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Got a huge problem with Harley owners

#62
Diggler said:
The only thing that bothers me (but I'll get over it) is the "Loud Pipes Save Lives" thing. The argument is that you'll hear them coming and won't pull out in front of them. .... some of them are just ridiculous.
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+1

Why does the smallest thing on the road have to be the loudest. I know they have noise laws, how do Harley riders get away with it? I could bring an extremely loud machine out on the street but I don't. Why can't they buy some mufflers?
 
#63
Pilgrim said:
Most of the Harley owners I know are lawyers, professors or other professionals. They're the only ones who can afford them. and most are weekend warriors, indeed. I don't mind the poseurs, although I can poke fun at them. My problem with Harleys is loud pipes. There have to be limits.

Reminds me of a July trip to Jackson Hole WY a few years ago - the weekend/summer Harley riders were converging. We passed a couple of them riding along - with $30,000 SUVs dragging chase trailers behind them. what does it say about your bike when you need a chase vehicle with a trailer to follow you?

At any rate, when we walked past the silver dollar bar in Jackson, there was a line of about 30 bikes at the curb. I walked down them and found ONE - just ONE - with actual dirt and a mark on it. I called my daughters over and said "here's a REAL motorcycle - it has a scratch and dirt on it. Someone actually rides this one."

Me? I'm an ex-bike rider with a 6" steel plate in my left leg. I am most comfortable with a bit more steel around me, thanks.
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You know, I keep hearing about these "weekend warriors". I suppose I see them, too...the guys whose bikes are just too perfect, whose leather and dew-rags look just too clean and neat, who look like, if you stripped them of all that, they're, you know...execs and attorneys and what-not...

But I don't know any of those guys. All my biker buddies are the "real thing". Blue-collar dudes and their women, some of whom also have their own bikes.

We played the ROT Rally this year, and I'll tell you what. Once everyone was in a big group, the differences in social class pretty much fell away. They were all just bikers then...in love with their machines and the life that comes with 'em. And as for the noise...

Honey, I could listen to those pipes over and over again! I missed all the roar, when we left ROT, and I can always tell which biker is driving in or out of the neighborhood, because his or her pipes sound so distinctive. Love it!

Cherie
 
#64
higgi said:
+1

Why does the smallest thing on the road have to be the loudest. I know they have noise laws, how do Harley riders get away with it? I could bring an extremely loud machine out on the street but I don't. Why can't they buy some mufflers?
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Because then they wouldn't sound like Harleys. They'd sound like some Japanese or German bike, which all sound like The Jetson's car to me. Icky.

I love the roar. That sound evokes visions of adventure, freedom, and romance for me. I hope they never take it away!

You know, I dislike hybrids for the same reason. No roar of the engine. No fun! I know, they're better for the planet and all, but...why can't they sound like a car or a truck? Why can't they have that wonderful sound? They are so quiet, you can barely tell they are running. YUCK!

Cherie
 
#65
Well, I love pipes as much as the next guy. Honest. I had a '66 GTO with twin Cherry Bomb mufflers and it sang a mighty, wonderful song. I have a 50's roadster with a burned-out glass pack muffler that has a real snarl and bark when I wind it up. Love it. But neither were loud enough to sonically invade buildings.

When a Harley is 1/2 mile ahead of me on the freeway AND I can hear his pipes, THEY ARE TOO LOUD. Been there. When I'm on the 14th floor of our office building in Denver and I can't hear a presentation because of the pipes bouncing up from the street, THEY ARE TOO LOUD.

Loud is OK. Waking people at night and making it impossible to hear your car radio when you're in mid-summer with the windows rolled up is not. Period.
 
#66
ah if I ever get another bike it'll be a Triumph... my Grandad had a Velocette then a Triumph Thunderbird that I only ever saw pics of but ever since I was a kid it's been something I've always wanted... had a big Yammy dirt bike which I used to messenger ride in London in my teens but never had once since I came to America...
 
#67
Pilgrim said:
Well, I love pipes as much as the next guy. Honest. I had a '66 GTO with twin Cherry Bomb mufflers and it sang a mighty, wonderful song. I have a 50's roadster with a burned-out glass pack muffler that has a real snarl and bark when I wind it up. Love it. But neither were loud enough to sonically invade buildings.

When a Harley is 1/2 mile ahead of me on the freeway AND I can hear his pipes, THEY ARE TOO LOUD. Been there. When I'm on the 14th floor of our office building in Denver and I can't hear a presentation because of the pipes bouncing up from the street, THEY ARE TOO LOUD.

Loud is OK. Waking people at night and making it impossible to hear your car radio when you're in mid-summer with the windows rolled up is not. Period.
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Exactly. And this is done under the umbrella of "Loud Pipes Save Lives." BS. No matter how loud they are, you still can't hear them when you're in a car, they're behind you and the pipes are pointing backwards. Not to mention that a lot of the loud pipers for safety tend to wear dark clothing, leave the headlight off and wear either no helmet or a brain bucket.

Which I believe is completely their option, but those are three safety features you can do WITHOUT disturbing the neighborhood, and more effective.
 
#68
First off Hot-rod> Harley

Also there are jackasses all over the place, I find most bikers very nice people, (the real riders). Hobbyists are usually posers and can be A holes though.

Me I'm a chevy guy but Ford makes some great stuff too, also why isn't it Ford vs Chevy vs Mopar :confused: I never got that.
 
#69
higgi said:
+1

Why does the smallest thing on the road have to be the loudest. I know they have noise laws, how do Harley riders get away with it? I could bring an extremely loud machine out on the street but I don't. Why can't they buy some mufflers?
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I wish I could run open headers on the street.
 

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