Loud Pipes Save Lives by Jennifer Giacalone

And often, doing so does make your motorcycle louder. On the other hand, an aftermarket exhaust system, if installed correctly, can safely boost output, Cycle World reports. Instead, it can damage the engine components. Removing the muffler doesn’t increase your bike’s performance, Motorcyclist reports. This brings up an excellent point about motorcycle exhaust modification, such as removing the muffler or fitting an aftermarket system.

That’s louder than a jet plane taking off and too loud to ever pass any kind of road noise regulations. But it would require a noise level above 135 dB, MCN reports. To be fair, there is a way for loud pipes to make themselves known even beyond 50 feet. Plus, even with the distance closed to 33 feet, only one bike was clearly heard inside of the car. That’s chainsaw-level loud, the University of Michigan reports. And that’s even with the loudest motorcycle’s exhaust peaking at 110 dB. If the bike is 50 feet away, it can’t even be heard inside the car. The results, as you’ve likely gathered, are that loud pipes really don’t save lives. The baseline was with the windows rolled up, RideApart reports, and the next step had the car’s engine gently revving and the radio playing. Besides the motorcycle’s distances from the car, the study-runners varied the interior noise levels. Specifically, 50 feet behind the car, 33 feet behind the car, right next to the car, and right in front of it. In the study, six different bikes (unspecified) were revved to redline at various distances around a stationary car, MCN reports. A Netherlands-based specialist group, Enviro Consult, provided additional assistance.ĭespite what the bumper sticker proclaims, it’s totally not true. The goal was to see how loud a motorcycle’s pipes are for car passengers. This study was undertaken by the Romanian Association for the Development of Motorcycling, Autoweek reports, together with the Polytechnic University of Bucharest’s Department of Motor Vehicles. However, a recent study out of Romania has pounded the nail into that particular coffin. Specifically, by claiming that by cranking up the volume, they’re letting other road-users-namely drivers-know their bikes are around. To be sure, a not-insignificant portion of ‘loud pipes save lives’ proponents are trying to justify their bike’s ear-splitting exhaust, RevZilla reports. A Romanian study spells it out: ‘loud pipes save lives’ doesn’t hold up A police officer checks how loud a motorcycle exhaust pipe is | Frank Rumpenhorst/picture alliance via Getty Images But a new study has thoroughly debunked that. And one that persists is the notion that ‘loud pipes save lives.’ I.e., the louder your motorcycle’s exhaust is, the safer you’ll be. Sometimes, it seems there are almost as many myths about motorcycle safety as there is genuine advice.

Loud Pipes Save Lives by Jennifer Giacalone