Motorcycle exhausts

[Gaz]

Possibly a grumpy old man rant but only aimed at very specific bikes.

I live on a fairly busy A road which obviously means a lot of traffic noise, I knew this when I moved here and accept it. Being quite rural all sorts of traffic passes our house, cars, lorries, tractor, motorbikes etc.

The bain of my life is Harley Davidsons (and possibly similar V twin bikes) the noise the damned things make is unbelievable. You can hear them from half a mile away.

I have a few friends with sports bike who are not legally allowed to use "race cans" on their bikes due the noise, I simply don't understand how Harleys are allowed to come out of the showroom with nothing more than a piece of chrome pipe for an exhaust when race exhausts are illegal? At least a sports bike is fast so you're not subjected to what (comparatively little) noise they make for very long whereas Harleys don't seem capable of more than 40mph.

Rant over

[Ian7633]

I'm with you on this. I live near Bury Hill in West Sussex which is very popular with bikers, mostly sports bikes but the occasional cruiser too. I rarely hear the sports bikes going through the village but the Harleys and the like make an awful row. As you say why do they seem to be exempt from exhaust restrictions.
On a slightly sideward step a friend of mine used to work in a Harley dealership and he always said that the last bike he would ever buy would be a Harley, the most expensive and unreliable agricultural vehicle on the market. Sorry to any Harley owners, just repeating what he said.

[struth]

even new bikes are allowed to reach 80db, with a margin of 6db.... older bikes are allowed to go up to 87db... Considering 80db is extremely loud its not very satisfactory. They are not allowed to use off road exausts tho and can be a 3 month jail/5k penalty

[Gaz]

3 months imprisonment?

Are you sure?

[struth]

3 months imprisonment?

Are you sure?

potentially yup.. well no more than 3 months. im guessing fines will be the norm, but repeat offenders...

[walpurgis]

Not many Harleys around here. It's the little bikes that piss me off. Seventeen year olds on cheapo Chinese 125's with racing cans (as if you can race on something that runs out of puff at sixty :rolleyes:) that bomb around making an almighty racket. What for? They're not fooling anybody with those gutless little things.

[Gaz]

I can only assume imprisonment must be for something like antisocial behaviour as opposed to a motoring or construction and use offence.

[Pieoftheday]

Possibly a grumpy old man rant but only aimed at very specific bikes.

I live on a fairly busy A road which obviously means a lot of traffic noise, I knew this when I moved here and accept it. Being quite rural all sorts of traffic passes our house, cars, lorries, tractor, motorbikes etc.

The bain of my life is Harley Davidsons (and possibly similar V twin bikes) the noise the damned things make is unbelievable. You can hear them from half a mile away.

I have a few friends with sports bike who are not legally allowed to use "race cans" on their bikes due the noise, I simply don't understand how Harleys are allowed to come out of the showroom with nothing more than a piece of chrome pipe for an exhaust when race exhausts are illegal? At least a sports bike is fast so you're not subjected to what (comparatively little) noise they make for very long whereas Harleys don't seem capable of more than 40mph.

Rant over

They don't come with those pipes as standard

[Stryder5]

Non standard, loud exhaust is an MOT failure, but there isn't a noise meter test, it's up to the tester. There isn't a specific rev indicated either.

There aren't any regulations with regard to frequency, and Harley's do seem to be in the lower register.

Gary

[Pieoftheday]

Non standard, loud exhaust is an MOT failure.

There aren't any regulations with regard to frequency, and Harley's do seem to be in the lower register.

Gary

Never had a Harley myself, but I've had mates that have them, apparently everyone bins the standard pipes as they strangle the engine due to EU regs

[Stryder5]

Never had a Harley myself, but I've had mates that have them, apparently everyone bins the standard pipes as they strangle the engine due to EU regs

As standard new Harley's (since 2007 have fuel injection) and have to conform to Type Approval, this covers the standard exhaust.

It's a misnomer by Harley owners that changing the exhaust gives more power, without a remap of the ECU that assumption isn't valid.

I have to admit here that I love internal combustion exhaust noise (you could say addict) in my early years when cars were cars ( not European boxes) and bikes were bikes, I could recognise what they were by the sound that they made

Don't mention Castrol R.

Gary

[walpurgis]

I have to admit here that I love internal combustion exhaust noise (you could say addict) in my early years when cars were cars ( not European boxes) and bikes were bikes, I could recognise what they were by the sound that they made

Gary

I can still tell the difference between a Triumph twin and a BSA twin all these years on.

[Pieoftheday]

As standard new Harley's (since 2007 have fuel injection) and have to conform to Type Approval, this covers the standard exhaust.

It's a misnomer by Harley owners that changing the exhaust gives more power, without a remap of the ECU that assumption isn't valid.

I have to admit here that I love internal combustion exhaust noise (you could say addict) in my early years when cars were cars ( not European boxes) and bikes were bikes, I could recognise what they were by the sound that they made

Don't mention Castrol R.

Gary

I'm no expert on this thought I have changed pipes on bikes, say standard to a micron system conforming to the same standard and the effect has bin quite noticeable, as though the engine can breath better? I'm not suggesting more power though. A couple of years ago I added a accelerator module to the ECU of my BMW, £40, the difference was wonderful, I could get out of first without stalling:)

[Stryder5]

I can still tell the difference between a Triumph twin and a BSA twin all these years on.

Velocette, Matchless, Royal Enfield me too.

I like singles as well, had a Velo Thruxton and a Gold Star at various times.

Gary

[Alex_UK]

My ZX6-R Ninja is currently being recommissioned after 10 years off the road and one of the first things I asked for is the standard can to be put back on. In my yoof I thought it was really cool to fit an ART race can. It sounded absolutely amazing to no one except me... even friends with 1000’s with race systems and one with a Firestorm on virtual straight through pipes would get pissed off with me as it drowned out their bikes!

So anyway, much as I love the howl of a 600 on a race can at 15,000 rpm it’s time to grow up and show a bit of social responsibility.

[Pigmy Pony]

I'm with you on this. I live near Bury Hill in West Sussex which is very popular with bikers, mostly sports bikes but the occasional cruiser too. I rarely hear the sports bikes going through the village but the Harleys and the like make an awful row. As you say why do they seem to be exempt from exhaust restrictions.
On a slightly sideward step a friend of mine used to work in a Harley dealership and he always said that the last bike he would ever buy would be a Harley, the most expensive and unreliable agricultural vehicle on the market. Sorry to any Harley owners, just repeating what he said.

Looking at the average age of their owners, I would say that the last bike any of them will be buying is a Harley. Look quite cool until they take their helmets off and then you see that it's Uncle Boris and Auntie Doris :D

I personally quite like the sound of loud Harleys but would change my mind if I had them going past my house. A friend has had one for 20 years now, and it has been known to set off car alarms. His MOT garage know him well, and know that if he turns up with the standard exhaust, he will be changing back immediately after the test, so they have an "understanding".

I think exhaust/airbox change is what they call "stage one tune", and most seem to go for that. Maybe post-2007 bikes also get a re-map.

[InThe Sticks]

As far as i’m concerned Harleys are a complete waste of money. They handle like a barge and the performance is just woeful, not to mention the appalling build quality. The brightwork on those things will soon go to shit if not meticulously cleaned after every ride out.
I kinda get the lifestyle choice with owning one, but not over here where the roads are so busy. I’ve ridden one in traffic and never ever want to do it again.
As for the noise, well, i like a nice sounding loud exhaust, if nothing else to let other road users know that your there. But, they aren’t just loud, they sound shit and irritate pretty much anyone who doesn’t own one.
I’ve worked next to diesel powered generators that sound better.
That said, on every bike i’ve owned i’ve had either a can or full system fitted, (almost always an Akra or Yoshi) mainly because they sound nice, release some horses and let car drivers know i’m there.
I’d rather listen to an in line 4 screaming past at 12K revs rather than a Harley struggling under its own power to achieve 50mph with some tattooed fuckwit with a piss pot helmet and some sort of fake Hells Angels attire on riding the bike equivalent of a 1930’s John Deere tractor.
Horrid things!

[walpurgis]

As far as i’m concerned Harleys are a complete waste of money. They handle like a barge and the performance is just woeful

I tend to agree. I find it ironic that most Harley owners simply wouldn't realise that a thirty year old Italian 125 bike like a Mito or RS125 will leave them for dead on a track.

[nonuffin]

I always fitted reverse cone megaphones on to my AJS and Triumph twins with that glorious burbling sound at tickover and overrun.

I bought a 500 speed twin off a guy who worked in a chrome platers and this thing dazzled brightly in the sunshine with battery/oil tank covers, petrol tank, wheels, mudguards and frame all thickly plated, along with the reverse cones he had fitted. He moaned about having no burble from the exhausts, so I loosened the clamp on the exhausts and gave the end of the silencers a good hefty kick which shortened them by about 6 inches or so, whereupon a beautiful burbling noise started issuing forth. He said he had tried 4 different exhausts and couldn't get that sound at all, but easy when you are in the know :eyebrows:

[Vince]

I totally agree with the whole "don't get it about Harley's.
Underpowered, overweight, badly built bags of scrap on 2 wheels.
I mean an old Yamaha RD 250 or a Suzuki RG 250, both air and liquid cooled will absolutely destroy a Harley. This is a bike with 4 - 5 times the cubic capacity and sounds like a John Deere tractor.
Yes.....its a lifestyle type of thing, but you could buy a Japanese, English or German pricewise comparison that will outgun the Harley completely. You'll be left with enough monet for every accessory going as well.
The noise is completely unacceptable as it is there purely as noise, not a performamce enhancing upgrade. You simply do not need it.
Honda's Goldwing for example, massive engine, decent poke considering its huge weight, yet it's whisper quiet.
The Harley certainly lets you know its there. Personaly.....I'd rather walk than be seen on one.

Sent from my D6503 using Tapatalk

[walpurgis]

In the main, there seem to be two types of Harley Davidson owners and it's all about image with them.

The scruffy tattoed Hells Angel wannabe guy with a haircut like a mullet with the sides shaved off and the back long and wearing a cut off Levi jacket covered in badges over battered black leather biker jacket and greasy, stained jeans, plus big boots. He'll also wear a battered open face helmet (bought for a fiver from a mate) and sunglasses. He has no visor, 'cos he busted it dropping his lid when pissed. He has two pregnant girlfriends, but still lives at home with his mum, despite being over thirty. The bars on his bike will be over a foot higher than standard and he can be heard approaching from a mile away as his bike exhausts will have no baffles in. He works on a building site or at a scrap yard and thinks he's mega cool, not realising that 95% of others think he's a total dick! I can get away with saying that 'cos he's too illiterate to read this properly!

Then there's the 50+ born again biker, trying to live out the fantasies of his youth. Has an immaculate near new Harley with all options, that the dealer services three times a year, even though the bike only does 600 miles annually. He wears a very expensive 'genuine' Harley Davidson logo'ed brown leather jacket, spotless 46 inch waist Levi jeans with ironed in creases and very expensive Harley Davidson boots. He is only seen riding on warm dry days, usually plodding along A roads and motorways at a safe 50mph with a dozen similar saddo's all in a line. Makes a point of being seen at all 'the right places'. It's his escape from driving his company car Lexus SUV to and from his collar and tie job as an estate agent. He also wears an open face helmet with sunglasses, but his is expensive and as new and of course has its visor. He also thinks he looks cool and naturally fails dismally.

Just generalising here. I'm sure there are Harley riders who don't fit in the above..............maybe. ;)

[Pigmy Pony]

My ZX6-R Ninja is currently being recommissioned after 10 years off the road and one of the first things I asked for is the standard can to be put back on. In my yoof I thought it was really cool to fit an ART race can. It sounded absolutely amazing to no one except me... even friends with 1000’s with race systems and one with a Firestorm on virtual straight through pipes would get pissed off with me as it drowned out their bikes!

So anyway, much as I love the howl of a 600 on a race can at 15,000 rpm it’s time to grow up and show a bit of social responsibility.

ART race cans were great, are they still in business? I used to have a Yamaha XJR1300 which I fitted a pair of ART cans on to. Sounded like the end of the world was coming :eek:

[Pigmy Pony]

In the main, there seem to be two types of Harley Davidson owners and it's all about image with them.

The scruffy tattoed Hells Angel wannabe guy with a haircut like a mullet with the sides shaved off and the back long and wearing a cut off Levi jacket covered in badges over battered black leather biker jacket and greasy, stained jeans, plus big boots. He'll also wear a battered open face helmet (bought for a fiver from a mate) and sunglasses. He has no visor, 'cos he busted it dropping his lid when pissed. He has two pregnant girlfriends, but still lives at home with his mum, despite being over thirty. The bars on his bike will be over a foot higher than standard and he can be heard approaching from a mile away as his bike exhausts will have no baffles in. He works on a building site or at a scrap yard and thinks he's mega cool, not realising that 95% of others think he's a total dick! I can get away with saying that 'cos he's too illiterate to read this properly!

Then there's the 50+ born again biker, trying to live out the fantasies of his youth. Has an immaculate near new Harley with all options, that the dealer services three times a year, even though the bike only does 600 miles annually. He wears a very expensive 'genuine' Harley Davidson logo'ed brown leather jacket, spotless 46 inch waist Levi jeans with ironed in creases and very expensive Harley Davidson boots. He is only seen riding on warm dry days, usually plodding along A roads and motorways at a safe 50mph with a dozen similar saddo's all in a line. Makes a point of being seen at all 'the right places'. It's his escape from driving his company car Lexus SUV to and from his collar and tie job as an estate agent. He also wears an open face helmet with sunglasses, but his is expensive and as new and of course has its visor. He also thinks he looks cool and naturally fails dismally.

Just generalising here. I'm sure there are Harley riders who don't fit in the above..............maybe. ;)




.

You've hit the nail on the head with the second category - I would add that they also have a caravan on their drive, and maybe a part share in an apartment in Tenerife. Many will also have done alright for themselves, and taken early retirement. So the choice would be a Harley or a Brabster… sorry Marco, didn't see you there :D

[Len Co]

This just made me think, I haven’t seen many sidecars about recently, I miss them terribly, both my sisters were courted in these vehicles, makes me wonder how young high class ladies get about these days.

[Pigmy Pony]

This just made me think, I haven’t seen many sidecars about recently, I miss them terribly, both my sisters were courted in these vehicles, makes me wonder how young high class ladies get about these days.

Your average young lady these days would struggle to fit into a sidecar, let alone be "courted" in one

[Len Co]

There’s just no romance these days, what happened to those dashing young tarmacadam jockeys with their Brylcremed quiffs, peaked helmets, oversized goggles and Gannex macs.

[goraman]

I totally agree with the whole "don't get it about Harley's.
Underpowered, overweight, badly built bags of scrap on 2 wheels.
I mean an old Yamaha RD 250 or a Suzuki RG 250, both air and liquid cooled will absolutely destroy a Harley. This is a bike with 4 - 5 times the cubic capacity and sounds like a John Deere tractor.
Yes.....its a lifestyle type of thing, but you could buy a Japanese, English or German pricewise comparison that will outgun the Harley completely. You'll be left with enough monet for every accessory going as well.
The noise is completely unacceptable as it is there purely as noise, not a performamce enhancing upgrade. You simply do not need it.
Honda's Goldwing for example, massive engine, decent poke considering its huge weight, yet it's whisper quiet.
The Harley certainly lets you know its there. Personaly.....I'd rather walk than be seen on one.

Sent from my D6503 using Tapatalk

Ride one then you will get it , it's not about horse power, its about gobs and gobs of low end grunt at very low speed.

[Pigmy Pony]

If I were to jog anywhere, it would be at a very low speed and there would be gobs of grunting.

I did once get a shot on my mate's Heritage Softail, and my underestimating of its brake's effectiveness (ie next to none) almost ended me :eek:

[struth]

In the main, there seem to be two types of Harley Davidson owners and it's all about image with them.

The scruffy tattoed Hells Angel wannabe guy with a haircut like a mullet with the sides shaved off and the back long and wearing a cut off Levi jacket covered in badges over battered black leather biker jacket and greasy, stained jeans, plus big boots. He'll also wear a battered open face helmet (bought for a fiver from a mate) and sunglasses. He has no visor, 'cos he busted it dropping his lid when pissed. He has two pregnant girlfriends, but still lives at home with his mum, despite being over thirty. The bars on his bike will be over a foot higher than standard and he can be heard approaching from a mile away as his bike exhausts will have no baffles in. He works on a building site or at a scrap yard and thinks he's mega cool, not realising that 95% of others think he's a total dick! I can get away with saying that 'cos he's too illiterate to read this properly!

Then there's the 50+ born again biker, trying to live out the fantasies of his youth. Has an immaculate near new Harley with all options, that the dealer services three times a year, even though the bike only does 600 miles annually. He wears a very expensive 'genuine' Harley Davidson logo'ed brown leather jacket, spotless 46 inch waist Levi jeans with ironed in creases and very expensive Harley Davidson boots. He is only seen riding on warm dry days, usually plodding along A roads and motorways at a safe 50mph with a dozen similar saddo's all in a line. Makes a point of being seen at all 'the right places'. It's his escape from driving his company car Lexus SUV to and from his collar and tie job as an estate agent. He also wears an open face helmet with sunglasses, but his is expensive and as new and of course has its visor. He also thinks he looks cool and naturally fails dismally.

Just generalising here. I'm sure there are Harley riders who don't fit in the above..............maybe. ;)

.knew a girl called haley who wore big boots and grunted a lot as well. she busted my helmet too:eyebrows:

[Pigmy Pony]

.knew a girl called haley who wore big boots and grunted a lot as well. she busted my helmet too:eyebrows:

Bet she could rock around the clock tho

[Mikeandvan]

Living in Brighton, motorcyclists seem to like to ride down here sometimes, all at the same time, don't see the attraction myself, but there we go. Anyway, some of them make a ridiculous noise, like all hell is going to break loose, desperately seeking attention? Its vandalism of the aural kind, and its horrible and most of all, pointless!

[Pigmy Pony]

Living in Brighton, motorcyclists seem to like to ride down here sometimes, all at the same time, don't see the attraction myself, but there we go. Anyway, some of them make a ridiculous noise, like all hell is going to break loose, desperately seeking attention? Its vandalism of the aural kind, and its horrible and most of all, pointless!

Bit like Amstrad used to be