In the September issue, Don Gomo wrote a Safety Skills column about what he called taboo topics and motorcycling myths. I have a huge amount of respect for Don and his knowledge of safe riding practices. However, I must disagree with one of the statements he made concerning loud pipes saving lives, but I wanted to wait until some readers responded.

While no one likes obnoxiously loud pipes blasting past his house at night or car window during the day, a set of what I call “rumble pipes” are not a noise issue. In fact, I believe they are mandatory for personal survival on the road in an urban environment. So we are all on the same page with this, a perfect example of rumble pipes is a set of Rinehart true-dual exhausts. These and many other aftermarket systems allow the bike to have a rumbling, bass note, but are not louder than a large truck.

In his column Don states that the laws of physics pretty much eliminate whatever benefits a rider may get from louder-than-stock pipes for a couple of reasons. The first is that “... the sound that emanates from cycle exhaust systems is low, similar to the characteristics of a bass tone. That level of tonality is essentially a non-directional sound, which means it spreads and is harder to pinpoint its origin.” The other is, “The exhaust sound is projected rearward as the bike rolls forward, thus adding more separation from the audible source.”

I’m not an engineer, but this is not proven by my personal experience. On a recent trip on the interstate in the company truck, I was cruising in the right lane with the CD player blasting out Velvet Revolver when I heard a bike behind me. True, I could not tell where it was behind me, but I knew it was nearby. A second or two later, a bagger cruised past me. (Yes, he was running Rineharts.) The point is, I don’t have to know exactly where the bike is. I just have to know that a bike is near me.

More than once I’ve watched a driver’s head twist around when I approached his car from the rear as he tried to see where the bike was. To me, this proves that a bike that’s about as loud as a truck does alert a driver to a bike’s presence. This does not happen when I’m riding a stock H-D. With those quiet pipes, I’ve had to dodge quite a few cars that suddenly want to share a lane with me.

That said, I fully agree with Don on the other points he brought up, especially “One can be respectful of sound, without trying too hard, with most aftermarket pipes.” How true! So let’s keep the rumble to reasonable levels. Also let your lawmakers know that since car drivers never “see” the motorcycle before they hit it, for safety’s sake, they should let a reasonable level of sound alert drivers to our presence.

See you on the road.

Chris Maida
Editor
chrism@americanironmag.com