Loud Pipes Saves Lives

.02, ask any of your buddies that ride or drive a vehicle with a siren, about how long it takes for the driver of a vehicle they are following, to actually respond to the siren. 60 mph, if a siren won't get their attention, loud pipes not gonna cut it, either.

I just put stock pipes back on my Ultra last week, after a long camping trip. Several days I knew I would be putting in some miles, and wanted to get an early start. But I really was uncomfortable, firing up the bike before 8am, just too loud at idle, and it really rattles in the woods.

[JCourneyaP]

Rideslow.........You make a good point. You be surprised how long it takes folks to realize they have flashing lights and a siren behind them. Never thought of it that way.

[Rocky]

It's not the pipes, as a general rule they all sound great. I am waiting for the funds for a set of TAIL GUNNERS myself. It's the idgit on the seat! You wanna really listen to them roar jump out on your local county (parish) road and let'r rip, not in suburbia those are the folks that make the rules. Ya wanna piss them folks off T/P their house on Halloween!

[Our07Ultra]

I'm with Whopper on this one. I have been riding for over 30 years. Cruising down the interstate, I went to pass a car in the slow lane. As I started to cheange to the fast lane, I heard pipes REV. I Immediately jerked back to the right.
I appologized profusely once I saw the biker pull onto an exit. This time....
the pipes worked!!

[AOW]

Originally Posted by JCourneyaP

Rideslow.........You make a good point. You be surprised how long it takes folks to realize they have flashing lights and a siren behind them. Never thought of it that way.

one of the reasons it takes cagers to locate the source of the siren is the doppler effect that the sirens are now using. In the good 'ol days the sirens were loud enough to be heard for miles around and you could easily locate the source. Now with the doppler effect, they are more directional and only get loud enough to locate when they are pretty much right on your tail.
Loud pipes on the other hand can still be heard in all directions at great distances. A plus for some, a negative for others. After getting hit by two cars in May 2007, I now have switched to louder pipes and haven't had any close calls....yet.

[Whopper]

Off topic slightly, but the doppler effect has to do with "apparent" sound frequency rather than volume. As the source of the sound approaches the sound waves are compressed and "appear" to be at a higher frequency; as the source moves past and away from you the waves are "stretched" so they "appear" to be at a lower frequency. Again this has no real impact on volume.

The real sources of the problem with hearing a siren when in a cage are: improved insulation in vehicles to muffle engine and road noise, more "living room" like radio/CD systems with greater power and inattentive drivers on cell phones. Oh, and old guys like me who managed to damage their hearing working in manufacturing plants for 40 years, listening to loud rock at concerts, an avid dragracer, light aircraft pilot and motorcycle rider. After that I'm lucky I can hear at all.

[JCourneyaP]

Guess thats why I can hear a Dog Whistle and not that Pavement Head behind me with the flashing lights. Course I did see him just fine......Looking for a safe place to pull over. I guess he wanted me to stop in a construction zone. I was told my turn signal was not working. However I used my arm to signal and never even hit the button. I guess he did not much like me telling him that turn signals on bikes in Minnesota were not manditory. He huffed and puffed and I rode away. But for some reason he tailed me for a good 15 miles.

Is there a problem with a guy riding a bike when its cold out. No reason to be stopped............

[GrayRider]

Of course loud pipes saves lives. It's noise...a horn is noise.

Had a lady start to cut into my lane on the Interstate a while back. I cracked the throttle and she moved over.

[unclepsycho]

That's just way too simple and logical......