My (and MRieck's) Thread resurrected! Sweet! Now I can finally post this.
For those who believe exposure times are too short to create any significant damage, here is some info damaging your position. I may have posted some of this earlier:
Safety and Health Concerns
Noise pollution is unwanted human-created sound that has the effect of being annoying, distracting, painful, or physically harmful. People exposed to noise pollution suffer from hearing loss, sleep deprivation, chronic fatigue, anxiety, hostility, depression and hypertension. World Health Organization, National Institutes of Health, United Nations and numerous scientific and medical publications recognize noise pollution and its deleterious effects.
The intense sound caused by loud motorcycles easily triggers an involuntary stress response commonly known as "fight or flight." This results in the secretion of adrenaline, with ensuing spikes in cardio-respiratory rates, muscle tension, and elevated blood pressure.You can download a PDF here from where this was garnered:
http://www.who.int/quantifying_ehimpacts/publications/e94888/en/Personally I rate the above reports and organization with far higher credibility than the nay-sayers currently "contributing" to these forums. But, I don't expect the "loud pipes are wonderful" faction will be bothered to read the report, as it does not support your foregone and unsupportable conclusion.
To try and find some balance in support of the nay-sayers. I also tried to find a credible report that said noise DIDN'T cause harm.
I list them here:
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Think a moment about this:
You have a paper bag. You quietly fill the bag with air and creep up behind your friend and POP the bag behind their head. Your friend is startled and you laugh at him. Great fun, he has no long term medical problems and this prank provides no lasting effects. The sound event didn't last that long to cause any apparent (or immediate) hearing damage.
The fun is usually not so great, when your friend does this to you in retaliation, once or twice a week for the next two years. Still you are healthy, in the prime of your life, and "can take it".
Do you think this prank would be nearly as humorous in a cardiac ward, or a surgeons operating room? Of course, you would never drive your motorcycle with loud pipes past a hospital, right? (Even though it is a public access road and far more convenient for you to use it rather than impose a self volunteered detour of the area.)
Now consider a residential area. Are you aware of (or concerned about), those recuperating at home from a heart condition? PTSD? What about an aneurism on the verge of bursting with an elevated blood pressure event? (Reread the excerpt in blue, above.)
Do these people resting quietly at home need your exhaust noise thunder aggravating their condition or causing a relapse, or ending their life with a brain hemorrhage, or heart attack? They may have survived had it not been for your inconsiderate behavior. But, as long as you are happy, who cares about the well being of others?
Well, I do. But, whether I do or not, their are many organizations springing up that intend to not only punish the inconsiderate, but the "bystanders" who operate quiet motorcycles, too. And, it is YOUR loud noise making fault. Own it.
Do you believe that strongly in survival of only the fittest? Or, that your gang of noise makers can claim turf wherever your want? With you and your ilk being the fittest baddest-asses out there thumbing your nose at all of society? Don't be surprised when society fights back and there are a lot more of them, than you. If I can help them, I will. I didn't make the flyer below. But, it is widely available.
A side note:
I had to chuckle at the irony, when the WHO listed "cognitive defects" as an effect of loud noise exposure. Perhaps that is part of why promoters of loud pipes are so vehement?
