I don't think the MoCo has much choice. It's the EPA pushing it, they are doing the same down here. Ride them loud while you can. I think that a certain part of Harley magic (attraction) is the noise and when we are forced to ride them quiet it'll hurt the sales. We have EPA going around with hand held decible meters and the fines are as much as a set of pipes plus points off your licence. [&:][:'(][:@]

 

One city here has signs posted "No Straight Pipes" $400.00 fine, and another gives the police decibel meters for bikes, loud music....

 

The check is in the mail...
This will only hurt a little bit..
I promise I'll pull it out...
Quiet Harleys sound just as good...

 

Jeez, Stfu, in that case it won't be long before good ol' England follows along, and in addition to the Feds, Traffic Wardens, and City "Jobs worth's", we'll have Environmental dudes pointing decibel meters at us at traffic lights.![sm=boosign.gif] I remember back in my Hot Rod days some folks had solenoid operated butterflys fitted to their pipes, diverting gasses through or past their silencers Drag style, easier to hide all the apperatus under a car I know, but some bight spark must be able to bring out a neat system,[sm=confused06.gif] ( if anyone who reads this does, can I have a percentage?)

 

Hey.... WAIT till the MoCo comes out and tells us that RIDING IS ACTUALLY DANGEROUS and when you crash the sacred H-D of your dreams, those emergency operating room people will take out your SPLEEN and other damaged bits! Those "fad bikers" will probably trade in their stuff for Yugos....

Best to keep the public informed...

 

in american iron mag they ran that form to have all of our fellow riders mail it in to show that banning the modificaions to motorcycles would not be easily accepted. hopefully everyone on this site has gave their own input instead of just complaining on a forum. the downfall to this form is that it looks like it may cost us all to make these modifications. and the only way we will even be able to do that is if all of our fellow riders puts in their opinon to someone that matters rather than complaining to the person next to them.

 

H-D would like to have just come out and said "quit with the loud pipes, already!", but they're afraid of offending the majority of their customers. I just don't understand the "I don't care what anyone else thinks, I have a right to force everyone within several blocks to have to listen to my Hog whether they like it or not" attitude. How in hell does your right to be an inconsiderate jackass over-ride the majority's right to a little bit of peace and quiet? Can you not understand how the average Joe, whose trying to hold a conversation out in his yard, but has to stop talking because no one can hear him while you're riding past, could get a little bent out of shape? How could anyone be that inconsiderate and self-centered? Of course it's a free country and you have rights, too. But your rights stop at the point when you start dumping on the folks around you who, difficult as this may be for you to grasp, also have rights. Look what is happening to smokers right now. Smoking bans are cropping up everywhere. Do you have a right to smoke? Sure you do! Smoke your lungs out and more power to you, just don't force the people around you to smoke that cigarette with you, because they have an equal right to chose not to smoke.

As far as our bikes, legislators can get pretty lazy and sloppy when they get tired of listening to the public whine about something. They may even decide not to go to all the trouble and expence to enact and enforce a bunch of nit-picky laws through the EPA. They could just take the easy way out and skip right to "no more motorcycles"! How'd you like that? Wouldn't that be sweet? The industry's lobby might be able to prevent this, but what if they can't? That "loud pipes save lives" thing is real catchy. You usually see it on the back of a rider's tee shirt as he roars down the road with loud pipes, but no helmet, leathers, etc. The only way your loud pipes could possibly save your life is if you mounted them backwards, with the tips facing forward, and all the cage drivers suddenly rolled down all their windows and turned off their atomic stereos. If you're really concerned for your safety, wear full leathers, a full face helmet, and ride during the day with your high beam on. That way they'll see you coming from half a mile away and if they don't, well at least your protective gear will make the cleanup a lot easier.

My '05 Night Train has stock pipes on it. Even though my hearing is not quite what it used to be, I can still hear my bike just fine at all times. It sounds just like a Harley, too. It has to because Harley made it sound that way. I get the sweet sound without blood coming out of my (or my neighbors') ears. All those loud bikes sound like Bubs, V&Hs, Reinhardts, etc., not like "real Harleys". My neighbors all think my bike is beautiful and some have actually commented that they were surprised it wasn't loud like other Harleys. I explain to them that my bike does sound exactly like a Harley, it's the others that don't...

 

Well, you had some points right up to this one, then your post became bizarre.

Legislators banning The American Legend? You obviously haven't been to Sturgis lately because most their seem to be doctors and lawyers.

It'll never happen, move to less noisy bikes, maybe.

 

I put a set of RB Racing 2into1's on my '02 Night Train. Loud as hell and I love it!
You gotta hear the motor! Right?

I've always ran drag pipes on my Shovels. My newest Shovel build will get RB Racing pipes on it as well. These guys know how to make horsepower. Carl Pelletier is a good buddy of mine. The man knows motors!

Click on the link below, scroll down towards the bottom and see what happened to his fuel bike last year. Thank God Steve wasn't killed! Watch the movie. There's a link to it.

RB Racing

BTW, I've been riding Harleys for 32 years and can tell you many stories about H-D and how they are NOT rider friendly. They have turned their backs on us many times over the years. Instead of standing up like they have a set, they bend towards whatever special interest, or .gov agency that comes crying to them. This latest BS doesn't surprise me in the least.
It's becoming too politically correct. Our dealerships in Boise were bought out a while back by some out of stater's. I was in there the other day and noticed they took out all the Easyrider, Biker, Tattoo, etc. magazines. I asked what happened and was told they offend some people. WTF! Are we raising a bunch of weenie bikers? I guess the bikini clad girls on the covers upset some yuppie biker's old lady.
It's not "let's go down to the Harley dealership" anymore. It's "let's go down to the H-D boutique" now. [sm=bling.gif]

1ANALguy, I believe in full face helmets too, but only if I have to ride a Jap bike. That way nobody knows it's me!

 

Hey Analguy Bob, lighten up, whilst I do agree that I, and other bikers have no right to impose our "attitude" on others, let's get a little perspective on this, cigarette smoke and straight pipe decibels aren't even in the same ball-park, the first one kills, (thousands each year), and the second at worst could cause tinnitus, (or permanent hearing damage if you were to hold someones head close to the pipes for minutes on end), or annoyance. So death versus annoyance, hum, hardly a fair comparison.

Now this in no way invalidates your assertion that I shouldn't interrupt my neighbour's conversations, but again the whole annoying act is over in seconds, like a jet passing overhead but quicker. It's not like we've opened our windows and were blasting out Led Zepplin for all four sides of the excellent "Physical Graffiti" double album with the volume turned all the way up to 11!

If you had used the example of some cheeze-wad revving up his Hog on his driveway on a Sunday,(or any other), morning I would agree with you, as that is taking the p*ss in my world! As you can see by my sig' pic' I have pipes approved by Beelzebub, (the Prince of evil spirits), a pair of V&H's, and in consideration to my cohabitees I don't spark the old girl up too early, I warm her up in the garage, and resist the almost overwelming urge to leave the village burnout stylee, Live & let Live?,...........it'll never catch on!