inb4 the “loud pipes save lives” folks.

I ride motorcycle and I always love that argument. I have stock pipes on my bike and I prefer them to be as quiet as possible so that I hear as much of the road as possible, as well as other vehicles.

Yes loud motorcycles do make others aware of your presence … especially if they are very loud pipes.

What no one ever wants to admit is that you usually hear the loud pipes AFTER the bike/vehicle has passed you or is moving away. You seldom hear a loud motorcycle coming at you, especially if you are in a car with sound proofing or sound dampening. You definitely hear the big loud motorcycle pipes as the idiot is driving away from you.

The other thing I love about morons that enjoy big loud motorcycle pipes is that they are the same idiots that want an open air sound system for their motorcycle. So they get the loud pipes and then get a really powerful sound system so that they can listen to their muffled music over the sound of loud pipes, the highway and the buffeting winds as they drive down the highway. Usually, these are the same idiots that lose their hearing by the time they’re 50.

The other thing those people fail to mention is that loud noises are disorienting, and the one thing you want when you sandwich yourself between a couple of 2 tons pieces of metal moving at 110 km/h is to disorient everybody and make them unable to move in straight lines.

The same applies to very bright lights.

shhh don’t tell the headlight lobby that these new blinding LED headlights are actually less safe because they blind oncoming drivers coming at you at 100km/h four feet away on a narrow turning road