Loud Pipes Saves Lives Motorcycle Safety Discuss Loud Pipes Saves Lives in the Other Topics forums; OK, I know that I am venturing into a topic of strong opinions and one that has been thrashed may times over, but we have not really touch this one ...

[GOMO]

OK, I know that I am venturing into a topic of strong opinions and one that has been thrashed may times over, but we have not really touch this one here yet. With pipes probably being the second part of the two most pro/con discussions (helmets being the other), and knowing that the members here address topics without going into a heated spiral - I'd like to know what AIM's readers feel on this one. I'll toss my thoughts in later, just the subject title I know is enough to get this "thundering" down the road........

[Bikerbitch]

I go on the loud side, I want to heard and seen by both blind and death idiot geezers behind their car doors who don't see smaller items than fullgrown elephant bulls.

I have one rule. always regard any cardriver as an idiot until the opposite is proved.

[Whopper]

Last summer I was driving my pickup on the Interstate after a nice round of golf. Passing an entrance ramp I observed two Big Dog-like bikes getting on the highway. About 3 exits later I was closing in fast on a slow moving car and checked my rear and outside mirrors - one Big Dog was about 30 yards behind and the second was no where to be seen so he must have gotten off. I started to move over to pass but I heard loud V-twin exhaust and ducked back into the right lane and got on the brakes. The "missing" Big Dog flew past me with the other in trail. Had I not heard him it could have been very bad.

By the way, I have my outside mirrors set such that when a passing vehicle is going out of the rear view mirror it shows up in the side mirror until I pick it up in my perriferal (sp?) vision. But if a motorcycle hugs close to my left side there is a short blind area - I have since added a small "spot" mirror to correct that. But in this case the loud pipes alerted me to a bike in the blind spot.

[EZE RIDER]

There is probably data indicating that loud pipes dont help but from my experiences they make you much more noticable.

The reason I say this is when I drive to work in my cage, I get cutoff quite a bit. When I ride to work on the bike I dont get cutoff as much if at all.

Same trip many, many times over and the results seem to be the same.

[48panshovel]

Drag pipes on mine, wife has baffles in hers.......for now.

[jmk713]

I always run sli-ons...louder than stock; but not as loud as unbaffled pipes.
I believe some extra sound does help.

[hotrodsporty]

I believe that if car drivers are not going the extra effort looking for me, well then they will hear me.

But there is loud, growl, and then theres obnoxius loud.

[JCourneyaP]

Yes. They do on occasion. My horn also crapped out without me knowing it. Replaced something that was rarley used.

How Many pull the stock reflectors off their bikes?

[frisco-rigid]

In my street sickles, I'd rather have perfomance than noise..

I've done alotta exhaust experiments on my sickles and I always get the most seat-of-the-pants power/perfomance outa fairly quiet muffs when compared to drags or the very loud exhausts out there..

Perhaps my exhausts are all loud enough to be considered "life saving" but I don't think so and I personally do not subscribe to the "loud pipes saves lives"..

[Tank412]

I run drag pipes, only obnoxious when you slam it, plus they just sound better than anything else out there. And yes I believe they may have saved my butt more than a few times.