Anyone else here? I always get a kick when people tell me that I must be a tree hugger hippie, until I show them a pic of my '07 Honda CBR600RR. Yea, I may drive like a grandpa on my prius 65-70mph on cruise control, but I ride like rambo on my CBR. :rockon: To make matters worse, I have a Leo Vince slip-on which pretty much puts the bike on the dB spectrum next to a jet engine. I also have a Curt class 1 hitch on the prius... i'm thinking of towing my bike one day to the track, though i'll be slightly over the official "total passenger weight limit". Hmmm? Probably a dumb idea, but it would be entertaining to see this.
I have an 06 V-Rod, and an 09 Vulcan. It's interesting how many things on this forum are soooo very different and yet how many are the same. My Vulcan is bone stock. The V-Rod.....weeeeeelllll let's just say that I practice strict throttle dicipline when I'm in populated areas. Ride safe! ATGATT!
That's just plain rude. People who refuse to muffle their engines belong on the same island with lawyers and politicians. Enjoy your bike, but please have consideration for the rest of humanity and keep a proper muffler on it.
2010 Street Glide FLHX and a 2009 Suzuki M50 (VZ800). Done some stuff to both, though the Suzi only has saddle bags which I installed. HD has rush exhaust, which is a little louder than stock but has much more bass in the sound (it's not over bearing, though). I want to do luggage rack on the HD, but the materials are very $$ so I've been putting it off. Probably will get the seat re-done and lowered about 1/2" - 1" in ride height.
I love v-rods, yes this is coming from a sport rider. One day, I'll either get a v-rod or boneville triumph t-100 (yeah I know, nothing like a V-Rod!) I had the stock exhaust for as long as possible (about 3000 miles) to avoid having a loud pipe. It actually sounds OK when you are cruising, not deafening as you probably pictured (or as I described, jet engine-like). In fact, even on the damn Prius with its next to none sound deadening material, the pipe doesn't blend out music say at volume level 15. The problem is that we sport riders are too impatient and like to split traffic in LA, and even if i'm going just over 5mph over traffic flow people will still try to take me out. And no, loud pipes don't save lives, and yes I still choose to have one now. Five years from now, I might have to totally agree with you and post the same thing you posted to someone else.
Ahh, the almighty R1200GS, also on my list to own someday. Blame it on Ewan McGregor. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion...just like we get fried for driving our Prii. What can you say...haters gonna hate!
After not haven rode in a couple of decades last year I bought a Honda Nighthawk for my daughter and I to ride. However, I quickly found that she doesn't always hang on and I want her to still be there when we arrive. So, I parked it and picked up a 1982 Honda Silverwing. Sort of like the Goldwing but a bit less powerful, cheaper to insure and it has a BACKREST. I guess I still drive like grandpa even on the motorcycle. No Rambo for me. Back in the day, I rode a Guzzi and it was flat out on the autobahns. I'm lucky to still be alive.
Actually....Daniel is a pretty good guy. He just doesn't ride, so he perhaps does not realize that sometimes loud(er) pipes save lives. NOBODY hates asshat Prius drivers, or motorcycle riders more than me! There's enough hate in the world already without some cretins out there shaking rust off of screen doors with loud exhausts...or stereo equipment. Likewise....the world already has more than enough self righteous preachers and self-appointed law enforcement officers. There's room even on this crowded planet for EV drivers and motorcyclists to share the roads. As I said before, my Vulcan is bone stock. You probably can't even hear it running from inside a Prius. In fact, the last time I almost got killed on the road was by some idiot hypermiler in a pea-soup green G2 that didn't want to bleed off his forward momentum by actually having to fully stop and yield the ROW to me. My V-Rod has a modified exhaust, but it is within (barely) the limits set forth by the decibel police. I always exercise throttle discipline when riding in residential and other crowded areas. Once I’m out on the open road…. THAT’s a different story! That's just how I roll, but I will tell you that a yank on the throttle sure as hell beats the little "meep-meep" horn sometimes when you're trying to wake up some cell phone queen or GPS jock who just isn't up to the collision avoidance task. Motorcyclists, just like Prius drivers are their own worst enemy sometimes, which is why you have more and more noise monitoring stations and annual inspections out there. Like I said.....there's room on the road for both. You just have to exercise a little common sense.....which I guess isn't all that common sometimes.
Thanks, ETC(SS). And FWIW, Danny is the owner of Prius Chat. He lives in Charlotte, NC, according to his profile. Daniel is me. I live in Spokane. (But I'm not giving my address.) I had never thought of loud exhaust as a safety measure, aimed at distracted drivers. It hardly seems relevant, though, when bikers make a racket on residential streets with a 25 mph speed limit. I have a very sensitive startle response. Loud noises annoy me, and I do get angry when some jerk-off decides to wake up an entire neighborhood at 2:00 a.m., feeling that it's fun to basically say f*** you to everyone trying to sleep within a three-block radius. I should clarify that I feel exactly the same way about people with unmuffled cars. I don't even like the noise of regular cars, which is one of many reasons I became enamored of EVs, even when my little Zap Xebra was the best thing I could get. I like peace and quiet. I liked my under-powered Xebra, and I like doing zero to 35 (our city-street limit) in an eyeblink with no noise other than a subdued whrrrrrrr.
39 years riding now, currently 94 GL1500 Wing! I get to have fun on my bike so I can drive my Prius and get the good gas mileage. Used to ride Harley, still have the look and the tats from my wayward days, so I really have fun getting looks from people seeing me getting out of a Prius!
Well I owned this but reluctantly sold it when offered a price way above what it was worth at the time. Its a Bimota KB2 Laser TT, one of 15 made and one of 5 in this color configuration. Its was not only beautiful but the chrome-moly frame had perfect balance and the bike was stable all the way around a corner. The welding was a work of art. Sure miss it.
The OP started this thread for fellow motorcyclists, obviously Daniel you're not one...not really sure why you needed to comment here at all, you can go back to your cone of silence now.