Topic: Why do you like louder pipes?

[jevfro]

Personally, I feel they are beautiful the way they come stock, and Honda engineers have a history of building a great motorcycle without a large need for aftermarket fluff.

I would buy a set if I could afford them,,,   However I can see how I might like an open megaphone if I had a racer too!

I kinda side with all these reasons but I was curious how you all felt.

I started the same poll here:

http://www.hondashadow.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=66534
It's on a shadow forum I joined after I got my new(to me) '03 vt600c

The cruiser scene appears to be in a rage over the aftermarket and modified pipes and I just don't quite understand...  They're acting like I started an oil thread over there... 

[Ichiban 4]

Except for racing/competition..exceptionally loud pipes are good for only two things: 1.) trying to prove that you have large huevos..and..2.) annoying the hello out of everyone else.

Ichi

[alltherightpills]

I know it's stupid and obnoxious and annoying, but I really love the sound of the Mighty 4.  Also, you should put another option on the poll that says, "The PO put them on and new pipes cost too much."

[nickjtc]

I don't.

[jevfro]

I know it's stupid and obnoxious and annoying, but I really love the sound of the Mighty 4.  Also, you should put another option on the poll that says, "The PO put them on and new pipes cost too much."

I kinda include that under #7

[kslrr]

There is nothing else like the sound of a classic 4 (be it Honda, Kawi or Suz) with 4-1 or 4-2 semi-open pipes (Kerker, Bassani, Jardine or custom).  Even today's modern super bikes just don't sound the same.  Even my little 350F sounds big and mean with the custom 4-1 fitted.  And with proper jetting, air intake mods, cam and such, more power IS realized because more AIR and FUEL is going through the engine.

[ProTeal55]

I like loud pipes becasuse it is my bike and I can build it however I feel fit.
I do agree with the "louder pipes save lives" thing, as I have been driving next to some stock-er bikes that I couldnt even hear next to me. A buddy of mine has a stock VTX and it sounds like a sewing machiene. I would guess his chances of getting turned into by a cager are higher than me on my CB450 with straight pipes on it..

To each their own, but whatever bike I am riding/building will have some sorta "altered" exhaust on it..

[dusterdude]

i can testify to the loud pipes saves lives mantra

[Bob Wessner]

Stock. If they were good enough for Soichiro, who am I to question.

[jevfro]

As I expected, there's a great range of reasons here.

Thanks for all your opinions.
Keep'em coming!

[cb350twin]

I LOVE the way the stock 4 into 4s look and I LOVE the way a after market 4 into 1 sound. Not a huge fan on they way 4 into 4s sound and not a huge fan on the way most 4 into 1s look so its a tossup.

[heffay]

WHAT?   

[nickjtc]

I do agree with the "louder pipes save lives" thing

At risk of being the insitigator of a vicious, drawn out and probably boring thread I'll throw my 44 cents worth in. There is no evidence in the Hurt Study that any of the accidents visited would have been avoided because/if the motorcycle involved had loud exhaust pipes.

http://www.webbikeworld.com/Motorcycle-Safety/Hurt-study-summary.htm

Unfortunately, just like the 'full-face helmets snap necks' myth, the 'loud pipes save lives' one is often used as a substantiation for making a personal choice to do something. Make the personal choice...it is anyones to make, but  perhaps it is not appropriate to do so with inaccurate data.

Wouldn't a nice piercing Fiamm (or other) air horn be better? Then the rider can selectively give the wake up call to the person he/she wants to avoid a potential confrontation with, rather than pissing off everyone within a block radius......?

[Spikeybike]

well i've heard proteals 450 go by , and let me tell ya ... it's effing loud

[mrbreeze]

If you have to ask.........you probably wouldn't understand!!!!!

[BobbyR]

I like the look and actually the sound of the 4-4. Loud pipes are for big twins - we have two extra beats. I used to ride a Duc with open pipes and I don't know how many cars. It gets tedious after a ride.

[tbpmusic]

well i've heard proteals 450 go by , and let me tell ya ... it's effing loud

True, a 450 with straight pipes is like a DC3 on take off - freakin' LOUD !!!
I couldn't stand it on mine, had to put on some mufflers - not stock, though, still sort of loud-ish.

bill2

[DonD]

My first street bike was a cb550 that I bought when I was 16.  The pipes were shot, so I bought a set of new aftermarked turnouts with not baffles.  They looked great (to 16-year-old me) and were loud!  I was in heaven riding that bike to high school, revving the engine and setting off car alarms, cruising main street and listening to the engine gurgle reverberate off the masonry buildings on either side.  I learned over the next few years that those pipes were great for speeds below 50 mph.  The long road trips killed my ears to the point where I had to start wearing foam earplugs.  Not only did that cut down on my safety (I was losing one of my senses), but caused the interior of my ear canals to scab up because of the long hours of pressure.
I later sold the 550 to my best friend after buying a cb750.  The 750 received a new 4-1 exhaust which was much quieter, but had a removable baffle for when I wanted to be obnoxious. 
I've wanted to be obnoxious less and less from that time to now.  My current 750 doesn't have a stock exhaust (too expensive), but they are as quiet, if not quieter, than stock.
Now I'm at the point where I only love loud pipes at idle, and only the staccato of big v-twins.
If I could buy a set of pipes that eliminated all exhaust noise, I would. 

[mrbreeze]

As far as looks go...the only good looking view of stock pipes is from behind (4 pipes in yer face....cool looking....my opinion!!!!). They are actually cheesy looking pipes and they rot out quickly. The left side will be the first to go due to the chain coating it with oil. Anyone wanna buy my stockers?....3 & 4 are in good shape...1&2 are rotted through. Being that they are a discontinued part...they are way too expensive. For the same reason ,I wouldn't buy a Mac pipe. Not all that pricey but they won't last that long. I like the Kerker 4 into 1 but they are pretty pricey new so I opted for a used one on Ebay. What I think would be ultra cool would be a set from an 87-88 Super Magna.Those would be bad ass looking pipes but would have to be made up to fit.

[Pinhead]

I'm too cheap to replace my rotted-out pipes with something new. Also the carb mods, intake mods, and collector length tuning has really brought out the power in my '79 650.

[Kevin D]

My original equipment 300's rusted out pretty quick, maybe in '74 (memory lapse, but it was 30+ years ago  ). I bought a set of 341 take-offs from a guy who had fitted a 4-1 aftermarket header. He had already pulled the end caps/baffles from the 341's. I still have them fitted and I like the sound. It gives a little more roar to a sweet sounding motor without being totally offensive.

IMHO, Mr. Honda, in his conservative way, made 'em nice and quiet, so as not to be confused with Lee Marvin and Marlin Brando http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0047677/. 

You Meet the Nicest People on a (very quiet) Honda

[Shenanigans]

I think the stock pipes look pretty damn cool. Both my bikes have them and I spent a while tracking good ones down for my 550. There is just something about those 4 pipes you cant beat. Especially the 550's. I don't buy in to the the loud pipes save lives deal. The stock pipes in my opinion are the best looking and really end up being the best preforming and your getting that same sound it was making when it rolled off the line.

However I also think that with the right pipes tuned right the engine can make a more acoustically pleasing sound, Not ridiculously loud but a good sound. I just dont get being loud to be loud. Even if the extra noise does not equate to extra performance at least you can sound the part, right?

[Grizzly]

Sorry bit late to this thread but I have only just found it.

For what it's worth I so agree with the statements made so far, even the conflicting ones.

If I'm riding a bike with loud pipes the sound on accelerating or closing the throttle is music and I will do just that for the fun of it. But going any distance at constant speed the sound gets on my wick.

However I think all the above sounds great when I am stood listening.

I also agree that modern bikes don't sound the same on loud pipes. I love the noise of a big o'll air cooled four with fruity pipes. But I also like the sound of standard pipes.

I've been around long enough to remember when these bikes were new and everyone including me was junking the stock pipes for a 4into1 or a 4into2. Now I like both.

[eldar]

I got after market mufflers. They are a no more loud than my rotted pipes were. On the road at higher speeds, I barely hear my bike over the wind noise. My helmet is loud though with windnoise and I have no windshield.

Luckily there are no loud bikes around me, or people have more courtesy in my town. If I had to wake up to some jackass rappin on his pipes, I would probably shove something in the pipe!

[bggann]

I don't like loud pipes.
I just like MY loud pipes

All those other wheenies in the canyon should get quiet pipes so I can sit on the deck in peace and drink a beer after I get home.

BG