I don't live in London. I do live somewhere that has a small handful of people who go way too quickly up the main road on dirt bikes and quad bikes which appear to have been fitted with the opposite of a muffler. Like... a loudener. They visibly rattle my windows. Despite the fact I don't live on the main road. They do it at about 2000-2030, which is right when I'm trying to get my kids to bed. They also play the set-off-by-revving-loudly game. Repeatedly. There's no chuffin' way they're doing it for "safety." They're doing it 'cos they're selfish pricks, and I look forward to the tinnitus that is very clearly in their immediate future. I've nothing against bikers. My father was a biker - Honda CX500, back in the day - and I used to love going for rides on the back of it. I do have something against selfish pricks. Loud pipes might save lives, but there's a limit they're clearly well beyond. I think a couple of the quad-bikers got pulled over a while back, mind you, and I don't think I've heard 'em since. They decided to roar past a paddy waggon, which immediately pulled a U-ey and lit up the blues and twos. You love to see it.
This isn't Serious Discussion, so... I really CBA to write a more detailed reply ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I think we've pretty much been over the basics already. People generally aren't fitting loud exhausts or revving their engines just to be dickheads; the ones that you notice and the ones that you remember are the ones who are being dickheads. I'm not gonna sit here and nitpick over every single detail because... well... I CBA. It's Friday evening, I've just had a lovely pizza, and I'm about to go crack open some beers and park my arse in front of the PlayStation all evening ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ @mrlongbeard summed it up the best - you'll probably never 'get it' unless you ride a motorbike:
The thing is, noise, by definition, is a form of pollution. Most of the time it annoys everyone nearby..........
Nah, some of the time some of the noise annoys some of the people. If you find a Harley on short shots annoying you've got no soul
To answer the original question, I don't feel like they've gotten louder. As previously stated loud motorcycles aren't a new thing, I suppose they're more achievable with internet sourced components now but I'd hazard that the number of motorcyclists is diminishing which probably counteracts that. What I will say, is that although I don't begrudge loud exhausts on motorcycles, a select few people take the piss. My neighbor has a Ducati that's proper loud but not obnoxious; fine, no problem. It's the people who set car alarms off as they go down the road that need to understand they're being antisocial. That for me is the tipping point. I guess if I was stood at a pedestrian crossing with my boy, worrying about damaging his hearing, I might also feel differently. And from the dog's point if view, he's cool so long as it's not a two stroke. He hates 'em.
A reminder for fellow riders, and for those perhaps thinking of getting a motorcycle. Keep in mind that cagers can't see you and that they will drive as if you were not on the road. Yes, they have heard of you, yes. they know you exist, and that's pretty much it. So, every time you get on your motorcycle always assume you're invisible too them and ride accordingly.
Exactly. The noise should not be used as a defensive measure. Always drive/ride defensively. Therefore, why insisting on generating the noise for one’s own enjoyment, at other people’s annoyance? /old man noises
A few years back one of our previous neighbours would every few Sundays at 6am startup his bike and then spend the next 20 - 30 minutes reving it up before going off. This one has since moved but the new one has done pretty much the same. And I'm not in the city a couple of miles from a small town
Based on my experience only a small minority of bikers are antisocial, there's a lot more lads, in dicked-about cars who are antisocial and, often, downright dangerous. As for noise, the only really loud vehicle I have heard in recent times, was an Aston Martin Vantage, only doing around 40mph but, emitting a very loud, harsh rasp. F*ck knows what it would have been like if was being given some welly. I like the sound of a good engine, especially a V8 or a V10 screamer (e.g. Lexis LFA) but, this was just harsh unpleasant noise. Ducatis, btw, sound great, especially when I heard them at Thruxton, late 1980s British Super Bikes, if I remember correctly.
yeah its both cars and bikes around here, as well as one utter scumbucket with a quad who likes to race around after dark ive never understood the need for cherry bomb exhausts on cars, and several bikes have now got them, while i can see it being a 'safety' argument, far too many are dicks with it and rev at people they go past, startling them, and i have had to help an elderly woman up who was startled and slipped over, i can also see the 'but muh freedomz' argument but that freedom does come at a cost of pissing alot of people off the same 'safety but not quite' issue i have with ultra bright headlights at night, sure they are good for YOUR car if you have them, but anyone oncoming is getting seriously dazzled, and if im on a bicycle all my vision of the road im on disappears as my headlight is overpowered and im blinded. This basically, i dont care if its a Chav wagon with a cherry bomb exaust, an idiot on a bike overly revving his engine to make his wang feel slightly bigger, or the second rate chavs with their base Chav box's who have no exhaust but a stupid loud stereo that plays terrible gangsta rap at all hours have some consideration for others
Different strokes for different folks. Why do I have to suffer your choice of aftershave / deodorant, why do I have to put up with dog owners thinking it's fine for their dogs to jump up at me, why do I suffer noisy eaters (although it's more a case of why do I not stab them in their throats) etc etc etc, I really could go on all day about the foibles of the great unwashed that P me off. Have a little consideration, let bygones be bygones, and probably more important have a little tolerance, we all get our kicks anyway we can, you, me or anyone are not the sole judges of what is or is not acceptable .
All annoyance should be avoidable by not being in public. Home is a person’s peaceful sanctum. But very loud noise, no matter the form, can only be reduced by good double glazing. It’s one of the reason why noise is defined as a pollution. Tolerance can only go so far. At the same time, consideration is required from the source. Don’t rev or drive the ICE hard in residential and built-up areas, for example.
There is give and take here, but some people have made their motorcycles so loud that they can't be called anything but selfish. I don't know if you'd be willing to agree with that statement but if a law is enacted to make motorcycles quieter I'm sure the threshold will be set lower than the average "loud" motorcycle is and then perhaps you'll all hate the idiots who ruined it for everyone?
Ok, so going to have to get in touch with the RAF and RNAS and tell them to stop flying over us, stop the flying school at the airfield about ten miles away. That's just for starters, then there is the neighbour who likes to use her mobile on speaker outdoors, the dogs that bark, including our own, the tractors going up and down the lane, etc, etc... But, actually it's generally quiet and these things don't actually bother me. More important things to worry about, as long as it's quiet overnight and here it almost always is.
Ass hats will always be ass hats, and unfortunately we all get tarred by the same brush. I mentioned earlier in this thread that the sound of a Harley on short shots is gorgeous. I'd love a pair on mine, but me not being a dick and recognising that the few neighbours I have might not appreciate them when I toddle of to work @ 06:00hrs means it ain't gonna happen. As it is I swapped out the 'silencers' for a set of S&S Grand Nationals, but left the cat in the headers, so I get a lovely burble @ tickover, but when I let it rip out of town I get a soundtrack that'd bring a tear to your eye. Turn your bass up We already have laws regarding anti-social behaviour, we even have them more specifically when a vehicle is involved, I think we should just ensure they are enforced rather than brining in new laws to make something which is already illegal more illegal.
See that is music to my ears. I once drove a car to a friend's house, the centre box had rusted away and it was effectively on straight pipes; he was gonna sort it for me. I remember being black affronted as I went there, everyone looking. I've no idea how some people can enjoy that energy.
Some of y'all have never heard straight pipes on a big fat cruiser engine and it shows. Couple of years ago I followed a couple of guys on Indians and classic Harleys who were all running straight pipes and damn.... that was some noise... Even at idle that sounds gorgeous...
