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Noise

R

robertgerena

Guest
I am aware that an R1150GS is not a Harley. But in my opinion, if I am riding up to pass a car, I am less likely to be ignored if my bike sounds more like a vehicle than a sewing machine, and the driver is more likely to hear me and check his mirror before changing lanes. I also ride as though "they are all out to get me". This is exactly why I want to make a little more noise. Not neighborhood waking noise, but enough, at highway speed, that I am not easily ignored by cars. Anything that helps to draw attention of car drivers cannot hurt.
 
my r1150ra has a stain-tune exhaust on it, and without the silencer, it's fairly loud. too loud for me, so i use the little silencer plug. i think it's rude to wake my neighbors when i fire the bike up in the morning to leave the house. i personally put my exhaust note very near the bottom of all the things i can do to be a safe and courteous rider.

so obviously i am of the mind that counting on a motorist to hear me, over their radio, or phone, or children, or super-silenced car door, does not make me safe. i focus more on positioning myself in such a way that it is really hard for them to hit me, (easy to see me, but assuming they don't, very hard to hit me.) and pretty much assume that they are trying to hit me. this is very hard to accomplish in traffic sometimes, and in that situation, i "wiggle" around in my lane, and strive to be a headlight and red jacket that is moving across and in and out of their mirrors, eventually catching their eye. i've learned that humans are really good at detecting side to side motion, probably better than most other sensory input. even then i don't fully relax, so i practice swerving, panic stops, and keep the controls covered when cars are within 1 second of me.

also, instead of making noise all the time, i only make it when i think i really need to, namely with my horn.

i say all of this simply to give a different perspective than that of the 'loud pipes save lives' one. best of luck to you, and check out the stain tune option for your bike. (i've also got a lowering kit which allows me to carry a big bag on the left. im not sure if the GS would benefit from the same.)
 
Hello; I agree, my 42 years of motorcycle experience has tought me that a silent motorcycle is an ignored motorcycle in some cases. I have found an exhaust system that is loud enough that it can't be ignored but not so noisy or rude sounding that I can't stand it. It is tough to get noticed by a bunch of half-asleep commuters talking on their cell phones.

I also have twin tone horns on my beemer, they help quite a bit. They sound like a Cadillac, people usually just move then look to see what made that noise. I don't abuse that power however, or it wouldn't have teh right effect. I always ride alone (not in a group) and try to blend with traffic.

I find that no matter how careful you are, there are still some people who just don't see you, even if they look right at you. those are the ones that notice a loud exhaust.
 
Sounds...

I've found that some classic 70's rock music blasting from the stereo speakers of my K1200LT is just as good as loud pipes for getting the attention of cage drivers in traffic. It's also easier to turn off when I'm in a quiet neighborhood, or out cutting curves in the back country. :clap
 
performance mods

Finally, someone who can agree that a little extra noise may help get you noticed when riding.
 
Our wonderful European bikes have a little feature on the right hand switch grip. Most people in the USA use this feature to alert (annoy) people in the oncoming lanes who refuse to dip their high beams, but its' actually called the "passing light". It is intended to be used to signal a leading driver of your intent to pass. It's a tradition we should work to spread in our country.

Second, staying OUT of people's blind spots also helps a lot. That way, if they ever bother to look in their rearview mirrors, you're there. Like the truckers say, "if you can't see me in my mirror, I can't see you". Words to live by.

And lastly, counting on other drivers seeing you, hearing you, or giving you right of way as a "safety strategy" is dubious at best. When I'm riding, I count on NO ONE but MYSELF to get my butt home in one piece. Or, to paraphrase someone on the ADVrider list: "If you count on someone seeing (or hearing) you, you're screwed. If you count on someone seeing (or hearing you) and giving a sh*t, you're completely F***ED".
 
If they really were out to kill us, we'd all be dead. Think about it next time you're going down a two lane road and a vehicle is approaching from the other direction. Or the next time you're passing someone. Or...
 
Performance Mods

First, in case it hasn't been made absolutely clear, I do ride as though every driver is out to run me over. I understand that it iis my responsibilty to get me home. I also know the features of my bike, my Ducati had the same features. I do not ride in vehicle blind spots by choice, but you have to go through this blind spot to pass a vehicle, and this is typically at the exact moment that the driver attempts to change lanes. Having said all of that, if my bike is making some noise that grabs the car driver's attention, he may (and I chose this word carefully, so all of you, do not tell me that I cannot rely on a driver to hear my bike, thank you) hesitate before running me over. The fact that I am seeking an alternative to being seen by drivers should clue you in to the fact that I do not rely on the driver visually identifying my presence.
 
Don't know how this would affect the oxygen sensor, but the simple answer is to remove the muffler and drill holes in the baffle until you're happy.
 
mikea said:
Don't know how this would affect the oxygen sensor, but the simple answer is to remove the muffler and drill holes in the baffle until you're happy.

I've found mounting a fog horn running all the time works best.
 
Foghorn's not a bad idea, but it would be contrary to the "not p$%!#!ing off the neighbors" philosophy I have adopted at this stage in my life. No, all I need is a slightly elevated exhaust tone to increase my chances of being noticed by drivers around me.
 
>Having said all of that, if my bike is making some noise that >grabs the car driver's attention, he may (and I chose this word >carefully, so all of you, do not tell me that I cannot rely on a >driver to hear my bike, thank you) hesitate before running me >over.

IMHO, visually signalling your intention to pass is infinitely more effective than hoping a driver might hear your exhaust note. A modern car with the air conditioner on and the stereo at even moderate levels pretty much insulates a driver from any outside noise. I don't know how it is in Sandy Eggo, but here in Vegas a high percentage of drivers don't respond to emergency vehicles with lights AND siren blaring.

Then again, here in the Good Ole USA, flashing your intention to pass is probably just as likely to initiate aggressive behavior from the "king of the road" chattin' on his cell phone up ahead of you.

Personally, I haven't noticed any difference in the actions of fellow drivers between my Triumph (relatively loud with a CF race can), my F650 (OEM but with a staccato Thumper beat) and my K75 (the flying blender). FWIW, having ridden alongside my Triumph, and plenty of other loud bikes, that noise is behind my bike, after I've already passed the car.
YMMV
 
dlearl said:
>Having said all of that, if my bike is making some noise that >grabs the car driver's attention, he may (and I chose this word >carefully, so all of you, do not tell me that I cannot rely on a >driver to hear my bike, thank you) hesitate before running me >over.

IMHO, visually signalling your intention to pass is infinitely more effective than hoping a driver might hear your exhaust note. A modern car with the air conditioner on and the stereo at even moderate levels pretty much insulates a driver from any outside noise. I don't know how it is in Sandy Eggo, but here in Vegas a high percentage of drivers don't respond to emergency vehicles with lights AND siren blaring.

Then again, here in the Good Ole USA, flashing your intention to pass is probably just as likely to initiate aggressive behavior from the "king of the road" chattin' on his cell phone up ahead of you.

Personally, I haven't noticed any difference in the actions of fellow drivers between my Triumph (relatively loud with a CF race can), my F650 (OEM but with a staccato Thumper beat) and my K75 (the flying blender). FWIW, having ridden alongside my Triumph, and plenty of other loud bikes, that noise is behind my bike, after I've already passed the car.
YMMV

:nod

One state did a big study on why emergency vehicles were having such a hard time getting through traffic. It turns out that at highway speeds, a siren is very hard to hear until the vehicle is passing you. And those are sirens designed to emit loud noise in ALL directions.

YMMV. All I ask is that the police fine owners of loud bikes. :D
 
noise

We could argue this all day (and probably continue tomorrow), but I don't see any reason to. I never said that a louder bike would alert every driver to my presence. What I do state is that it may alert one driver to my presence. Since I don't live next door to you, the noise my bike makes won't bother you, though I am not looking for unmuffled noise, just a more distinct sound from my bike. So, if a couple hundred bucks gives me a slight performance increase, and could possibly make me a little more conspicuous to the other drivers out there, it's worth it to me. And just for the record, the drivers out here are no better than anywhere else, in fact I think they may be among the worst in the nation (with the exception of Florida), so my defensive driving skills are tested daily. And as you stated, a blinker prior to lane change does often dent some people's pride (though I do use the blinkers when changing lanes or turning).
 
noise

And all I ask is that before the police start pulling over any loud bikes, they first solve all of the rapes, murders, robberies, assaults, etc, then concenetrate on the unsafe drivers, people going slower than, and impeding traffic, people making the insane, stupid and unsafe lane changes and turns, drunks, pedophiles, etc. Then if they want to turn their attention to the loud bikes, go for it.
 
Re: noise

Robert 123456 said:
And all I ask is that before the police start pulling over any loud bikes, they first solve all of the rapes, murders, robberies, assaults, etc, then concenetrate on the unsafe drivers, people going slower than, and impeding traffic, people making the insane, stupid and unsafe lane changes and turns, drunks, pedophiles, etc. Then if they want to turn their attention to the loud bikes, go for it.

Aside from being loud, loud pipes do one thing successfully. They piss people off.
 
noise

And for the record, I have been on the highway when an emergency vehicle comes up behind, I always hear the siren. I often do not notice the flashing lights (which is usually why they resort to the horn, siren and P.A. system), since my attention is focused ahead of me, but the sound gets through whether you are paying attention or not. There isn't a car out there on the road that travels faster than the speed of sound.

So, for the record:
I am not going to rely on the slightly elevated exhaust note to protect me from any hazards. But I do want the sound of my bike to be distinct, and possibly get the attention of a driver who hasn't trained himself to look for anything on the road other than other cars. You see, that is the reason so many cars hit us, the drivers are not trained to see bikes. They are trained to see other cars and pedestrians, and even dogs, but bikes do not seem to get noticed by drivers (unless the driver also rides).

Can we now drop this line, and get back to my original thread, does anyone have any experience with the fuel injector chips and exhaust systems out there, and can I get some feedback if they do?
 
I recently installed a Staintune system on my RT because I wanted a deeper, slightly louder exhaust note.

I immediately took it for a trip to the local gas pumps to fill up.
With out the baffle (silencer) installed it was as loud to me as a H-D with a straight pipe.

I went back home let it cool down and then put the baffle in. It
was much quieter, but is still a little too loud for me. I asked my wife what she thought of it. She said that it sounds better now than it did with the stock system on it.

Now what do I do? Oh yes, I might add that the sound is a bit
on the raspy side and when you let up on the throttle it sort of
flutters. I think maybe this is what someone in the past meant
when they said it sounded like putting cards in the spokes of your bicycle when you were a kid.

Finish of Staintune is as nice an exhaust as any I have seen, I just don't like the sound very much. I'll wait to see
if the sound deepens with miles as I have been told.

Gerald
 
Yeah, that philosophy in law enforcement has worked so well in the past, let's keep at it. Who knows, there may be other, as yet undiscovered, vicitmless crimes we can concentrate on as well.
 
Hey Robert, just be honest with us. You want the bike to be louder, and if you like it louder, that is fine with me, just dont be annoyingly loud. If you get a two brothers pipe, the fiberglass packing will eventually burn out, and it will be as loud as you want.
 
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