I’ll never understand this. Motorcycles are fantastic vehicles (fossil fuel issues aside) – they’re agile, fast, and exhilarating. But none of that enjoyment comes from the noise they make; removing your muffler is purely a selfish, “look at me!” exercise.
There’s a saying in the motorcycle community: “loud pipes save lives”. In other words, cars only notice motorcycles when they can hear them.
Personally, I think that was often used as an excuse for having an obnoxiously loud motorcycle. But, I’ve also seen first-hand how oblivious drivers are. I think Harleys are stupid. They’re a way to get middle-aged dentists to part with their money and to make them feel bad-ass. But, I think that annoying sound does mean that they get noticed, which probably helps keep them alive. I’m convinced that there are riders who have died on electric motorcycles because a car turned into them because the driver never looked to see if there was anything there.
I think you’re on the money here, both in that “loud pipes save lives” is a poor excuse for unreasonably loud bikes – since it’s the use of the throttle as a kind of soft horn in traffic that achieves this effect, and that’s possible with virtually any ICE motorcycle – and that this isn’t possible with electric bikes, which adds a risk. In either case, it doesn’t serve as a defense for increasing the volume of regular motorcycles.
I think the argument is that it acts as a sort of “passive horn”. That merely by being near a car you’ll be noticed if you have a motorcycle with loud pipes.
It’s somewhat true of all ICE motorcycles. They’re not silent. But, are they loud enough to wake a driver up out of a daze and cause them to notice the bike?
An electric motorcycle won’t be noticed at all through the noise it makes. It might not be that different from a properly silenced ICE bike.
In any case, it’s sad that we’re in a situation where a driver whose brain isn’t engaged with what’s going on around him can kill a motorcyclist through inattention.
I’ll never understand this. Motorcycles are fantastic vehicles (fossil fuel issues aside) – they’re agile, fast, and exhilarating. But none of that enjoyment comes from the noise they make; removing your muffler is purely a selfish, “look at me!” exercise.
There’s a saying in the motorcycle community: “loud pipes save lives”. In other words, cars only notice motorcycles when they can hear them.
Personally, I think that was often used as an excuse for having an obnoxiously loud motorcycle. But, I’ve also seen first-hand how oblivious drivers are. I think Harleys are stupid. They’re a way to get middle-aged dentists to part with their money and to make them feel bad-ass. But, I think that annoying sound does mean that they get noticed, which probably helps keep them alive. I’m convinced that there are riders who have died on electric motorcycles because a car turned into them because the driver never looked to see if there was anything there.
I think you’re on the money here, both in that “loud pipes save lives” is a poor excuse for unreasonably loud bikes – since it’s the use of the throttle as a kind of soft horn in traffic that achieves this effect, and that’s possible with virtually any ICE motorcycle – and that this isn’t possible with electric bikes, which adds a risk. In either case, it doesn’t serve as a defense for increasing the volume of regular motorcycles.
I think the argument is that it acts as a sort of “passive horn”. That merely by being near a car you’ll be noticed if you have a motorcycle with loud pipes.
It’s somewhat true of all ICE motorcycles. They’re not silent. But, are they loud enough to wake a driver up out of a daze and cause them to notice the bike?
An electric motorcycle won’t be noticed at all through the noise it makes. It might not be that different from a properly silenced ICE bike.
In any case, it’s sad that we’re in a situation where a driver whose brain isn’t engaged with what’s going on around him can kill a motorcyclist through inattention.