[pasbesoin]

> sounds like a jet engine turbine

Well, so much for the hope it might quiet down the disruption from at least some Harley riders.

Where I live, the noise from them is simply awful. I wish the noise ordinances would be enforced against them. Very selfish people, who inflict that upon the neighborhoods they ride through.

Plenty of other bikes perform just fine while keeping noise to tolerable levels.

[jobu]

As an owner of a fairly quiet motorcycle, I've actually considered swapping out the mufflers for something noisier just so drivers notice me. I've only been riding a few years, but I already can't count the number of times I've been cut-off or nearly hit by people in cars that simply didn't see me on the motorcycle. The benefit of loud Harley-style pipes is that other drivers will at least hear you when they don't see you.

[mikestew]

Don't buy into the bullshit. People often don't appear to hear fire trucks, let alone the fruity tone of an uncorked Harley exhaust that is pointing away from the car. If you're getting cut off and frequently have near collisions, ask yourself if there's something you could be doing differently. Take an MSF course, you'll be surprised how lane position and other techniques can make a difference without pissing off your entire neighborhood.

[axaxs]

The best advice youll ever get on the topic is to "drive like you're invisible." Don't depend on loud pipes or loud colors. You will have close calls even in a school bus, but you on a bike have more to lose in that situation.

[reustle]

Loud pipes save lives! I upgraded my pipes for performance reasons, but I'm not disappointed with the new sound.

[DanBC]

Do you contact whoever is responsible for enforcing noise stuff?

It's useful to keep a diary for a month. Include photos and videos. If you can dedicate a camera for a month and keep that in a fixed place it helps.

You then make notes of all the details in the photos - licence plates, desceiptions, times, dates, etc.

Dump all of that neatly collated information in the hands of whoever does the enforcement and see what happens. Do it for a few months if nothing changes, and escalate after a few months.

[justizin]

noise ordinances are often about sustained noise for longer than a few seconds, constantly above a certain decibel limit. you're likely to find that construction, large vehicles, and other things nearby are as much of a nuisance from a measured standpoint.

[mikestew]

If that were true, towns would not have "No compression brakes" signs at the town limits. No one wants a loud ass Harley ridden by wannabe outlaw bikers waking their baby up at 2:00 a. m. That's one reason noise tickets are written (though not nearly often enough) for those with open pipes.

[sigzero]

Loud pipes save lives!

[mwfunk]

If it's so inherently dangerous to ride a Harley that their loudness is required in order to achieve an acceptable level of safety, then no one should be riding them, period.

If non-Harley motorcycles with reasonable noise levels are insufficiently safe because they're so quiet, then no one should be riding motorcycles at all.

I don't agree with either of these perspectives, but whenever anyone makes the "loud pipes save lives" argument, this is what they are saying. It might look good on a bumper sticker but it doesn't make sense. It's no different than suggesting that all pedestrians walk around screaming gibberish as loudly as possible at all times, to reduce their chances of getting hit by bicycles.

If I really believed that I needed to ride a Harley in order to ride safely, I would stop riding altogether. It's not worth annoying hundreds of people every single day just to indulge myself in this one thing. I would find a different hobby.

[saosebastiao]

If people actually installed custom loud pipes as a safety precaution, they would point the pipes forwards, towards the vehicles that are actually liable to hurt them out of negligence.

Nobody points their pipes forwards. They install loud pipes because they are assholes, and want everybody behind them to know.