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In Oakland you can run your pipes loud - hell the cops do. Rock on Oakland!
Over in Oakland they like it loud - so loud that all 45 of the Police Department's Harley-Davidson motorcycles have been equipped with shiny new tailpipes, at a cost of $500 apiece, to rev up their roar.
It seems the cops just didn't feel safe on toned-down bikes.
"There's an old motorcycle adage that you are heard before you are seen," said Deputy Chief Dave Kozicki, explaining the department's decision to toss the bikes' muted factory-issued mufflers in favor of the more high-volume pipes.
Kozicki cited an accident three months ago in which an Oakland officer riding a toned-down cycle was struck by a motorist who said he hadn't heard the officer approaching.
But some City Hall insiders, as well as motorcycle cops elsewhere, said the safety argument is a stretch.
Even the folks at the national Motorcycle Industry Council, which represents all the big bike manufacturers, were unaware of any safety benefits from louder mufflers.
"We encourage all motorcycle riders to keep the original low sound levels that meet the ... federal sound limit of 80 decibels," said industry spokesman Mike Mount. "It would seem counterintuitive that a law enforcement agency would go against federal standards."
Ironically, it was just a short time back that Oakland police were called upon to crack down on noisy motorists who had modified their auto mufflers to make a whistling screech. The "whistle tip" pipes were eventually outlawed under state law.
Oakland's cops had a long tradition of riding their Harley-Davidsons with the modified, louder tail pipes, earning them the nickname "Rolling Thunder." But after an officer complained about a loss of hearing and others around town questioned whether the police force was violating the very noise standards it was supposed to enforce, the department brass ordered a switch to the quieter stock mufflers.
According to Kozicki, the decibel drop sparked a chorus of complaints from other officers, who said they felt less safe.
So last year the department launched a $1,200 study in conjunction with the city's risk management division to determine whether A) the louder motorcycles contributed to officers' safety, B) were detrimental to their hearing, and C) complied with noise standards.
Kozicki acknowledged that whatever safety-related findings the study produced were largely anecdotal. Still, after everything was taken into consideration, the department concluded "it was in the best interest of the officers to put more-audible pipes back on," Kozicki said.
Hence, all 30 of the department's Harleys were sent down to the central maintenance yard for a muffler makeover, at a cost of about $15,000, according to City Hall insiders. Another 15 newly purchased motorcycles were ordered with the louder pipes, though at no extra charge.
Oakland officials acknowledge that the noisy pipes, when tested, averaged 93 decibels - well above the federal legal noise limit, according to the Motorcycle Industry Council.
But city Finance Director Bill Nolan, who oversees the risk management division, isn't alarmed.
"If they were riding eight straight hours, it would be a problem," he said. "But they aren't."
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It's about time a government agency in California got their collective heads out of their collective asses. Good for them. It'll be nice to ride through Oakland if you're a guy running drag pipes. Makes it kinda hard for them to write those tickets.
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Semper Fi, Bro!

 

I'm a loud pipe guy. It isn't about being heard as much as it is "sounding" like a Harley. The arguement about loud pipes saving lives has one fatal flaw. Since the noise made by the pipes comes out BEHIND the bike, cars up front of you won't hear you as well as you might think. My experienc has always been that I'm not heard till I'm almost parallel with the car and I goose the throttle and STARTLE the driver. They then swerve to avoid me and as you might guess, over correct and then swerve back into my lane. So do they really save lives? Who knows. All I know is that they sound damn good

 

Them Oakland cops love their bikes apparently.

 

Bezoar, I sort of agree, but not wholeheartedly.&nbsp\\; You are right, the MAJORITY of the sound is behind you, but that being said, surely you have been walking down a street and heard the motorcycle coming toward you, there is sound everywhere.&nbsp\\; I prove that every night here in Wisconsin as those deer look up to see what's coming way out in front of me.&nbsp\\; In fact, up here, I do believe loud pipes save lives, especially from the deer.&nbsp\\; When they look up and their eyes reflect back to me, I feel much safer knowing where they are and that there are probaly more I'm not seeing.&nbsp\\; But, at least I see some of them and adjust accordingly, better than not seeing them until they are resting in my lap.&nbsp\\; With cars, though, since we ride mostly in the summer, I can see where a car with the windows up, air on and stereo cranking will never know I'm there.&nbsp\\; Of course, that's why we call ourselves defensive drivers, to handle these situations.&nbsp\\; Plus, when you pipes are loud, it's so much fun to ride beside the person on the cell phone driving to annoy the crap out of them.

 

Maybe the deer notice your headlight and not your pipes?
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J/K.

 

Maybe at night, I might agree, but it doesn't matter what hour, I ride in daylight, also.&nbsp\\; Not as many deer, but still more than I like to see.&nbsp\\; Not only that, seriously, no one can say they haven't walked down a street and heard motorcycles coming from behind them, even though the pipes were pointed the other way.&nbsp\\; Last summer, we came out of a restaurant and were talking.&nbsp\\; When I turned to walk away, I took one step and walked right in front of a moving Gold Wing, never even heard tire noise.&nbsp\\; He went by and rode out of the lot, my wife turned and asked me, "Was that bike even running?".&nbsp\\; Flame on, I've been runnin' loud for as long as I've been ridin', ain't going to stop now.&nbsp\\; However, please note, I do understand noise issues, so you won't see me pulled over because I have loud pipes AND am an idiot, I consider myself a bit smarter than that.&nbsp\\; Most of the tickets I've seen written aren't solely because of loud pipes, they have that "listen to me, I'm cool" factored into the equation.&nbsp\\; It is possible to run loud pipes and not offend, all a matter of common sense.

 

The "loud pipes save lives" argument can never be proven because you cannot prove that you weren't killed because your pipes are loud.
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If you enjoy the sound, knock yourself out and run whatever pipes you like.&nbsp\\; But don't tell me it's a safety issue.&nbsp\\; I've run quiet pipes my whole riding life and continue to live to tell the tale.&nbsp\\; The only thing I will ever count on to keep me safe is the brain in my head.

 

I think it can't hurt to run loud pipes, even if some of the arguments are correct I will continue to run them because I like the sound and will take any edge that it might give me....

 

Amen to that!