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Redstone Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-20-05 08:00 PM
Original message
My son keeps asking me this, and I don't know the answer,
so I'll ask you all: Why is it that the majority of people who ride motorcycles want their bikes to be SO fucking LOUD? It's absolutely painful to be anywhere near one of thse shitheads unless you're in a car with the windows rolled up.

Is it, as I suspect, that they just want to be obnoxious and call attention to themselves?

If so, it seems pretty juvenile to me...especially given that the average age of the Harley riders out there looks to be about 52.

Ideas?

Redstone
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KitchenWitch Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-20-05 08:01 PM
Response to Original message
1. If they are not seen and not heard
they could end up not existing, as in road pizza.
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Redstone Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-20-05 08:06 PM
Response to Reply #1
6. Uh, no. The noise is loudest when they're accelerating
AWAY from you. It doesn't do a damn thing to warn cars of theri presence.

Sorry, that one isn't an answer.

Redstone
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henslee Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-20-05 11:18 PM
Response to Reply #6
27. They accelerate when passing.
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hickman1937 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-21-05 12:11 AM
Response to Reply #1
32. I agree. Too many people, myself included, sometimes don't
see the bike. I think it's defensive.
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u4ic Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-20-05 08:01 PM
Response to Original message
2. My motto is
the louder the car/motorcycle....the smaller the member.
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RevCheesehead Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-20-05 08:01 PM
Response to Original message
3. Maybe they're hard of hearing?
Don't ask me - I can't stand going to rock concerts, for the very same reason.
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DS1 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-20-05 08:02 PM
Response to Original message
4. I wish I knew, but I blame testosterone
When one of those assholes guns the throttle up your road it's like a driveby on the senses - even worse when you're out on a SILENT bicycle ride.
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Redstone Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-20-05 09:09 PM
Response to Reply #4
10. Testosterone, or a lack thereof, and therefore a desire to
compensate for the abovementioned lack.

Or they could just be assholes.

Redstone
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CaliforniaPeggy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-20-05 08:05 PM
Response to Original message
5. Well, my dear Redstone....
My feeling is that the answer is a mixture of what you think, and what KitchenWitch thinks...

The noise is useful to make others aware of them, so they don't turn into road pizza, and also because they are a bit juvenile, and want to be noticed.......

This is just my take on it, FWIW....

:shrug:
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Redstone Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-20-05 08:10 PM
Response to Reply #5
8. Nah, I like Kitchenwitch, but she's off base on this one.
I'd feel safe betting about a hundred bucks that the average loud-bike rider doesn't have a loud bike because he thinks it makes him safer.

Beside, see my reply to her. It doesn't even make logical sense to think that a loud bike is less likely to get hit by a car.

Redstone
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friesianrider Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-20-05 09:12 PM
Response to Reply #8
12. Methinks you're right on with this Redstone.
Something tells me that your average motorcycle rider isn't making it loud for the safety benefits. And, you're absolutely right about the noise thing even making sense. It doesn't!
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Redstone Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-20-05 09:18 PM
Response to Reply #12
13. Hey, did you go to the Volvo dealer yet?
I think you'll like the S40.

However, remembering the picture you posted, I think it's a shame they don't make Camaros anymore. You'd look sharp rolling down the road in a Camaro with T-tops. Have you thought about a Miata?

Redstone
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friesianrider Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-21-05 12:08 AM
Response to Reply #13
31. This weekend!
I can't wait to test drive it. I've decided on the black with the sport package thingie (love the spoiler). I may even break down and get some rims for it if I come home with one on Saturday. The stock rims online weren't doing much for me.

I drove a Miata once - I felt like I was in a death trap! Those things are teeeeeny!
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Bossy Monkey Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-20-05 08:08 PM
Response to Original message
7. The two universal explanations are "because I'm John" and "because they're
morons." The former does not apply in this case.
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Ksec Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-20-05 08:14 PM
Response to Original message
9. we have one who drives by occasionally
His Bike is ear splitting loud. It scares my animals . They say it warns drivers theyre comin and they wont pull out in front of them but this bike is ridiculous. I have to hold my ears it so damn loud.
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knowbody0 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-20-05 09:12 PM
Response to Original message
11. i think it has to do with loving that vibration
my experience is light, but the vibration is an embedded memory
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doc03 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-20-05 09:33 PM
Response to Original message
14. If it was for safety like some claim, why are they against
helmet laws? The real reason "the girls like it".
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enigami Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-20-05 09:37 PM
Response to Original message
15. Answer Here
Edited on Tue Sep-20-05 09:39 PM by enigami
You are all right. Different strokes for different folks

I ride a Harley. The bike I have now Has stock pipes. But I will be getting new ones that are slightly louder. I'll admit I want them a little louder, but mostly it has to do with performance.

I'll agree that some are too loud. but I get a thrill out of the rumble. juvenile? maybe a little.


And; the girls like it
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doc03 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-20-05 10:05 PM
Response to Reply #15
17. I live next to an intersection on a rural road and on weekends
they have their Poker Runs that stop at a bar nearby. When leaving the bar they stop at the intersection in groups of ten or more, when they take off the noise is deafening. When I was a teenager they would fine you for having a glasspak on your car, I don't understand how they get away with it. It gets irritating after a while when you can't sit outside and carry on a conversation without being interrupted every few minutes. I was told by one biker friend of mine that they raise a lot of money on the Poker Runs for charity and the cops overlook the noise and the drinking and some cops are also bikers. The Goldwing bikes are quiet it's usally the Harleys that are so loud.
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Redstone Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-20-05 10:19 PM
Response to Reply #15
20. Hey, you're honest, my friend. I appreicate that. But:
1) Do you think, maybe that your desire for louder pipes might be in part because the prior ones damaged your hearing a little bit and you can't hear them as well as you did before?

2) I believe you when you say the girls like it. Why is it that they do? Is it that evolutionary / instinctive deal where they go for the guy with the biggest / brightest / loudest?

Redstone
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enigami Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-20-05 10:30 PM
Response to Reply #20
21. My hearing is fine
I have been tested.

As to the rest, I don't know. Something evolutionary/primeval/sexual about it I suppose. some girls like it, I suppose some don't.

like I said, different strokes. I do believe everyone should be more considerate of others when possible. I putt putt through neighborhoods.
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put out Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-20-05 09:57 PM
Response to Original message
16. (whisper) BECAUSE SOME OF us WHO RIDE TOGETHER
Edited on Tue Sep-20-05 10:41 PM by put out
don't really like each other every minute of the day but we want to ride and it gives us a good excuse to ride and be together without talking BECAUSE WE CAN NOT TALK BECAUSE IT IS TOO LOUD. Then, when we stop, we still can't hear anything, especially each other. We can understand a gesture toward the bar or the bathroom or the gas pump.

NOT THAT I'D KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT IT. JUST MY THEORY.

DID YOU SAY SOMETHING?

edit: muffed (not muffled) my subject line. Oh dear. Oh well.
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Redstone Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-20-05 10:09 PM
Response to Reply #16
19. Ding ding ding! We have a WINNER!
Excellent answer. Very funny. And makes sense.

Redstone
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evlbstrd Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-20-05 10:56 PM
Response to Reply #19
25. oops
replied to the wrong message. damn, this can get confusing.
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evlbstrd Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-20-05 10:43 PM
Response to Reply #16
23. WHAT? I COULDN'T HEAR YOU!
Coming to the meetup tomorrow?
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put out Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-20-05 11:31 PM
Response to Reply #23
29. Hey there, you!
I'll take this to your thread where you, uh, er, were given the wrong date for a meet up and got stood up. Missouri.
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WCGreen Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-20-05 10:07 PM
Response to Original message
18. Mufflers aren't long enough to fully deaden the sound
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Whoa_Nelly Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-20-05 10:35 PM
Response to Original message
22. This is right up there on my obnoxious noise level list
with cars with sub-woofers.

Seems there are those who think being loud to the point of taking over anyone else's noise is something of which to be proud (take a cue from Republicans OVER & OUT speaking anyone who is in a conversation with them)
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evlbstrd Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-20-05 10:45 PM
Response to Original message
24. My sister rides with these people.
It's about projecting an image of power.
But she's a huge Mickey Mouse fan and prone to panic attacks. It's a very wierd mix.
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henslee Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-20-05 11:17 PM
Response to Original message
26. They want to be damn sure other drivers know they are there....
That's the most important reason. Coming up on somebodys blindspot on two wheels is dangeorus. Thats why you need the noise.
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swag Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-20-05 11:23 PM
Response to Original message
28. Does your son kiss his mother with that mouth?
Such language from a 9 year-old.

Although I will acknowledge that Patrick Doyle made me a fan of the word (if not of the thing itself) "asshole" when I was seven.
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Redstone Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-21-05 07:53 AM
Response to Reply #28
35. Those are my words, not his! I don't even talk like that
around him.

Redstone
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WannaJumpMyScooter Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-21-05 12:04 AM
Response to Original message
30. Noise does nothing NOTHING to help others
know where you are.

Shit, sirens don't help the average moran know where anything is.

It is a false assumption, based on shitty drunken-machismo mythology.

Quiet bikes have a lower accident rate. It has been proven over and over again.
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WilliamPitt Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-21-05 12:15 AM
Response to Original message
33. My friend Fitz
Edited on Wed Sep-21-05 12:17 AM by WilliamPitt
loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooves how loud his motorcycle is. The goddam thing sets off car alarms.

He's a good guy, so it must be some hyperactive asshole gene. :)

To answer your question: Loud bikes are safer for the rider, because you will hear him coming and not change lanes without seeing him and splatter him all over the road.
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Whoa_Nelly Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-21-05 12:28 AM
Response to Reply #33
34. Like those bike riders who come out of nowhere
when you're stuck in gridlock?

Damn! Have almost lost my hand or arm a couple of times when passing through Los Angeles.
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BikeWriter Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-21-05 08:11 AM
Response to Original message
36. WHAT? I CAN'T HEAR YOU.
:shrug:
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supernova Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-21-05 08:17 AM
Response to Original message
37. This girl doesn't like the LOUDNESS at all
I actually wouldn't mind riding one, but the noise is offputting for me. So, if I could get the rumble without the ear-splitting noise, that would be great.
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ldf Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Sep-22-05 09:11 PM
Response to Reply #37
45. you CAN get the rumble without busting someone's eardrums.
that is another myth.

a low, throaty rumble has all the sound of "controlled" power. much more appealing. i hear bikes all the time that have that sound of power.

but these jerks make it super loud on purpose.

here in nyc it is a real problem. i wish bloomberg, or hopefully, ferrer, would start a "quality of life" campaign and address all these super loud, ridiculous and totally selfish actions of assholes.

if you like your motorcycle so loud, park your ass behind a motorcyle, WITHOUT a helmet, and let them gun the gas. you'll be covering your ears in a nanosecond. or you would be deaf in no time.

and the loud ring-ding-ding bikes are just as bad. these are usually late teens, traveling in packs, literally taking over residential streets.

the car stereos are just as intrusive into other people's space, and just as selfish.

i think the police should have noise meters, so when they pull you over and tell you the decibles of your noise machine, and give you a thousand dollar fine, you will reconsider how much you like your racket. plus, fines should double everytime you are stopped, until you get the message.

in addition, the sellers of these monstrosities should be fined, too.

and it doesn't have a damn thing to do with free expression.

NOR safety.

it is nothing but HEY, LOOK AT ME! AIN'T I SOME SHIT?

sorry, noise is a major problem (and one of my hot buttons) and people just don't give a shit how they intrude into other's lives.

pure selfishness.

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johnnie Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-21-05 08:25 AM
Response to Original message
38. For the same reason people start flamebait
Just to get a rise out of people and piss them off. Some people like calling attention to themselves.
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Laelth Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-21-05 08:53 AM
Response to Original message
39. It has always amazed me ...
... the lengths to which men will go to get laid.

imho, this is attention-getting, peacock tail-fanning behavior, and nothing more. Entirely subconscious and instinctual.

-Laelth
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tavalon Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Sep-22-05 05:30 PM
Response to Original message
40. It's kind of like the truck thing
and it only applies to males. The bigger (the louder the bike) the truck, the smaller the penis.

Compensatory mechanism.

:hide:
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skygazer Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Sep-22-05 07:03 PM
Response to Original message
41. I agree with you Redstone on the safety excuse
I don't buy it. I've heard it many times but I don't buy it. There are plenty of bikes out there that don't sound like the Blue Angels passing through the front seat of your car and the people who ride them are not going SPLAT all the time. My dad's ridden a BMW for years - a relatively quiet bike - without a problem and he's ridden it all over the country.

Safety is a convenient excuse, IMO - it's ego pure and simple and it's annoying as hell. This is one girl who is NOT impressed by a man on a noisy Harley!
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ghostsofgiants Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Sep-22-05 07:07 PM
Response to Original message
42. What about people who feel the need to make their CARS as loud as possible
I contemplated smashing the mindows of my brothers friend's car with my skateboard just about every day this summer.
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SarahB Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Sep-22-05 07:10 PM
Response to Original message
43. They're insecure about their penis.
:shrug:

There are people who ride motorcycles for fuel efficiency or because they have for years which is fine (kind of cool even), but for some it seems to be little more than alpha male strutting. :boring:
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neuvocat Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Sep-22-05 07:30 PM
Response to Reply #43
44. That's what I thought too.
I think the same is true for people who have excessively loud stereos and tv's.
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