" Loud pipes save lives . " It ’s something motorcyclist like to say , a lot , in defense of the engine and fumes noise generated by their enceinte or modified bikes . Some get hold themselves put forward this defensive measure extra frequently : Motorcycle noise — especially from Harley - Davidsons — is usually louder and more riotous thancar noise . But that is a feature film , not a bug , many rider say — because the meretricious the bicycle , the more likely it is to be detect by other number one wood on the road . And , rockers add , engine and exhaust noise is more effective than horns . It ’s a steady sound , whereas a sudden beep can cark machine drivers and make them to veer or drift into the motorcyclist ’s lane .
Whether trashy pipe actually economise life is a tip that ’s still heatedly debated . There is n’t any grueling data to affirm either side , so it becomes a fight of anecdotes . It seems like every experienced motorcyclist has a story about a time he or she almost got rack up , before the other driver notice them just in time . homeowner are ready to counter with account about beingwoken up at nightby flashy bike .
The jurisprudence , when it gets involved , incline to come down against loud pipe . fresh bikes come from the mill with exhaust systems that adjoin noise ordinance , and some state have laws that make it illegal to modify a motorcycle ’s exhaust organization to make it louder . However , some police have admitted they rarely pull in over a motorcycle purely to enforce a noise ordinance ; more often , they use a bike ’s loud interference as an excuse to do crowd mastery or sobriety checks . And in California , the Oakland Police Department made the pipe on its own patrol motorcycles louder , after an military officer was slay by a railcar whose driver said he had n’t heard the bike get [ source : Barrett ] .
The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration may be siding with motorcyclists . As electric vehicles become more popular , the agency was assess whether noise should be added to increase attention . The NHTSA worried that tacit galvanic motorcycles and other vehicle would go unnoticed in traffic . Granted , the means was clear it worried more about the hazard to pedestrian than to the passenger operating the bike , but the head remains : the way agreed that vehicles that can not be see are dangerous [ source : Edge ] . ( In 2015 , the government agency ’s new dissonance standards were still in the works . )
In the sake of rubber , it ’s worth observe that there ’s more than one way to get mark . Wearing brightly colored safety cogwheel and using lights are two other way to better a motorcyclist ’s visibility .
