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Rumble and roar?


Bosco-d-gama

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Ah spring, finally I get to start working on the yards and enjoying them. I live where mountains channel out onto a prairie. Essentially I live in the throat of a giant natural horn. Spring also means the return of motorcycles, in singles and throngs. Traffic noise of any level resonates and amplifies around here and motorcycles, well they can be quite a nuisance.

 

Okay, I definitely understand that many here are motorcycle fan(atic)s and I would never suggest that any of you should curtail your enthusiasm for open air riding. But we now have the advent of truly serious and capable electric motorcycles that offer the wonderful addition of a more silent power plant. So how important is the rumble and roar to the experience of being a biker? Would riders be just as happy, or perhaps happier, riding a quieter high powered electric bike? Off road vehicles have the same problem. Imagine a pristine snowfall deep in the forest and the addition of whining snowmobiles permeating the landscape for miles around. It is noise pollution that can now be controlled. Would any of you motorcyclists consider electric for your next purchase? 

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I doubt that I ever would.  Take the exhaust noise away from a bike and I'm certain that you'd have more accidents.  Bikes are easily hidden in automobile blind spots and the exhaust noise is an easy way for a driver to realize someone's there.

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1 hour ago, Bosco-d-gama said:

Essentially I live in the throat of a giant natural horn. Spring also means the return of motorcycles, in singles and throngs. Traffic noise of any level resonates and amplifies around here and motorcycles, well they can be quite a nuisance.

 

Would any of you motorcyclists consider electric for your next purchase? 

I very much understand your situation, and I also abhor extremely-loud more-or-less straight-exhaust motorcycles blasting high decibels around a "quiet neighborhood".  I ride, and what I ride is very quiet, exhaust-wise, because of its STOCK mufflers!  Every state has laws limiting the noise from exhaust systems on public roads, too!  Unfortunately those laws seem to be ignored by not only many riders, but also by many police-people, too...most likely because many of them also ride loud-exhaust bikes!

 

I have also experienced drunks getting to bed well after mid-nite at campsites I was already at, do this kind of thing:   "I just want to hear my bike once more before crashing out"...they start it up and blast then entire campground with the noise at high engine revs, then lay down...waking everybody else up and inciting the park ranger to arrive shorty afterwards...to tell every campsite with a motorcycle to LEAVE IMMEDIATELY...and there I am packing up my stuff and loading it onto my QUIET bike, IN THE DARK, due to one or more jerks camping in the same camp-ground! 

 

Add to this all the people in the neighborhoods having JUST FINALLY gotten a baby to sleep, and here comes the loud bikes blasting thru the neighborhoods!  There really is NO EXCUSE for denying others their rights to live peacefully, IMHO! 

 

There actually ARE much more low-decibel ways to increase the breathing of an engine, by installation of an aftermarket exhaust system,  than installing extremely loud ones, instead!

 

ELECTRIC BIKES??  Not for the kind of long-distance touring I tend to do on very out-of-the-way roads and highways! 

 

This pic was taken the morning I arrived at my destination after an all-niter from Fort Smith, AR, to Deals' Gap in North Carolina!  I had OBVIOUSLY NOT unpacked the bike yet!  11-hour run, around 765 miles!  Left home a couple of hours after getting off work, taking a shower and loading the bike.... at 7pm Central, arrived at destination at 7am Eastern!  Three gas stops along the way!...and a stop for breakfast and lots of coffee before hitting "the gap" on the way in to the destination!  ALWAYS BE AS AWAKE AS POSSIBLE, when riding "the gap"!

 

1880003701_andys.jpg.544c4931e1220245cbd200762f2fe2a0.jpg

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38 minutes ago, CECAA850 said:

I doubt that I ever would.  Take the exhaust noise away from a bike and I'm certain that you'd have more accidents.  Bikes are easily hidden in automobile blind spots and the exhaust noise is an easy way for a driver to realize someone's there.

 

Except that the majority of motorcycle exhaust noise is directed toward the back, while the majority of motorcycle accidents are front-end collisions.

I will leave it at that, because this argument can very quickly become passionate.

https://chicagoinjurycenter.com/common-types-accidents

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19 minutes ago, Edgar said:

 

Except that the majority of motorcycle exhaust noise is directed toward the back, while the majority of motorcycle accidents are front-end collisions.

I will leave it at that, because this argument can very quickly become passionate.

https://chicagoinjurycenter.com/common-types-accidents

No passionate arguments from me.  However (LOL) bikes are easily heard in close proximity to automobiles even when they're behind them.

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2 minutes ago, Khornukopia said:

One of my friends asked me why I wear ear plugs while riding such a quiet motorcycle. I said it is so I don't have to listen to his annoying loud exhaust.  

I don't wear earplugs when riding...helmet is very quiet inside!  When trapped-into interstate riding due to too much construction on other roads, I often put in my Klipsch ear-buds and listen to a favorite CD, though!😉

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=== prior to have spent two weeks ridingin/driving a Tesla S90 I most likely would have said no thanks. The Tesla is quite a machine with a 0-60 a tad under 3 seconds and a range of over 250 miles. Those numbers actually make it practical compared to the abysmal ranges of nearly every other E car. HD is jumping on the bandwagon in August with their LiveWire E-bike, with a range of about 160-180 miles. While an E-bike would be and will be an interesting option I’ll stick with my Dino- fueled BMW’s for now.

As for ear plugs I never ride without them and wish I would have started using them years sooner. I’ve never owned a helmet, Shoei or Aria, or ridden behind a screen that blocks wind noise to a safe degree — huh?!

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When I rode Harleys I loved the sound of loud pipes. Even now, I appreciate the sound of a well tuned big twin. I tried to be considerate of others and not be the obnoxious guy at the stop light revving my engine. But oh, the sound of that 2-1 exhaust on my (highly modified) fatboy was very nice. No electric cars or motorcycles for me, thank you very much.

 

Shakey

bike 004.JPG

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I don’t think the bikers coming through here are intentionally being noisy. It just does not take much because of the geography. But they do come in caravans and that’s quite extreme.

 

Curious how a throaty car or bike adds to its persona and by extension its owner/driver. Maybe in time tastes/expectations will change and a silent electric rage ravaging the highways will gain favor. Personally I like road travel to be free from road/car noises. Interesting too that this all began just over a century ago. Before the internal combustion engine road noise was the clopping of hooves. Trains were/are noisy but were/are nowhere as prevalent as personal vehicles. Oh well...... such is life. Appreciate your thoughts.

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I like the silence of my helmet behind my windshield....All I hear is the "ticka, ticka, ticka" of my BMW airhead valve train coming from just ahead of each foot...it sounds just like a Singer sewing machine!  If it stops sounding exactly that way, and/or I fall beneath 45-47 miles per gallon at 80-85 mph, which ever occurs first, while on a long haul, it means I need to adjust the valves and re-torque the head bolts when the engine is cold the next morning...about a 15-20 minute job for both heads included, unless I am REALLY taking my time with my morning coffee while doing it!  LOL!   Seldom does the gas mileage NOT drop first!....well before the sound changes...unless I am pushing the time for replacing the exhaust valves!....saying to myself:  "they're OK for another ten or so thousand more miles...worry about it later"....  I've only needed to do it once on the '83 beemer...at around 85,000 miles...and it could very well have waited another 20,000 before it absolutely needed it!!  But I had the time that winter went ahead and did it, anyway!....Mostly due to Castrol getting rid of the sulfur in the GTX natural oils back in the late 90's!  After that complete valve replacement, aIong with replacing intake and exhaust valve seats to the tool-steel versions (due to so much gas having ethanol in it anymore), I changed over to Castrol's synthetic line of oil!  Ethanol additives for octane boost are hard on the stainless exhaust valve seats the engine was originally made with!...especially when in combination with no oil sulfur to help cushion the valve to seat closure!  Well over 140,000 on the bike now, but should already be hovering around 200,000 because I haven't really had much time away from my jobs to ride it nearly as much as before 2003! I normally would have put on more than just that much mileage!   No engine issues other than that one, though since I fixed that one!  My bike loves 95-98 octane best, which it can only get outside of the state where I reside, unfortunately!

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I live on one end of a scenic route. We got bike/rs come through every weekend. I do not mind hear them rumbling into the valley. We get to hear them for several miles before they get here.

 

They are well behaved and don't try to race [like the crotch-rocketeers].....  I to hear them ripping up the road and expect it to it get quiet suddenly. Our road is nice. A beautiful ride. Enough twists and turns to keep it fun... watch out for the mobile obstacles... cows... on the road.

 

They spend $$$ here...

.... and I can scare them by walking into the bar in my sarong. lol

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I find the noisiest tend to be some of the Harley’s and I really don’t care for it. I live right downtown in a high rise condo so our street creates an echo canyon that will drown out music or TV. I ride a Yamaha VStar, not silent but not obnoxious either. I would definitely try an electric bike provided it had the appropriate range.

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11 hours ago, Bosco-d-gama said:

Ah spring, finally I get to start working on the yards and enjoying them. I live where mountains channel out onto a prairie. Essentially I live in the throat of a giant natural horn. Spring also means the return of motorcycles, in singles and throngs. Traffic noise of any level resonates and amplifies around here and motorcycles, well they can be quite a nuisance.

 

Okay, I definitely understand that many here are motorcycle fan(atic)s and I would never suggest that any of you should curtail your enthusiasm for open air riding. But we now have the advent of truly serious and capable electric motorcycles that offer the wonderful addition of a more silent power plant. So how important is the rumble and roar to the experience of being a biker? Would riders be just as happy, or perhaps happier, riding a quieter high powered electric bike? Off road vehicles have the same problem. Imagine a pristine snowfall deep in the forest and the addition of whining snowmobiles permeating the landscape for miles around. It is noise pollution that can now be controlled. Would any of you motorcyclists consider electric for your next purchase? 

Not a chance, my Harley makes it's own kind of music and it's got a primal beat to it like no other make has.

Mind you it has mufflers not straight pipes like many  (been there done that in my younger daze).

I become one with the machine and get into a kind of Zen thing where nothing else maters.

I would liken riding a sterile electric motorcycle verses a Harley to riding a carrousel horse rather than a real live flesh and blood horse that stomps and snorts and can even be unruly at times. 

I too live in the PAC NW up in the foothills of the Cascades where some of the best riding to be had on planet Earth resides and believe me I've been around (somewhere near 1,000,000 miles worth on 2 wheels over 50+ years).

My view from home and one of my bikes (2000 Electraglide Classic -196,000 one owner miles)

 

 

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7 hours ago, Bosco-d-gama said:

I don’t think the bikers coming through here are intentionally being noisy. It just does not take much because of the geography. But they do come in caravans and that’s quite extreme.

 

Curious how a throaty car or bike adds to its persona and by extension its owner/driver. Maybe in time tastes/expectations will change and a silent electric rage ravaging the highways will gain favor. Personally I like road travel to be free from road/car noises. Interesting too that this all began just over a century ago. Before the internal combustion engine road noise was the clopping of hooves. Trains were/are noisy but were/are nowhere as prevalent as personal vehicles. Oh well...... such is life. Appreciate your thoughts.

Well different strokes for different folks as they say, a saying I've heard comparing a Harley and a Honda Gold Wing (could also be a BMW)

They say riding a Gold Wing is like going to a symphony where as riding a Harley is like going to a rock concert.

I also like loud fast cars (go figure) and have owned quite a few, Camaros being a particular favorite.

Current car is a 2001 Camaro SS with far too many mods to list here, built for canyon carving it's a 6 speed manual with plenty of extra horsepower and nothing left of the stock suspension.

 

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fat.jpg

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7 hours ago, HDBRbuilder said:

Ethanol additives for octane boost are hard on the stainless exhaust valve seats the engine was originally made with!...especially when in combination with no oil sulfur to help cushion the valve to seat closure!  

 

Heh, heh, heh.....you said hard on......heh heh heh.

 

Aside from the childish joke, I rather envy your mechanical skills in maintaining your machinery.

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I've owned a couple of Goldwings

Yeah, they're quiet but they can be very fast in the right hands.

Almost like riding a rocket. 

I had a 1200 cc and a 1500cc.

I liked the way the 1200cc was geared the best.

That bike could take your breath away.

I rode "nice" with the wife on the back.

 

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3 hours ago, JBCODD said:

 

Heh, heh, heh.....you said hard on......heh heh heh.

 

Aside from the childish joke, I rather envy your mechanical skills in maintaining your machinery.

When you can't afford to have others do the work. you learn to do it yourself!  I was working as a pattern maker in a foundry when I did that work, so had the machine shop to do it at on Saturdays...have to remove old seats before you can replace them...boring bar did the trick, along with lots of elbow grease. 

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