I for one believe that a loud bike is a safer bike, as i would rather have the person in the car next to me roll their window
up because my bike is "too loud" , then turn into me becasue they didnt even know I was their. I have felt this way for a long time.
Ummm...this is going to sound like another Nick-the-GHOF-safety-nerd diatribe.....but anyway, here goes.
There is no evidence, zero, nada, that a noisy vehicle, be it a motorcycle, car or whatever, is less likely to be involved in an accident. At no point in the Hurt Report does it say that the noise a machine was making, or not making, had any bearing on the fact that it was involved in an accident.
The reality of life, like it or not, is that noisy vehicles just piss people off, and in the long term lead to a reduction of rights and priviledges. Witness the fact that several subdivisions in Vancouver have banned motorcycles because of the actions of an inconsiderate few who thought it appropriate to ride un-muffled in the middle of the night.
To those who think that open pipes are appropriate because they warn people of the impending arrival of said bike, my personal response would be that the pipes should be artistically re-shaped to point forwards since most of the noise emanates to the side and rear, not to the front.
Loud pipes do not save lives. Loud pipes lose rights.
I know I'm not going to make any friends by saying this, but I believe that anyone who does anything to diminish the profile of motorcycling, either by acting irresponsibly while riding or by making anti-social modifications to their bike, is not doing the rest of us any favours........
Let the abuse begin!
