Hi my name is Nicholas and I have Tinnitus. (Look it up)
I know you didn’t so it means I have a constant ringing and/or sound in my ears at ALL TIMES. Incureable.
It was caused by exposure to loud sounds.
Fact: there are more F**** Harleys in American than Noisy sport compact cars w/o cat. I’m not impressed by Harleys nor the run down old white guys that ride them. They pollute the air and ears. No one wants to hear how loud your bike can get unless it explodes by head on collision. J/k
I hate sitting at a red light next to one of these arrogant trailer trash monkeys. They always pretend they are too cool as they rev their engine cause they think we think they are impressing us with that noise.
My ears pay they price for their arrogance.
I truely hate them and their goat-T’s.
Amen! Come to Bloomington, Indiana and experience the hell that is the barely muffled motorcycle (and muffler-less pick-up for that matter). It is obviously a means of personal expression–indeed, I think a sign of some lost kinesis in life; the longing to tell everyone “Hey, look at me” that, unfortunately for the majority of us, is displayed through sophomoric antics rather than substantive contribution. I think there are laws against such noise but to enforce them would be a serious drain of resources.
Federal regulations can be adopted to enable easy enforcement of motorcycle noise in any city or state. Most Harley’s have mufflers installed which are already illegal per most local, state, and federal regulations. Many laws are weak, motorcycling interests keep them that way, and police generally don’t view noise as important enough to deal with. A strategy that citizens can follow is detailed here: www.noiseoff.org/pipes.
The EPA label match up program can be adopted to provide easy and non subjective enforcement to ensure street legal (quiet) mufflers are installed. All motorcycle exhaust systems sold commercially in the USA are required to have a permanent label that is easily visible for inspection by police. If the equipment is not properly labeled it is deemed defective under federal regulations can a product recall can be triggered.
The same illegal exhaust systems which are the norm for Harley’s mean that each of these loud motorcycles also generate 80X more air pollution than a normal automobile. Many studies show a clear correlation between this type of noise pollution and a variety of stress related health effects on those forced to listen to it, and motorcycling experts agree that loud mufflers create a less safe environment for everyone.
There is clearly a problem when large Harley dealerships advertise on their website their special services - Maybe you just want that awesome earth-quaking, window-rattling exhaust that sets off car alarms as you ride on by. Want to make men dive out of the way and women grab their children and head inside and lock the doors? We can help with that too!
it’s been a long lull here. but there is one thing i’d like to say since i was here last (also a long time ago now).
i’m not one to mark up public notices. but i saw a ‘for sale’ display ad at a local store. the guy mentioned all the accessories he had put on his Harley, including the after market exhaust system. especially proud of that last item, he stated, “This bike is LOUD.”
that REALLY got to me. so i took pen in hand, circled that statement, and using all the space available, virtually shouted back: “WHY!!!???”
within a few days, that ad was pulled. i did see it elsewhere, but restrained myself.
It was good to see the name Craig58 again, even though it was an old posting. Wonder if he’s still kicking. Note his comment he wouldn’t want to live when he can’t be active.
A large percentage of open exhaust Harleys are owned by cops and firemen so you can forget any muffler-law enforcement…Another reason is to cover up all the other noise being produced by the engine…
Harley goes through great lengths to make the engine as mechanically quiet as possible so they can make the exhaust louder without going over the EPA noise limits. That’s one of the reasons they have adapted belt drives and hydraulic lifters on all their air cooled bikes.
I have ridden motorcycles since Nixon’s first term and I have come to appreciate quiet bikes. My first really quiet bike was a '74 Honda CB550 four, a lady asked me what I did to make the bike so quiet and I said, “I just left it alone”. I was amazed at how the cops pretty much ignored me on that bike instead of always pulling me over and mostly telling me to slow down. You can nearly get away with murder on a bike that goes fast with minimum drama, and people smile and wave at you as you go by instead of covering their ears and giving you dirty looks.
It does seem that some crave attention and enjoy the stares from onlookers as they blast around. If law enforcement confiscated the bike and made the fine severe enough an alternative method of gaining attention would quickly be found. Don’t you think? Harley’s are known for their peculiar “out of time” exhaust tone that is the result of down and dirty design in the original V twins that should have been corrected long ago but became something of a trademark. Like an old John Deere, the sound of a Harley is unmistakable to the initiated.
I think that sound is actually patented. I’m sure you’ve also seen almost every manufacturer try and copy the bike’s profile, but they cannot copy the sound.
In addition to the loudness
there’s also the appearent need to REV the dang thing when in neutral. At the stop sign, at the light.
The bikers in my neighborhood responded quite well when I asked that they not rev at my stop sign. Wakes the baby, rattles the pictures on the wall etc.
One thing I said was "If your engine doesn’t idle right, there must be something wrong with it."
They quite nicely responded with no more reving at my corner and several nearby ones I could hear.
ALSO, here’s something else they did all on their own…They started short-shifting when in the neighborhood’s multiple stop signs producing much less of the loudest high rpm noise.
True friends and neighbors even when the mechanicals are trying not to be, the human factor kicked in.
I 100% agree. Every town and city has a noise ordinance with db levels listed and yet these clowns that clearly were neglected as kids and now are middle aged men seeking attention have no regard at all for others. We are talking about safety issues as far as hearing, and being able to hear sirens as well. Imagine if every single person were like them what a loud world we would live in, and it adds to peoples stress levels as well. If I were in charge all these baffoons would be off the road.
I don’t ride anymore, but I used to be really into bikes. I never owned a Harley. I did own a Honda Shadow 1100 (Harley copy) with stock exhaust. We rented a Harley on our honeymoon years ago. It had an aftermarket exhaust (Vance & Hines or Kerker, I don’t remember) and it was pretty loud. We rode it all over the Smoky Mountains. I can attest that those bikes are more fun with a louder exhaust. It wasn’t a “hey look at me” deal. They’re just more fun when you can hear that engine rumbling. As with anything, you can take it to the extreme. I believe some baffling should be required, and some decibel threshold should be set (and probably already is). Riding respectfully helps too. Even with a louder exhaust, you can avoid blasting full throttle through downtown and seemingly trying to scare women and children.
even when the mechanicals are trying not to be, the human factor kicked in.