Do loud pipes save lives?

Simple question. There is a poll going on in another forum... It's a "Biker" forum and as it stands now it is about 1774 "YES" // 74 "NO". What say you peeps that actually ride?

They just might. Let's say you don't really ride very much, and you're scared of the front brake lever, but you went and got yourself an... oh, let's call it an 'SAE Cruiser' with the loudest open pipes you could find.

If it keeps you from riding because the noise give you a headache, it just might save your life.

From a strict scientific view, insufficient data to pass judgement. Much like hi viz-gear.

While they are annoying, I do have to admit when I hear that low rumble over my own bike, and feel the vibration while going down the FWY I look around and usually spot offending Harley/Cruiser nearby. So if I can hear it thru my earplugs, who knows some cagers might even hear it, look around, and see that there is a M/C in the area. :huh

I say one page before the HD bashing begins..




Oh wait I guess it already has....

It IS Friday, you know.

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I assume that the "loud pipes" guys have chosen loud pipes over the alternative "They can't see me and every cage is out to kill me anyway so it's my responsibility to avoid them" strategy. Sad really that someone would chose a safety plan based on pissing off everyone rather than take an active roll in their own self-preservation. But that's the world we live in . . . . . I think I'll keep my bike quiet and continue to fly under the radar.

Depends. Does the bike have ABS?

Obviously the honest answer would be yes. Whether the the safety gained is out weighed by the annoyance created is a question best answered by the self centered pricks running headlight modulators.

I used to be a Paramedic and you would not believe how long you can follow on somebodies bumper with lights and sirens blaring before they actually notice you.
Loud-pipe people are fooling themselves, damaging their hearing, and alienating the public in general.

The only thing loud pipes may save you from is somebody merging into you, if you don't have the skill to avoid that or use your horn, your going to kill yourself anyway.

Definitely No.

No brand just pipes. A simple question.

Why the assumption that the two strategies are mutually exclusive?

Yea I agree that loud pipes piss people off, however I have never seen any scientific evidence one way or the other on there effectivenes.

I can offer anecdotal evidence of were a loud noise made a motorist aware of the presense of another. On several occasion have seen a cop trying to pull over a car with his lights but only made the car occupant aware of his presense by zapping him with his siren.

At one time I would have said yes, but unless your pipes can be heard over the 1.26 Giga Watt stereo systems, and soundproofing in the newer cars, your loud pipes are only heard by other bikers.

Most cagers have become immune to hearing them, so they just don't notice much anymore.

bunny
true story, just this week...

I work in the city and need to walk a few blocks to catch a train out of here each evening - anyway, the street right outside my building is one of the main city streets, gets a lot of loud pipe pirates

when I walk up the first block, there's a row of cars parked next to the sidewalk and the lanes of traffic are beyond that - as I'm walking by a couple nights ago, a mother was just putting her kid in the rear carseat - I happened to look over as I'm walking up, the kid was nice and calm - just then a really loud cruiser ripped by and immediately he began screaming as all the noise shook the air - I was already passing the scene by this point but I could still hear him screaming - I can just imagine what mom was thinking after this

so yeah, this is the legacy of bike riders everywhere because people with pipes like this are making the rest of you look bad - even if you ride a quiet bike, I think it's just one of those associations people make - oh a motorcycle? hmmm, probably just another careless a-hole...

Excellent point.

But I would imagine that most humans are extremely self-centered when employing tactics or devices they precieve are helping to save their life?