Loud Pipes

[Ole]

Growing up on a farm, using no hearing protection, has cost me big time. Tractors with no cabs and open exhausts, chainsaws, vacuum pumps with no mufflers, trap shooting, all these things have contributed to my hearing loss. Nobody used ear plugs back then. Now I lay in bed just about every night,trying to fall asleep, with my ears a ringing.
For the last ten years or so, I have always used ear plugs when riding my bikes but I am afraid the damage has already been done. Save your hearing guys when it's gone it's gone,,,,

[Guth_imp]

The problem with the loud pipes is even though 'we' as riders may be 'ok' with it... the general non-riding public can get very annoyed. And that hurts the sport because they equate all motorcycles and motorcyclists as being a noisy nuisance.
My Harley has stock pipes... and it is not loud at all. Yet, down the street a bit another guy has a Road King with a modified exhaust and every time he fires it up, I get annoyed. And when he rides down the hill out of the neighborhood you hear his engine braking... way too loud. So when people look at that, they think all bikes are annoying, especially Harley's. It's not the bike... It's the owner who modified it.
I'm with Greg on the one...

The town I live in is full of yayhoos like your neighbor. I think if you were to pyschoanalyze most of these people, I think you'd find that they crave attention, and in their juvenile mindset, they think that being loud will get the attention they crave, which no doubt it does, but they pay no attention to whether the attention is good or bad. You cannot be a faux badass if your bike isn't obnoxiously loud. It doesn't annoy only the non-riding public, it annoys the hell out of me. I'm talking about the straight pipes that are so loud they hurt the ears. I have nothing against a baffled, or even non-baffled aftermarket exhaust that stays below the level of obnoxious, why I even own a few of those myself.

Anyone else care to join in the pychoanalysis of riders with obnoxiously loud exhaust?

So what do you say to the person that is annoyed by your stock Harley and feels that it is too loud?

Guth, that's an easy one. "The exhaust on my Harley is EPA/DOT approved, meets all state and federal regulations, and is 100 percent legal. If you feel otherwise, please feel free to inquire with the proper authorities on your own time."

The problem with the loud pipes is even though 'we' as riders may be 'ok' with it... the general non-riding public can get very annoyed. And that hurts the sport because they equate all motorcycles and motorcyclists as being a noisy nuisance.
My Harley has stock pipes... and it is not loud at all. Yet, down the street a bit another guy has a Road King with a modified exhaust and every time he fires it up, I get annoyed. And when he rides down the hill out of the neighborhood you hear his engine braking... way too loud. So when people look at that, they think all bikes are annoying, especially Harley's. It's not the bike... It's the owner who modified it.
I'm with Greg on the one...

The town I live in is full of yayhoos like your neighbor. I think if you were to pyschoanalyze most of these people, I think you'd find that they crave attention, and in their juvenile mindset, they think that being loud will get the attention they crave, which no doubt it does, but they pay no attention to whether the attention is good or bad. You cannot be a faux badass if your bike isn't obnoxiously loud. It doesn't annoy only the non-riding public, it annoys the hell out of me. I'm talking about the straight pipes that are so loud they hurt the ears. I have nothing against a baffled, or even non-baffled aftermarket exhaust that stays below the level of obnoxious, why I even own a few of those myself.

Anyone else care to join in the pychoanalysis of riders with obnoxiously loud exhaust?

So what do you say to the person that is annoyed by your stock Harley and feels that it is too loud?

Guth, that's an easy one. "The exhaust on my Harley is EPA/DOT approved, meets all state and federal regulations, and is 100 percent legal. If you feel otherwise, please feel free to inquire with the proper authorities on your own time."

Guth, that's an easy one. "The exhaust on my Harley is EPA/DOT approved, meets all state and federal regulations, and is 100 percent legal. If you feel otherwise, please feel free to inquire with the proper authorities on your own time."
Okay, now someone has presented something that I can better wrap my mind around. In addition to the limits set by the EPA, [url=http://drivinglaws.aaa.com/laws/motorcycle-noise-limits/]each state has it's own regulations on the subject.

[scott will_imp]

I see both sides of this. I actually dont mind most bikes sound even under throttle. Some can be excessive. Especially with the car windows down next to one with my 2 yr old in the back seat.
I just roll the windows up.
I do understand the to loud complaint. It depends on where u are when they get on them.
The main bike that seems noisiest is a big twin w straight pipes. Most think its harleys but. There are so many big twins now. They develop most noise in lower rpms on acceleration.
I think the rider has alot to do with when to be loud or not. On any bike.
As for the cb1100 i have headers w no cat and a small canister in comparison to the fact. My bike doesnt get loud till im in the 4500 rpm range n then it has a throaty scream of mini formula 1.
The loud pipes saves lives is an argument for sure but. Here is what i know from being a biker n cager.( stole from another board member n like the term)
Most people see bikes initially. But tend to look beyond them at times or forget they are close. . I have done it myself. I know where i bike i can see and hear is , its a reminder for 2 senses vs only 1.

[road dog_imp]

Upgrading to a better exhaust is one thing, but modifying just for the sake of making noise is dumb. If people who say "loud pipes save lives" want to be taken seriously they need to start wearing hi-vis clothing and running headlight and brake light modulators. The majority here won't ride with a helmet, but have no problem gutting their pipes and telling each other loud pipes can save your life with a straight face.

As Guth keeps pointing out, when it comes to the subject of loud pipes, it's all pretty relative. I prefer to hear my exhaust (over engine noise) when I ride, but I also hate the obnoxious exhaust on what most of the weekend warriors ride around here during the summer. There's a happy medium in there somewhere, but my opinion of where it falls may be very different from someone else's.

[SanPete_imp]

I see both sides of this. I actually dont mind most bikes sound even under throttle. Some can be excessive. Especially with the car windows down next to one with my 2 yr old in the back seat.
I just roll the windows up.
I do understand the to loud complaint. It depends on where u are when they get on them.
The main bike that seems noisiest is a big twin w straight pipes. Most think its harleys but. There are so many big twins now. They develop most noise in lower rpms on acceleration.
I think the rider has alot to do with when to be loud or not. On any bike.
As for the cb1100 i have headers w no cat and a small canister in comparison to the fact. My bike doesnt get loud till im in the 4500 rpm range n then it has a throaty scream of mini formula 1.
The loud pipes saves lives is an argument for sure but. Here is what i know from being a biker n cager.( stole from another board member n like the term)
Most people see bikes initially. But tend to look beyond them at times or forget they are close. . I have done it myself. I know where i bike i can see and hear is , its a reminder for 2 senses vs only 1.

Can we see a picture?

Sent from my SM-T217S using Tapatalk

[Red Mist_imp]

I think motorcycles should have to follow the same laws as cars as far as noise goes, I also think we have to many guns in this country, I'll be glad to give both up when the laws are passed.

LOL, I am sure you are as serious as a heart attack about this. Better hand over your bicycles too!

Naw, folks, we have hit the DOLDRUMS here with this CB1100 forum. We are just becalmed in a millpond sea. I have been hankerin' to post some irrelevant, annoyin', controversial stuff that's sure to stir up a hornet's nest but it's apparent that I ain't the only one bored to tears with this winter and actually with this bike. Ain't sayin' she's not a beauty but unlike a adventure bike or superbike, she just don't get the blood moving. The CB1100 is the equivalent of a rolling case of arteriosclerosis, she's just phlegmatic in the extreme. That's why we get to carryin' on agin' each other about nonsense like ethanol, what to call a pig, growin' corn, and world peace. Ever' single dang thread on this here forum turns into a opinion-fest within about six posts.

I think the deal is we like the bike but there jest ain't much to say 'er do about it so we get to jawin' about ever'thing under the sun, which includes all topics up to and includin' whether we can akchully heer our arteries hardenin'.

--------------------------

For more on this post please search: Breckenridge Elkins

If you want some good funny reading you'll love Breckenridge...

Growing up on a farm, using no hearing protection, has cost me big time. Tractors with no cabs and open exhausts, chainsaws, vacuum pumps with no mufflers, trap shooting, all these things have contributed to my hearing loss. Nobody used ear plugs back then. Now I lay in bed just about every night,trying to fall asleep, with my ears a ringing.
For the last ten years or so, I have always used ear plugs when riding my bikes but I am afraid the damage has already been done. Save your hearing guys when it's gone it's gone,,,,

Yep, me too. Weird thing about my ears, I played rock and roll music for years, too, as well as growin' up on a dadblasted farm. Howsomever, I allus wore earplugs from the first after I took up streetbike riding. And I did wear 'em most of the time when playing loud music. But I've got the tinnitus going now, however my hearing still seems to be perfectly acute.

My ENT checked me out and said oftentimes a guy can have the tinnitus and still hear perfect. That stuff'll keep you up at night and cause you to start thinking about screeming blue murder.

What other kinda old guy health complaints can we get after here?

-Breckenridge Elkins

[banjobart_imp]

I hate loud pipes. I observe that as the pipes get louder the riders have fewer riding skills and ability.

An aftermarket performance pipe sounds good, but pipes with no baffles stink of unburned fuel, reduce torque and sound like cuss.

[the Ferret]

Love the CB 1100. To me it's the most exciting bike to come down the pike in years. Don't get excited at all about ADV bikes or Superbikes.

However 3/4 of the country still isn't riding. We are all cooped up indoors. Football is over, baseball or MotoGP hasn't started yet.

The loud pipes thread was a result of a modification to a CB 1100 thread.

Not sure where the corn juice and piggies thread originated. Honda allows for 10% ethanol but no more. It's clearly printed in the owners manual.

Things will return to most things CB in a few weeks when guys can get out and ride.

We may get distracted upon occasion but this is the most civil forum on the net, and we work hard to keep it that way. I would rather be bored to tears with how good the CB 1100 really is, than embroiled in a internet war with un-winable arguments, name calling and hard feelings. When that happens there are no winners and everyone loses. Wanna argue, try a ADV or Superbike forum, they are all over the net.

Those that like to stir it up usually do get bored here rather quickly and go find some place else to argue.

[Red Mist_imp]

Well the truth is we are mostly just a bunch of grumpy old men who are pissed off at all the young dudes, who are getting all the tail and are too young and dumb to know better.

Now ain't nobody here gonna tell me that when he was in his teens and twenties and thirties, he didn't put a pipe on his bike or do some kind of crazy stuff and do a lot of courtin' and sparkin'.

Now then, along comes kids and wife and house and mebbe a few nice bikes and cars and airplanes and boats, and all that stuff and over time we start to worry about losing those accumulations of worldly goods. So's we start to notice all the stupid dangerous stuff everyone else is doing that threatens our peaceable, productive lives.

Then we decide it's dangerous, wrong, stupid, misguided, and there oughta be a law.

Well, except for the stupid, dangerous stuff that we've decided is OK for us to do.

All o' my bikes are perfectly stock now and quiet as a cadre of churchmice and they're gonna stay that way. But it's the first time in 30 years. A lot of my bikes had loud pipes, some were well nigh earsplittin' and somehow I managed to make it all those years without anybody tryin' to pound my head because of the racket.

Now here is a philosophical-like qwestion: Should we all pay some kinda penance for our misguided youth?

Oh, I got the answer: bein' pissed off at the younguns for their youthful, reckless, ignorant abandon IS PENANCE.

[Ole]

I think motorcycles should have to follow the same laws as cars as far as noise goes, I also think we have to many guns in this country, I'll be glad to give both up when the laws are passed.

LOL, I am sure you are as serious as a heart attack about this. Better hand over your bicycles too!

Naw, folks, we have hit the DOLDRUMS here with this CB1100 forum. We are just becalmed in a millpond sea. I have been hankerin' to post some irrelevant, annoyin', controversial stuff that's sure to stir up a hornet's nest but it's apparent that I ain't the only one bored to tears with this winter and actually with this bike. Ain't sayin' she's not a beauty but unlike a adventure bike or superbike, she just don't get the blood moving. The CB1100 is the equivalent of a rolling case of arteriosclerosis, she's just phlegmatic in the extreme. That's why we get to carryin' on agin' each other about nonsense like ethanol, what to call a pig, growin' corn, and world peace. Ever' single dang thread on this here forum turns into a opinion-fest within about six posts.

I think the deal is we like the bike but there jest ain't much to say 'er do about it so we get to jawin' about ever'thing under the sun, which includes all topics up to and includin' whether we can akchully heer our arteries hardenin'.

--------------------------

For more on this post please search: Breckenridge Elkins

If you want some good funny reading you'll love Breckenridge...

Growing up on a farm, using no hearing protection, has cost me big time. Tractors with no cabs and open exhausts, chainsaws, vacuum pumps with no mufflers, trap shooting, all these things have contributed to my hearing loss. Nobody used ear plugs back then. Now I lay in bed just about every night,trying to fall asleep, with my ears a ringing.
For the last ten years or so, I have always used ear plugs when riding my bikes but I am afraid the damage has already been done. Save your hearing guys when it's gone it's gone,,,,

Yep, me too. Weird thing about my ears, I played rock and roll music for years, too, as well as growin' up on a dadblasted farm. Howsomever, I allus wore earplugs from the first after I took up streetbike riding. And I did wear 'em most of the time when playing loud music. But I've got the tinnitus going now, however my hearing still seems to be perfectly acute.

My ENT checked me out and said oftentimes a guy can have the tinnitus and still hear perfect. That stuff'll keep you up at night and cause you to start thinking about screeming blue murder.

What other kinda old guy health complaints can we get after here?

-Breckenridge Elkins

I am not as lucky as you. We get our hearing checked at work once a year. I have a 50% hearing loss in my left ear. The ear that is closest to shotgun when shooting trap which I have done zillions of times.

OK no more old man talk outa me.
I am heading to the basement to wire up a pair of 10 watt LED's to the CB.