How loud can this bike get?

[Ulvetanna_imp]

There are two kinds of people: those that think only of themselves and their pleasure, and those that think and care about the impact of their behavior on their fellow citizens. The first kind ranges from criminal sociopaths to annoying buttwipes. In case of motorcycles, the position on the scale can be determined by measuring the decibels.

Man that gave me a chuckle whilst sitting here waiting for the pro surfing competition...er...MotoGP race to get started.

By the above metric, I've been on both ends of the scale, and perhaps could have been called an "outlier".

These days, I cannot bring myself to even install a slip-on.

I have had all kinds of bikes with very loud pipes, from Japanese sportbikes to Big-Twin HD. The noise, in the end, was only for my own satisfaction. I truly had myself talked into the idea that the ear-shattering "Screamin' Eagle" pipes would make more people aware of me. But after who knows how many hundreds of thousands of miles of loud pipes, I found they made absolutely no different. And in fact, all those bright vests, jackets, helmets, and whatnot don't help either. I ride in very heavy urban traffic almost every day at present. There is so much noise and visual clutter that no motorist is going to take note of a brilliant yellow jacket, red helmet, or ear-shattering set of pipes. The sound could be coming from anywhere. It could be a truck or a train or a helicopter or airplane. They roll up their windows and listen to the infotainment system.

What I HAVE noticed is they pay attention to a bright headlight, especially when splitting lanes, and more often than not, will move over to allow me to pass safely. So our lane-splitting bill has helped. But that can also be taken too far. Some of these ADV and HD riders have just gotten out of control with blinding lights, but if it prevents an accident I would not argue with it too much.

Lights and sirens are the only two things that get motorists' attention, and even those sometimes don't.

I have no business telling anyone not to get a pipe as I've had many, but don't fool yourself into thinking they save lives. My whisper-quiet, stock '13 Standard had more freeway drivers parting like the Red Sea the other day than any other bike on the road. I can barely hear the engine myself.