Excessive Motorcycle Noise or Life Saving Mufflers?
July 5th, 2012 | 
Author: 
Motorcycle Accident Lawyers: Motorcycle Noise or Music?
Motorcycle noise is one issue that continues to stir debate within the biking community. Proponents state, “Loud pipes save lives” while opponents, including the noise control coalition, Noise Off, have stated this is a myth and with no studies to prove it. Noise Off points out that noise from a motorcycle’s exhaust system comes from the rear, so it does nothing to alert oncoming drivers of a motorcyclist’s presence.
Recently, the New Hampshire House passed a bill, which would reduce the state’s current motorcycle noise cap. According to a CBS Boston article, the new Society of Automotive Engineers International (SAE) J2825 testing process, also used in Maine, would lower the current motorcycle noise cap of 106 decibels. If enacted, this law would limit motorcycle noise to 92 decibels during idle and, depending upon the motorcycle engine type, to 96 or 100 decibels while revving the engine. The new test is reportedly more accurate and easier for law enforcement to administer than the motorcycle noise test currently being used by the state.
Absent, modified, or altered motorcycle exhaust systems are often the cause of excessive motorcycle noise – bikers often change out EPA approved factory mufflers for noisy aftermarket exhaust systems. To counter this, many states including California, New York, Wisconsin, and Florida have banned modifications that increase motorcycle sound levels above the manufacturer’s original standard such as cutouts, bypasses, and aftermarket exhaust systems. Back in 2010, California passed a Motorcycle Anti-Tampering Act (SB 435). California’s act applies to 2013 and later model year motorcycles and aftermarket parts. This would allow police and other law enforcement officials to issue citations for noisy motorcycle exhaust pipes to California motorcyclists who have been stopped for another traffic violation. Violation of California’s new Motorcycle Anti-Tampering Act would result in fines ranging from $50 to $250.
The American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) is strongly opposed to excessive motorcycle noise. With the belief that excessive motorcycle noise contributes to prejudice against bikers, the AMA encourages bikers to be considerate of others in their community and keep bike noise to a minimum. The AMA believes the motorcycle industry should focus on educating motorcycle customers and riders about the negative effects of excessive motorcycle noise, including fatigue and impairment of riding skills.
Yet there are many in the motorcycling community who believe that “loud pipes save lives”. Proponents argue that noisy mufflers continue to alert other drivers, pedestrians, and even animals of their presence on the road. This alone can save lives and help prevent devastating motorcycle accidents from occurring. If another driver begins to drift into your lane unexpectedly, a quick rap on the pipes can alert them to your presence. This is especially helpful in urban settings and in situations where drivers are too busy talking on their cellphones.
At Russ Brown Motorcycle Attorneys, we understand the issues facing motorcyclists everywhere—and we want to know what you think. Do loud pipes save lives or do you believe mufflers should be silenced? Make your voice heard!
If you or a loved one has been hurt in a motorcycle accident, you need to protect your rights with a top motorcycle injury lawyer. Call 1-800-424-5377 to learn why you need a Motorcycle Accident Attorney on your side. Biker Red is RussBrown.com’s Official Biker news, information and resources author. 
Posted in New York Motorcycle Accident Attorney
As a long time motorcycle rider in the San Francisco bay area, I can assure you loud pipes do indeed save lives… I even tested this by taking my exhaust off (open header) and putting the stock can back on… there was a noticeable difference in the amount of cars that merged into my lane.
The key is to find something loud enough to keep drivers aware of your presence but while still being non intrusive in neighborhoods.
most of the “volume” is in the wrist though…
Mine is stock and I like it that way they can’t hear you from a on coming traffic
So Loud pipes do little to help
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If it weren’t for loud pipes I wouldn’t be here today, I was riding on a local highway in Massachusetts heading in the right lane when all of a sudden this car comes from the far left lane and was coming right at me this person was on her cell phone laughing away not paying any attention to her surroundings, I pulled in the clutch and hit the throttle this girl opened her eyes and realized she almost took me out, this is only one of the many instances where loud pipes saved a life, there are some riders out there that can be annoying with the way they crank up the noise but not all bikers are the same. Loud Pipes positively save lives especially when dealing with people who just don’t pay attention to their surroundings.
I see it when me and my husband ride. I have stock pipes, and he has after market ones that are considerably louder than mine. People don’t seem to notice me coming… but when I’m riding with him, they see us where if I was alone they would have cut me off cause they didn’t even look.
After riding in Colorado for many years I never had loud pipes and could not see a reason for them – then I moved to CA – whole different mind set. When your headed down the freeway or splitting lanes and you look over at the driver with the radio up, talking on the cell phone (supposed to be illegal) and swerving around the road – you realize – HELL YES I’m glad I now have loud pipes – if I could fit an airhorn I would have that too.
There’s a certain class of rider — we’ll call ‘em “one-percenter-wanabees” — who insist on having noisy pipes. These ones are like little kids yelling, “Hey, look at me!” I commute on bikes every day, and in my experience, the pipes don’t make a difference. If the ditz behind the wheel of the VW Cabrio is too busy texting to drive right, she’s going to hit you whether your pipes are anti-social or not (just ask the motorcycle cop that she hit — for real). I’m thinking of having bumper stickers made that read “Loud Pipes Piss Off The Neighbors” just so we can be clear what they’re really for.
Well, I’ve had both types on several different bikes! When I had a Honda, it was quiet. I’d come home from riding with a terrible headache each time! I realized it was from the cages pulling out in front of me. Time goes by, I buy a Harley, leave the stock pipes on. Same thing happens!
I put some aftermarket pipes on about two years later, and low and behold, cars seems to magically NOTICE me! I notice as I’m coming up on a car that is in the right lane on an interstate, they’ll actually LOOK in their rearview mirror to see where the “noise” is coming from! SO, yes, Lynne…LOUD PIPES GETS YOU NOTICED and hence, saves LIVES!
NOW, when I’m leaving or returning to my house, I idle thru the neighborhood when it’s after 8 PM or before 7 AM. Vincent P is correct…the loudness is adjustable by the wrist!
I live on the highway and hear bikes with loud pipes coming from a ways off, so the theory that the noise only goes to the rear is totally FALSE! I also have ridden quieter bikes and now ride one with loud pipes and absolutely agree that they save lives. I’ve had to duck and dive much less from inattentive drivers and roadside critters since installing louder pipes.
Yes Loud Pipes Do Save Lives. I live and work in RTP, NC and with all the people trying to talk on the phone and text while they drive the only thing that keeps me from being hit is my pipes. Just yesterday on my way home from work I was almost hit by a person talking on the phone that only realized I was beside them once they heard my bike. Get NOTICED!!! Loud pipes save people everyday!
Cell Phones kill Bikers ! Make cell phone use illegal to use while driving, stiffen penalties for automobile drivers causing accidents with motorcycles,then we can begin to talk about noise reduction.
LOUD PIPES SAVE LIVES !
I was living in N.J. always had loud pipe’s .I moved to W.V. WENT BACK TO N.J. with my bike and no how much throttle I gave it the woman, still cut me off 4 time’s in less than a quarter mile,any other time a quick twist of the wrist an people realize they are intruding in your driving space, YES LOUD PIPE’S DO SAVE LIVE’S SO GET USED TO IT !!!!
Sorry, but by the time your “heard” it’s too late. With the road noise reduction built into most cars, concert grade sound systems cranked up and distractions like cell phones and GPS, you have to be right next to a driver before you’ve got any chance of being heard. I ride a loud bike and I also have one that’s quiet and I can tell you from experience, it make no difference. The only thing that will save your life is your skill and road “smarts”.
We were stopped at an intersection were a light wasent turning green so the car in front of us decided to back up guess they dident see us right behind them cuz they almost hit us. My husband first honked horn then reved up his engine when dident work and they stopped amediatlly and looked around. Look around duh. Loud pipes do save life’s!!!!!
There’s another reason stock pipes or mufflers are replaced with after market options – the life of the engine. Stock pipes and mufflers are so plugged up the engine isn’t breathing as well as it could and therefore runs at a higher temperature. This reduces engine life.
Loud pipes do not save lives as much as an attentive diver. That is the biggest problem. On my bike I used the horn that’s on there for that & on my next bike I’ll put a train horn as you don’t have to be loud all the time. I have really freaked people out by knocking on their window when they come over the line into my lane. Not the smartest thing to do
I truly believe in “loud pipes saves lives”. I have had more than a few instances that I was happy I switched out the stock pipes. When you pull in the clutch and twist the throttle people know exactly where you are and if the are infringing on my space and lane.
Hell Yes Loud Pipes DO! Save life’s…..does that mean its OK to piss off your neighbors No! Been riding for over 35 yrs seen it all and in todays world of texting, cell phones, ipads, curling irons , eating while driving we need every chance we can and Loud pipes help!!!!
People who don’t like my pipes can piss off! They say my pipes are just to annoy the neighbours…WRONG! I spend a fraction of my time there the rest is riding the roads elsewhere which means that if your noticing me a lot then your on the road with me…hence you must be noticing ME! Need I explain this in a simpler way for you complainers??
The ONLY time I can hear the loud pipes is when I am behind you ! And I am not behind a lot of any one 90 % of the time I am Lone wolf out there riding hard and heavy
I also carry a big Iron on my hip 99 % of the cage drivers see it first and DO NOT cross over in front of me . . I have had some at stop lights ask what it was I am carrying and I tell them ! . . I am a member of RidersUSA.net and DO GO on rides with them now and then . .
Motorcycling is already an increasingly dangerous hobby and with gas prices these days, a much needed and appreciated form of transportation. This not even including the therapeutic benefits that non riders will never understand. So with the amount of cagers glued to a cell phone while they’re already trying to maneuver a 3,000 to 5,000+ lbs vehicle. I can tell you that they are not paying attention to the millions of other drivers also glued to a cell phone, let alone a quiet 500 lbs. vehicle traveling at the same velocity. I can personally tell you that when you at least have some noise coming out of your bike (rearward facing or not) it causes them to break their electronic trans and take notice of you sharing ‘their’ roads. Its the look at me attention seekers revving their bike that gives the rest a bad name. Ticket those guys for noise ordnance violations since there is no “i’m an attention seeking douche” ticket! The rest of us just want whatever advantage we can get to extend our riding enjoyment and of course our lives!!
We, (motorcyclist’s) are not noticed as it is on the road – and all these “Know better than we do” Motorcycle groups and Government Committees want to silence the bikes because it is a noise nuisance. I ride every day almost year round and if it were not for loud pipes and even the loud “Buzz” of Metric Bikes, when I happen to be in a car/truck, the noise helps me to identify that a bike is nearby and not only when it is on the side of me or in front of me – when the Bikes come up behind me!!! – That bull about you can’t hear a bike because the noise is behind the bike, is – and here – let me spell it out – BULL SHIT – I can have the Music up in the Car and still hear a bike coming up behind me.
I’m sorry but are these groups trying to make it more convenient for people in cars that insist on talking on their phones or playing their Damn BASS Boomer Crap and TEXTING while driving – GOD forbid we make it difficult to hear their Phone conversations while they should be paying attention to DRIVING their 4000lb rolling projectiles.
Leave My Fucking Pipes and my Bike alone – If you “People” can make your Damn cars go faster than the legal speed limit and everybody thinks that is OK and doesn’t pose a threat to anyone on the road then keep your fuck laws and Rules to yourself and let me be Heard and noticed so I can save my own life when you run me off the road because your Phone conversation or cup of coffee or Music is more important than my life…
Loud pipes have saved my husbands life. He bought a bike with somewhat loud pipes, twist of the wrist is right. He doesn’t rev them at home so
as to not annoy the neighbors. But they have definitely saved his life a few times. He had planned after getting the bike on putting quieter
mufflers on, but after riding for a couple of weeks and seeing that they really did make a difference in a tight situation (ie lane changes, inattentive drivers,) he decided to leave them on. I was of the same mind, until I heard him and others talking about this same issue.
And yes it is due to oblivious drivers, but since you can’t make them pay attention any other way, then the pipes help. And horns on bikes are a joke unless you can get an air horn installed.
Quiet bikes can get you killed.
I think it’s my motorcycle and I ought to be able to decide for myself whether I want it loud or not.
I ride a ’95 Sporty…People hear me coming – in front of me, and behind me! Loud Pipes Save Lives!!!
Yes loud pipes are a big help and not near as loud as some pick up trucks and cars. I some times think that the car and truck owners certainly do have louder pipes than MY Honda. Nuff said.
Loud Pipes Violate Rights…they DO NOT save lives. I’ve ridden motorcycles, off and on, for some 40 years…owned and maintained 30 bikes since age 12. Let’s take the “loud pipes save lives” mantra to is logical conclusion, shall we.
If your illegal aftermarket Vance and Hines do actually save lives, opposed to the Hurt Reports stark evidence that loud pipes do not save lives…why don’t I drive around with my horn activated 100% of the time? I would be safer, correct?
If you ride loud, you are destroying the sport of motorcycling! If you ride loud, you are an embarrassment to the sport of motorcycling. If you ride loud, you are a selfish thug who craves attention and the acceptance of other thugs. If you ride loud, you are simply a juvenile bully that forces HIS way on innocent others. If you ride loud, you are violating the right of others to enjoy a peaceful environment and domestic tranquility…why do you think the EPA regulates your OEM exhaust to 80 db(A) at a specified RPM…because noise is intrusive, it’s dangerous, is has serious detrimental effects on human and animal physiology.
Please, ride the loud piece of junk off a cliff and do us all a favor. Now that a “noise” I could gladly live with.
It is a PROVEN FACT that on the road, LOUD NOISE CAN SAVE YOUR LIFE. That is why all motorcycles are required to be equipped with… HORNS!
Yeah, that’s right. HORNS. They’re amazing devices. They only make sound when you want/need them to.
Think about it folks, what takes more effort? And which involves less loss of control over your motorcycle? Pulling in your clutch and yanking the throttle? Or thumbing a friggin’ horn button?
Yes, yes, I know, the horns the OEMs put on are a joke. Totally correct. Go to a junkyard and pull one or two off a car, problem solved! And for about 1/10th the cost of a set of illegal pipes.
The comments by Rick Holtsclaw and Bad Andy very effectively rebuts all the ridiculous LPSL, “My loud and illegal loud pipes saved my life”, testimonials that preceded them. All I can add is that all those LPSL testimonials are not only ridiculous and without merit, they are an open admission of guilt because loud pipes are illegal. There is not a “bikers rights” friendly attorney alive who would present that argument in any court of law in an effort to overturn the rule of law, especially the Federal law, that says quite clearly that loud pipes are illegal. Only an inept and addle minded clown of an attorney, or anyone, would make such a proposition and expect it to magically shield noisy and irrational bikers from the rule of law. My hope is that they continue to invoke that old and debunked-to-death canard and present it to law makers when testifying before them. That would greatly accelerate the the much needed changes in the way the states address the motorcycle noise issue and bring about the universal enforcement of the federal law, that if enforced and complied with, would indeed render the problem of excessive motorcycle noise a non existent one.
Hey Rick your right I can’t hear the loud pipes coming from the other direction and the ONLY time I can hear them is IF I AM BEHIND the fool with the loud pipes and that is not often . My big 40 cal sitting right out there in PLAIN VIEW is a bigger deterent to some J.A. in a cage changing lanes SEEMS it is the first thing people see is the BIG 40 Cal on my right hand side and they sorta steer away ! . . and I keep my head on a swivel so as to see what is ahead behind or off to the side . . some times I just know a J.A. is going to move over sorta psychic thing . . Last time I got hit was from behind and I flipped on turn signals and stepped on the brakes about same time and started making a turn was like BAM I got clipped by the bumper fractured my shoulder is all took 3 months and I was up and running $49,500.00 later paid for my new 2007 Vulvan classic CASH off the show room floor and delivered under $9,800.00 . .
“Canard”? No. NoiseOFF! and so on like to carry on about how there’s no proof that loud pipes save lives. Them saying they’ve seen no proof doesn’t mean it doesn’t work. And if you want to whip out that “canard” malarky you should present some proof that they don’t. Try not to mis-quote the Hurt study like EX-officer Holtsclaw. Noise is noise whether it’s a loud exhaust or a horn or loudly cursing the douchebag who just wandered into your lane because he was playing with some electronic gadget or choking his chicken or whatever.
The difference is when that noise is made and the unfairness to the innocent public near and even far away from the roadways who are repeatedly subjected to the racket. Folks who represent no threat to motorcyclists at all, except for wanting to kill the pricks for annoying the crap out of them I guess. And of course the legality, which is a reflection of the unfairness.
As absurd as some of the testimonials may be, do not mistake that as an opportunity to try stupid, factless arguments.
Anyone know a good lawyer? I do believe a portion of the riding community was just threatened with personnel and / or property damage by Rick Holtsclaw? But seriously people how can either side of this really prove which side is right? I’m not talking the legal aspects but the safety of having loud pipes! It’s like a belief in a God, you either believe or you don’t. If you have had loud pipes and still had an avoidable accident where a vehicle pulled into your lane you may not be on the side of Loud Pipes Save Lives. If you have been saved by them then it’s the opposite, I myself am on this side as I know they have saved me from injury many times! How do these so called studies quantify their results? My side goes by listening to older more experienced riders, following their lead and figuring it out for myself. The other side is a bunch of whining lil sob’s and some politicians that are trying to get the vote of said sob’s!
I’m willing to bet a good amount that SOME not all but some of these said sob’s are the same sob’s that run their lawn mowers right next door to the guy or girl that is a nightshift worker and says it’s my right to cut my lawn in the evening!
It’s my right to feel safe on the road so deal with it for the short time your passing me, get on with life and stop wasting valuable court / police officer time that could be better put to use trying to catch / put away the people that are actually doing serious wrongs in our society!!! Ie. drunk drivers, distracted drivers etc.
I just hate the noise of a motorcycle until my brother in law bought me a motorcycle exhaust at 4wheelonline. The first time used my two brothers exhaust. I find it great and happy with the result
On the freeway they are great. But in the city they set off car alarms, rattle windows, etc.
I’m saying that not because three bikes just went by… could not hear myself talk.
I think in Urban Areas they should be limited. It’s just not fair to neighbors.
On the highway – have fun! I think we need to come to a compromise in the city though.
What a load of B.S. The guys ripping through our neighborhood are rattling windows and setting off car alarms. It’s like a war has started. And since when is gunning at the stop light for safety? Way to loud because they can get away with it. I grit my teeth when bikes goes tearing by full throttle on our small street and how I wish they would get nailed, only to stop the noise.
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