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The biggest tool riders are the ones most likely to get smeared right out of the gene pool so I fully support that the riders of loud bikes not wear helmets.
Besides, despite the narrative of "loud pipes" being some sort of wonderous defensive measure....the stats show that motorcycle fatalities are vastly more often the riders fault and involved speed and\or a lack of sobriety.
Now for smart veteran riders they aren't the main risk but then again those aren't the guys that act like d-bags with loud pipes.
My cousin was in the ICU last week and there was a guy in there with him that had been riding a motorcycle. He was struck by a car, which the driver claimed he did not see. The motorcycle rider was in full protective gear but hit his head pretty hard. This guy did not have a broken bone or scratch on him but he died because the doctors said the helmet kept his head intact as it was suppossed to but prevented the pressure from releasing causing him to be brain dead. The impact his head recieved would have normally broken the skull to allow for the pressure to release due to the swelling of the brain.
I know this isnt every case, but there are several out there. This guy very well could have died without his helmet as well, who knows. Perhaps if the guy had "loud pipes" the car would have known he was there and the accident may have never occurred.
I am not a motorcycle rider and always hated those loud pipes. Until a few years ago, it dawned on me that I am much more aware of a motorcycle with those pipes vs ones that dont. I realized (maybe I am wrong) that they are more of a safety device than anything and since then the loud pipes dont bother me. Just for the record I am against any sort of helmet laws.
It's a double standard. Bikers with loud obnoxious pipes claim its so they're better seen/heard. But if your not wearing a helmet isn't this a double standard? Not trying to stir up fights, just curious because in my theory it has much more to do with Getting attention than it does with safety. The only attention loud pipes gets from me is a chuckle, its funny grown men have to attract the attention of total strangers.
I ride and am NOT a fan of riding without a helmet.. That is just plain stupid... Anything can happen.. Even just getting hit with a bug at highway speeds hurts.. Why chance it??
I do like a loud pipe.. You can rev it a little to get someones attention when needed. I don't like them just to attract attention..
I have been nearly cut off when revving the engine lets them know I'm there..
I can't stand adults playing on quads without helmets.. Ive seen many tip overs cause they were messing around..
Seems theres a lot of stats and rationalizations given for not wearing a helmets,that said If for whatever reason i came off a bike i think i'd prefer to have a helmet on.
As for loud pipes saving lives ? i suppose if a texter were about to cross the road in front of a bike, loud pipes might alert the texter to an imminent loud bike encounter.
Riders generally don't have loud pipes to save lives.
They have loud pipes because they think they're cool, and they need to come up with an excuse that sounds less ridiculous that "I want to look cool!". So they claim it saves lives. Then they go about trying to square that with the fact that they don't wear a helmet. Typically, they come up with the same ludicrous excuse.
And, of course, there are a few who actually believe such nonsense. They're the ones hoping everyone else obeys local noise ordinances so the fact that the excess danger they face from riding an inherently dangerous (comparatively) vehicle will be mitigated by them violating the laws the rest of us have to follow, and thus standing out in the urban din.
As an aside, some idiot down the street has a jacked up truck with loud pipes and a banner proclaiming what a lifesaver they are. I haven't figured out whether or not he's afraid of being t-boned by a quiet Nissan, or whether he blows a lot of stop signs and figures his pipes just might save the law-abiding Nissan owner's life...
I think that loud pipes are there to create more of what I term Perceived Acoustic Velocity. The loudness of the exhaust adds to the rider's perceived speed. Riding 45 mph on a straight piped Harley must feel like going 80 on a quiet BMW 1200. This increase in PAV is the only reason I could use to explain why people want to ride something that sounds like a machine gun on the road. Well, nearly like a machine gun.
My cousin was in the ICU last week and there was a guy in there with him that had been riding a motorcycle. He was struck by a car, which the driver claimed he did not see. The motorcycle rider was in full protective gear but hit his head pretty hard. This guy did not have a broken bone or scratch on him but he died because the doctors said the helmet kept his head intact as it was suppossed to but prevented the pressure from releasing causing him to be brain dead. The impact his head recieved would have normally broken the skull to allow for the pressure to release due to the swelling of the brain.
I know this isnt every case, but there are several out there. This guy very well could have died without his helmet as well, who knows. Perhaps if the guy had "loud pipes" the car would have known he was there and the accident may have never occurred.
I am not a motorcycle rider and always hated those loud pipes. Until a few years ago, it dawned on me that I am much more aware of a motorcycle with those pipes vs ones that dont. I realized (maybe I am wrong) that they are more of a safety device than anything and since then the loud pipes dont bother me. Just for the record I am against any sort of helmet laws.
The Helmet could be old and worn? There is a foam in helmets that expands....I've been told to never use a dropped helment for this reason becuase the impact might set it off. A inert helmet would be like a football helmet.
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