[int0x2e]

Sorry, but as a person with over 15 years of motorcycle driving experience - "loud pipes save lives" is mostly a myth. They may help sometimes, but they can also be dangerous since in some settings they can scare the heck out of the car driver which can lead to them making unpredictable choices.

Ultimately, the best thing a rider can do is take total ownership over our safety - full protective gear, constantly taking advanced riding training courses, and above all - always riding at a reasonable speed for the road, visibility and traffic conditions.

[smoyer]

You just reminded me of an incident that happened to me on I83 near the PA border - a motorcyclist passed between me and the vehicle in the left lane (yes ... a two-lane road passing on the dashed line) going about 120 MPH. It wasn't the cycle passing at high speed very close to the car that scared me ... it was that I never saw him/her in my mirrors and the noise between two cars that were 4 feet apart was horrendous. I actually made me flinch at the wheel and I probably swerved a foot in my lane.

I've known many conscientious motorcycle drivers but it's people like this that lead to emergency room doctors referencing "donorcycles".

[dharmab]

This is especially true in modern cars with great sound deadening and NVH. As my group of riders has observed when we ferry bikes into winter storage, the only bikes we can hear at all in our cars are practically straight piped.