When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
From: NOMAD Milton FL Now Originaly From San Rafael CA
Stock pipes bike was a dog
i have nad straight and did not care for them
my se 2's are a little louder than i want but i am herd
had several close calls with stock Pensacola they Do Not know howe to drive
we have had several GW's knocked over in last couple years i owne a wrecker and get them
If I wanted a Gold Wing then I would have bought a Gold Wing.
The louder pipes do not save lives as everyone thinks. Then Gold Wing Drivers would be dropping like flys.
Loud pipes are for the most part just, LOUD PIPES. It's more about the "look at me" factor, than anything to do with safety. Anyway, I think in the near future , new laws will be written and enforced that will be killing the loud pipe business, and i'm not really for that either............. JMHO
Yeah, and I have hit a deer on my bike with "loud pipes". I also know several other HD riders running louder than stock pipes who have also hit deer....With deer, there is nothing that works to keep them from running out in front of you....Heck, they stand right beside the interstate eating with tractor trailers roaring by at 80 mph, a set of loud mufflers ain't gonna bother 'em much.
I've seen them scatter away from me before, more than once.
Coincidence? Maybe. But they looked like they were scared. I'm okay with scaring them. But as I said earlier, not the reason I run the pipes.
I have seen a lot of guys with "Loud pipes save lives" patches on their Sunday riding vests.
Not a single one of them was wearing an armored jacket, pants, gauntlets, boots, and full face helmet when they got back on the bike. Most of them are drinking at least a beer or two before riding as well. I have yet to see a dude on a Deluxe with fishtails wearing day-glo yellow either, and the guys with Short Shots don't have headlight modulators installed either. They don't really care at all about "safety".
In your car, with the stereo on, and the windows up, you're not going to hear the pipes until it's too late. I suppose they might help with people making left turns in front of you, but generally I don't buy it. I think it's an argument made up by the guys who blip their throttles for no good reason in parking lots, begging for attention, but don't want to admit that attention is what they seek.
This is such a tired argument. No one puts loud pipes on for safety - they do it because of performance or because they like the sound. They just try to justify it to others who don't like the noise by saying it saves lives.....
Whatever dude! Get on interstate 95 in lower Fairfield county CT. rush hour traffic.
Then tell me that loud pipes aren't a safety feature.
HD Forum Stories
The Best of Harley-Davidson for Lifelong Riders
7 Surprising Harley-Davidson Products that Are Not Motorcycles
Verdad Gallardo
8 Best Harley-Davidson Motorcycles Ever
Pouria Savadkouei
10 Worst Harley-Davidson Motorcycles Ever
Pouria Savadkouei
Killer Custom's Jail Break Is The Breakout That Refused to Blend In
Verdad Gallardo
Crazy Bunderbike Build Looks Amazing, But Is It Impossible to Ride?
Verdad Gallardo
Harley-Davidson Reveals Super Cool Cafe Racer Concept
Verdad Gallardo
Engraved Rebellion: Inside Bundnerbike's Glam Rock II
Verdad Gallardo
10 Motorcycles You Should Never Buy
Joe Kucinski
10 Things Harley-Davidson Needs to Fix in 2026
Verdad Gallardo
Southpaw Super Glide: A Left-Hand-Drive 1979 Harley FXE Built to Fit the Rider
Let's see here... stock MoCo pipes are abysmal. They look like ****, sound like ****, and perform like ****. I have a denim black Bones with black V&H Shorties. It runs better, it definitely sounds better, and looks a lot better.
I still find myself dodging idiots everytime I ride. The way I see it, if a person does a lane change, they cut me off because they are ahead of me. If they pull out in front of me at an intersection, it's obvious they are in front of me. The sound of my pipes come straight out behind me. I don't see the merit in the loud pipes save lives argument. I'm sure there are several incidents everyday that are avoided due to the loud pipes, but let's call it what it is, or what it should be. Freedom of choice.
What gets me is that people bitch about loud pipes on bikes, yet we never hear about potential legislation about quieting things that are worse. Ever try to talk on your cell phone at a stop light behind a bus? A garbage truck? The dump truck that just picked up a load at the construction site down the street? These things have much higher DB levels than my bike, and no, I don't use a cell phone when I drive my pickup. It just seems to me that the people who seem to be most annoyed by my bike are the phuktards in their cars yakking on cell phones. Imagine that.
7 Surprising Harley-Davidson Products that Are Not Motorcycles
Slideshow: The bar-and-shield logo shows up on far more than motorcycles, some of the company's most unexpected products have nothing to do with riding.
Slideshow: From the troubled AMF years to modern misfires, these bikes earned reputations for reliability issues, questionable engineering, or disappointing performance.
Crazy Bunderbike Build Looks Amazing, But Is It Impossible to Ride?
Slideshow: The Swiss custom shop has taken a Harley Softail and stretched it into something so long and low that it looks closer to a rolling sculpture than a conventional motorcycle.
Engraved Rebellion: Inside Bundnerbike's Glam Rock II
Slideshow: A standard cruiser becomes an intricate metal canvas in the hands of a Swiss custom house known for pushing Harley-Davidson platforms far beyond their factory brief.
Slideshow: Harley-Davidson's challenges aren't abstract; they show up in dropping shipments, shrinking dealer traffic, and strategic decisions that aren't yet translating into growth.