Comments on: Loud Pipes Save Lives (NOT!) http://ridingsouthmagazine.com/blog/2008/03/04/loud-pipes-save-lives-not/ It's more a state of mind than a compass direction Sat, 22 Nov 2008 03:09:27 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.0.2 by: jeff http://ridingsouthmagazine.com/blog/2008/03/04/loud-pipes-save-lives-not/#comment-26 Tue, 25 Mar 2008 00:36:08 +0000 http://ridingsouthmagazine.com/blog/2008/03/04/loud-pipes-save-lives-not/#comment-26 As a slogan, "Loud Pipes Save Lives" is just a nifty excuse for loud pipes. I've never heard of dual exhausts and glass packs on a truck justified this way. Still, I accept that owners want their bikes to sound a certain way, whether quiet or loud. My experience is that the only people that hear the loud pipes are behind the bike. When I meet a bike I don't hear it until after it's passed, or if it passes me. I mostly hear them as they pass my house! I don't have a problem with loud pipes but it is a bit of a stretch to assign life-saving qualities to them--I think it is safer to say the owner just plain likes the sound and that's ok by me. As a slogan, “Loud Pipes Save Lives” is just a nifty excuse for loud pipes. I’ve never heard of dual exhausts and glass packs on a truck justified this way. Still, I accept that owners want their bikes to sound a certain way, whether quiet or loud. My experience is that the only people that hear the loud pipes are behind the bike. When I meet a bike I don’t hear it until after it’s passed, or if it passes me. I mostly hear them as they pass my house!

I don’t have a problem with loud pipes but it is a bit of a stretch to assign life-saving qualities to them–I think it is safer to say the owner just plain likes the sound and that’s ok by me.

]]> by: Jean Zirger http://ridingsouthmagazine.com/blog/2008/03/04/loud-pipes-save-lives-not/#comment-24 Tue, 18 Mar 2008 19:44:27 +0000 http://ridingsouthmagazine.com/blog/2008/03/04/loud-pipes-save-lives-not/#comment-24 They are obnoxious and unnecessary. Skill and alert attention to driving conditions save lives. A biker who needs objectionable noise to substitute for lack of skill ought to consider the advice of the MSF, the AMA, and most of all the DOT which madates maximum noice emission from a given source. They are obnoxious and unnecessary. Skill and alert attention to driving conditions save lives. A biker who needs objectionable noise to substitute for lack of skill ought to consider the advice of the MSF, the AMA, and most of all the DOT which madates maximum noice emission from a given source.

]]> by: Miss Ellie http://ridingsouthmagazine.com/blog/2008/03/04/loud-pipes-save-lives-not/#comment-22 Wed, 05 Mar 2008 04:20:31 +0000 http://ridingsouthmagazine.com/blog/2008/03/04/loud-pipes-save-lives-not/#comment-22 As one who now wears hearing aids, was told the week I turned 40 that I needed bi-focals & hearing aids NOT a good week, I am interested in the negative effects of loud noises. I was told that nothing I did caused the hearing loss BUT I was raised on a ranch around loud equipment, gun fire and of course 1960s-1970s rock-n-roll music full blast. If you ride a motorcycle or are around ANY loud equipment use ear plugs. Hearing aids cost about $4,500-$5,000 a pair and have to be replaced every 3 years or so. A bag of cheap foam ear plugs allow you to still hear but tones down the noise and protects your hearing. If we wanted to be 100% safe we would not ride motorcycles or come out from under the bed. Take all the safety measures you can and enjoy the ride! As one who now wears hearing aids, was told the week I turned 40 that I needed bi-focals & hearing aids NOT a good week, I am interested in the negative effects of loud noises.

I was told that nothing I did caused the hearing loss BUT I was raised on a ranch around loud equipment, gun fire and of course 1960s-1970s rock-n-roll music full blast. If you ride a motorcycle or are around ANY loud equipment use ear plugs. Hearing aids cost about $4,500-$5,000 a pair and have to be replaced every 3 years or so. A bag of cheap foam ear plugs allow you to still hear but tones down the noise and protects your hearing.

If we wanted to be 100% safe we would not ride motorcycles or come out from under the bed. Take all the safety measures you can and enjoy the ride!

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