot when under 35 and on electric.

You're better off to get a Stebel horn and be trigger happy with the button. In 20 years, your ears will also thank you for not subjecting them to constant loud pipes.

An excerpt from the cruiser guys themselves:


Myth 2: Loud Pipes Save Lives
Yeah, there are a few situations—like where you are right next to a driver with his window down who is about the to change lanes—where full-time noise-makers might help a driver notice you, but all that noise directed rearward doesn't do much in the most common and much more dangerous conflict where a car turns in front of you. Maybe it's the fatigue caused by the noise, maybe it's the attitudes of riders who insist on making annoying noise, or perhaps loud bikes annoy enough drivers to make them aggressive. Whatever the reason, the research shows that bikes with modified exhaust systems crash more frequently than those with stock pipes. If you really want to save lives, turn to a loud jacket or a bright helmet color, which have been proven to do the job. Or install a louder horn. Otherwise, just shut up.

[FZRblack]

I don't think that they save lives, but I feel that help you be noticed, like having your high beam on all the time during the day.