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Preference for quiet pipes?

13K views 86 replies 39 participants last post by  blue flames 
#1 ·
The thread about setting off car alarms got me to wondering how many people here prefer a quiet exhaust on their bikes. I didn't want to stink up the rumble thread by introducing the question there. To each his or her own. I'm not interested in starting an argument or why anyone doesn't like loud pipes, just curious who likes a quiet bike and maybe why.

Personally, I like it quiet. The stock pipes are not as quiet as I'd like but I can live with them. I love the sound of a BMW or Goldwing as they slip on past with only a sewing machine whine.

Anyone else, or am I just strange?
 
#2 ·
I loved the loud sound of my gutted out Cobra Drag pipes on my ACE, but my old ears are gettin' worse. I never really like the sound of a muffled up v-twin. Kinda sounds like a Honda Fourwheeler to me, and that just sounds weird to me on a nice looking bike. But that was kind of the deciding factor in selling my ACE and finding something smoother and quieter. Never even looked at another v-twin, because I knew that I wouldn't like the quiet v-twin sound.


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#3 · (Edited)
The quieter the better.. Have always liked the feeling of flying when riding a bike, especially when riding through a forest.. I prefer to glide.

The only reason I haven't yet added 20 more horses and foot pounds of torque to the Vic by swapping out the cams, is that I need to put a performance exhaust on it when I do, so it can breathe better..

I want that extra power.. Who Wouldn't ..But I do like the quieter ride of what I already have.
 
#60 ·
The quieter the better.. Have always liked the feeling of flying when riding a bike, especially when riding through a forest.. I prefer to glide.
I'm kinda with you on that one , but it never stopped me from a good set of pipes if they are already on the bike, >:)

The real loud ones , forgetaboutit . Headache city for me. Sensitive I guess . I ride with my hair in the wind most times and don't care for ear plugs unless I'm holding a fire arm.

I'm not sold on the safety bit claimed on loud pipes either , Unless you are trying to scare the guy behind you. Just MHO.
 
#4 ·
I refer the quiet as well. I like how my stock pipes sound. Now if I could have my bike sound like my friends Harley. I would be happy with the louder pipes. It sounds like a full built big block. I am guessing the low compression is why these bikes sound kind of wimpy with a louder exhaust? To be honest though. I have only heard one bike that had the baffles removed. And it sounded horrible. I have not hear a shadow with an aftermarket exhaust. I do prefer quiet now. Must be getting older
 
#5 ·
I am quite conservative so prefer pipes that are doing there job muffling the exhaust.

I had a set of 12" megaphone shorties on a 500 Triumph Tiger in 1971 but it had no muffler when I bought it, and the shorties were about $20 each so fit my budget (stock were $150 and had to be imported). I could hardly wait to save for the stock as I was embarrassed to ride the bike with the "shorty" noise.

Due to that experience, I was very concerned when advised by Honda dealer to increase my hp a bit by installing V&H Classics. I had the dealer install them and was able to compare side-by-side with stock and the sound was not louder except on heavy acceleration. Had them for 20 years now (95 ACE) and still good. I 750DC has stock pipes and I feel the quiet is more enjoyable when riding through rural country sides/forested area etc. guess some people like to be the center of attention so like louder pipes but I usually won't ride with them as the noise bothers me. My

Although I had to give up the 500 Tiger, I have kept a stock 69BSA Lightning and many people have said that's the best sounding bike they have heard. Quiet, Classic, Efficient. It remains the center of attention.

G.
 
#8 ·
On my 750 ACE, I like the relative quiet of the exhaust, it allows me to not attract too much attention when riding more aggressively, although at WOT it is drowned out by the modified intake noise.
My trouble with it is the 1 1/4" primary pipes are now a bottleneck in the performance of the bike, 1 5/8" pipes would make more sense.

It seems that all of the aftermarket exhaust systems available for this bike vary between loud and obnoxiously loud.

Maybe I should just get ear plugs, put a set of drags on it and learn to give my neighbors the extended middle finger if they complain.
 
#9 ·
For me, it's kind of a "safety" thing to have the pipes a little louder. That's why I love my Cobra 2" drags, with the baffles in. It's just the right amount of "noise" so that cagers can "hear" me coming, but not enough to destroy my hearing or completely annoy my neighbors. I'm all for things that will get me "noticed" by cagers out there; extra lights, flashing lights, get-back whip, etc., whatever will cause people to take and extra "look" to see that I'm there so they won't do something stupid, like pull out in front of me or into my lane while I'm there. Quiet pipes, IMO, just further the idea to cagers that nobody is there.
 
#12 ·
Oops. Wrong thread.

I was looking for the EarthShakingWindowRattlingEarSplittenLoudenBoomers Thread.....

HowInZeHELL did I get involved with these low-sound-footprint seekos?

Quieter bikes?
Blasphemy!

We have nothing in common, except .........motorcycles.

:^)

Nothing for me to see here....moving along.

C'mon, neighbor BobS761....let's start a thread about fitting threaded compensators onto 2.25" open pipes.....or Magnaporting....
 
#13 ·
Nope, not strange at all. I like quiet pipes too. Stock have always been good enough for me.
 
#16 · (Edited)
I had repacked Vance & Hines pipes with hardcore baffles on my 1100 ACE and they were so loud at highway speeds my Harley riding buddies told me they refused to ride behind me. Now on the Valkyrie, it is completely stock and you know what...I don't miss the loud pipes. On the down side I hear every engine noise now, but it is what it is. If I tun the music up the world is good...lol. My ears will thank me in the long run. I do not plan to change anything about the Valk except normal maintenance items, .e.g. tires.
 
#18 ·
I loved the Cobra Street Rods on the Shadow for around town, but the drone on the highway was awful. The Cobra 6:6 on the Valk is nice and quiet when I'm cruising and TERRIBLE when I want them to be.
 
#21 ·
I've had both on my ACE. Stock for the first year or so and then put home made straight pipes. It was loud. Would set off car alarms in parking decks. It sounded ok to me, but when we moved back to town last year, things changed. Living in the country I didn't have any neighbors to bother. Riding here, it just seemed louder. So I put the stock back on. I like it better stock. I used to adhere to the "loud pipes save lives" theory, but I have noticed no difference in cager attitude when it comes to bikes. Then it dawned on me. As we are riding, our sound just becomes background noise to them. Cars are better insulated and better at sound deadening now. A loud bike can be heard, but since the sound is constant, it is like any other steady noise, just background. I have found that a loud, sharp, quick sound attracts attention better. A 139 Decibel air horn gets their attention. So, stock sound for me from exhaust.
 
#26 ·
At blind and accident prone rural intersections (between work and home) I do in fact need the noise of my loud pipes, my horn doesn't cast and in Jersey we ignore them anyway, but at those intersections I drop the throttle get 3 backfires then slam back into it, that's loud and sudden enough to stop those that have tried to pull out on me.
 
#23 ·
When I lived in Maine our riding group consisted of about 8 riders. We were rarely all together on a given day but we were all in agreement about one thing. One of our members put an after market exhaust on his bike and from that time on he had to ride last in line. Nobody wanted to list to that loud blast.
 
#25 ·
I prefer quiet. Maybe not so much the sewing-machine quiet of BMWs and Wings but I do admire the precision that level of quiet conveys.

Anyone else, or am I just strange?
No matter how many of us agree you will have no assurances that you're not strange. :D

Loud pipes do not save lives. They only serve to irritate everyone.
LOUD PIPES RISK RIGHTS.

The claim that they "save" lives is just BS thrown out by folks who do not have the courage to admit that they like to make noise. Whenever I hear them I want to scream "Stop hiding behind the mythology! Stand up for yourself!" but that screaming would be impolite. And they couldn't hear me anyway.
 
#30 ·
No matter how many of us agree you will have no assurances that you're not strange. :D
:grin2:
Have you been talking to my wife? :wink2:
 
#28 ·
I live on a curvy, hilly country road that is popular with bikers and motorists, alike. There's a difference between volume that is the result of high-performance, and volume just for the sake of volume. I can appreciate the former, but when I hear a stock motor that's just loud for no other reason than to get attention it's annoying. The a$$hats driving $400 Kia's or Civic's with coffee-can mufflers, or none at all, and flooring it up the hill but still only doing 45 m.p.h. while making ear-splitting noise...I just want to practice some sharp-shooting on those guys (at the CARS...I'm not threatening to shoot anybody. Yet.) Same thing goes for bikes, sorry fellas but I gotta say it. Unless a vehicle can back up the noise with real, verifiable performance, it gets no respect from me.

For me personally, I carry my wife as a passenger often, and feel lucky to have a wife who enjoys that. If her eardrums were ringing at the end of each ride, that would not continue. I have good neighbors who I like, and I enjoy being able to leave home early in the morning without making them hate me. I don't need for anyone to think that I'm a badass, and I don't buy the 'loud pipes save lives' theory. It can be postulated that anything which draws attention to us makes us safer. Using that logic you could justify...anything. Maybe one of those rotating whirly-gig lights like on the front of a fire-engine, or attaching neon streamers to our helmets. There's no limit to how ridiculous it can be.

And lastly...I think the idea of having to wear earplugs to protect you from your own noise is just plain ludicrous.
 
#29 ·
We won't resolve the loud vs quiet debate. I'm just interested in what it is about quiet pipes that appeals to people, and a little reassurance that I'm not the only one who likes them.

Personal choice is a precious thing.
 
#31 ·
You're absolutely right, Dave.
I apologize for getting riled up.
I was working in the yard all weekend and got irritated with the noise.
Guess I am getting to be a grumpy old geezer.
Crap.
 
#41 ·
Now come on @Mark-B @Hawk we're mucking up this quiet pipe thread with our incessant shouting. Get outta here shoo shoo! I'm going too lol 0:)
True Enough! .. Don't get me started on Thread Pirates!

Gonzo Garage's Stealth Gonzo! That's the muffler for me if I want to do that mod on the Vic' (apparently.. and, so I was told) .. A bit of a bark on acceleration, quiet as a sewing machine at speed.. The "Barking" bit tho'.. I just don't fancy that barking!

Now.. I'm leaving.. ... Again.. :grin2:
 
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