Staintune sound, just "OK"

[Guth_imp]

The other day I was filling up and a fellow about my age (mid 50's) came up and struck up a conversation. (Nothing unusual about that). He was a long time rider of lots of bikes, including old CBs. He said he had gotten tired of HD and had been riding a Speed Triple for a couple of years. In any case, he really liked the bike and asked how it sounded. I said it was very sedate. He said, that's OK, he liked a quiet bike. I told him that this was real quiet and, as a result, many people upgraded the exhaust right off the bat. He again reiterated that he liked quiet. So I fired her up. "That's not bad at all", he said. Then I revved her up. He smiled and said "yeah, I would be changing that"
I know this is on my list at some point. but not sure which direction I want to go. First on the list, however, is trying to come up with rational reason to tell my wife that it makes sense to replace a perfectly good, functional and quiet exhaust with a louder one. I mean she doesn't even believe that the only reason I have a bike is because it uses less gas so I preserve the environment for our children, their children, whales and the three-toed spotted salamander!

I didn't even bother trying. I simply said that there was no logical explanation (the question did indeed come up). I'm sure there are plenty of suitable analogies one could use (why buy another pair of shoes when you already have a few pairs to wear already?, etc.). But that didn't even seem worth the effort. In the end, I realized that when it came to the CB1100 in general, and the Staintune exhaust specifically, I was reverting back to some of the most cherished experiences of my youth such as acquiring a Yamaha "Moto-Bike" or a brand new Honda XR75. These weren't the most logical purchases, but I was so fixated on them that there was almost no way they weren't going to happen. I wish I had those two items today, and even though I don't; I'm very thankful for the memories. Absolutely no regrets. I can say the same thing about my CB1100 and the Staintune exhaust. Good stuff.