Why are Harley's so loud?

[Greenman]

Because you can't buy quiet pipes for them.

I have to change the pipes on my bike because it's becoming a bagger, and I've discovered that no one makes a reasonably quiet pipe. They all have names like Thunder header, Ground Pounder, and Road Rage. They all live up to those names.
V-Rod exhaust is a strange world, big noise, bigger money, not a lot of choice. Sometimes I think I should have bought a Honda.

 

[Railgun]

Lobbyists

 

[dawp]

probably because the quite pipes don't sell. most harley owners I've known believe that the loud exhaust is a safety feature, they'll more likely to be seen by car drivers.

 

[WilliamM2]

I don't think there are quiet aftermarket exhausts for any brand of bike, maybe Goldwings. The noise seems to be part of the appeal of "upgrading" the exhaust.

As far as the loud pipes being a safety feature? Not in my opinion. I can hear them when I'm in bed at night, I can hear them in my office at work, I can hear them when I'm outside trying to enjoy the outdoors. I can't hear them in my car, it's designed to block out outside road noise, like most cars.

 

[mmntech]

I got in trouble the last time I referenced that South Park, but yeah, watch that South Park. :sneaky:

 

[Greenman]

I got in trouble the last time I referenced that South Park, but yeah, watch that South Park. :sneaky:

The Harley fags episode? Even the guys on the Harley forums loved it.

 

[Throckmorton]

probably because the quite pipes don't sell. most harley owners I've known believe that the loud exhaust is a safety feature, they'll more likely to be seen by car drivers.

Yet they won't even wear helmets, and dress in sleeveless vests and assless chaps that look like they belong in gay porn.

 

[michal1980]

stock they aren't that loud... except nearly every Harley owner is a douche bag that thinks being loud = being cool, err wait, they'll claim = safe, but they're wrong.

I bet the 50s+ crowd of Harley owners with loud pipes, always bitch about them kids with the loud stereo's

 

[olds]

stock they aren't that loud... except nearly every Harley owner is a douche bag that thinks being loud = being cool, err wait, they'll claim = safe, but they're wrong.

I bet the 50s+ crowd of Harley owners with loud pipes, always bitch about them kids with the loud stereo's

If they still have their hearing.

Maybe Sampson has something?
http://www.samsonusa.com

Or Supertrapp
http://www.supertrapp.com

But you're likely to lose a little performance.

Sound (and asshole factor) is part of the reason I went with Kawasaki over Harley. Plus reliability is way better. Most of my co-workers have Harleys but only one of them rides consistently. He has two Harleys and one or both of them are always having issues. We recently had a memorial ride for fallen workers and both his bikes were down. He rode a scooter owned by one of the office gals. An employee was killed on that ride when a car turned in front of him. Two of my good friends just barely missed the car.

 

[JulesMaximus]

I recently installed a Termignoni exhaust on my bike. It comes with DB killers (inserts that you stick in the open end of the exhaust and are held in with a machine screw) which keep the noise pretty subdued but with them removed it is pretty loud, like loud enough to set off car alarms as you ride by. The bike actually runs better with the DB killers installed though so I generally leave them in. It is nice to have the option to remove them but I find myself regretting it when I remove them and go for a ride. It is just too loud.

The Termi exhaust comes with a high flow air filter and a race tuned ECU and it is pretty much plug and play. Bike runs much better with this exhaust than it did stock. It is way too lean stock to comply with Euro emissions.

Two of my neighbors have Harleys and they are ridiculously loud. Fortunately, they are pretty considerate and you never hear them in the late evenings or early mornings.

 

[Greenman]

If they still have their hearing.

Maybe Sampson has something?
http://www.samsonusa.com

Or Supertrapp
http://www.supertrapp.com

But you're likely to lose a little performance.

Sound (and asshole factor) is part of the reason I went with Kawasaki over Harley. Plus reliability is way better. Most of my co-workers have Harleys but only one of them rides consistently. He has two Harleys and one or both of them are always having issues. We recently had a memorial ride for fallen workers and both his bikes were down. He rode a scooter owned by one of the office gals. An employee was killed on that ride when a car turned in front of him. Two of my good friends just barely missed the car.

Supertrapp does make a pipe that might fit, might being the operative term. It's also $900.

I've never heard of Harley having reliability issues since the AMF day's. AMF drove Harley into the ground.

 

[exar333]

I recently installed a Termignoni exhaust on my bike. It comes with DB killers (inserts that you stick in the open end of the exhaust and are held in with a machine screw) which keep the noise pretty subdued but with them removed it is pretty loud, like loud enough to set off car alarms as you ride by. The bike actually runs better with the DB killers installed though so I generally leave them in. It is nice to have the option to remove them but I find myself regretting it when I remove them and go for a ride. It is just too loud.

The Termi exhaust comes with a high flow air filter and a race tuned ECU and it is pretty much plug and play. Bike runs much better with this exhaust than it did stock. It is way too lean stock to comply with Euro emissions.

Two of my neighbors have Harleys and they are ridiculously loud. Fortunately, they are pretty considerate and you never hear them in the late evenings or early mornings.

This. Loud pipes are pretty annoying to me, but I don't have issue that others 'like' them. What DOES annoy me is when jerks rev them at 6am or after midnight around residential areas. The one guy who has a Harley by me seriously just drives it in circles around the block for 2-3 hours each Saturday. I'm pretty sure he has never driven past the gas station...

 

[phucheneh]

Looking around, it amazes me what these people charge for a pair of pipes. Literally, just...two pipes with flanges on the ends.

Make your own exhaust.

edit:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5lPeAoO_8k

That sounds pretty quiet.

 

[Fenixgoon]

my ninja1000 isn't that loud:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEoV2Ln9WhM

 

[Greenman]

Looking around, it amazes me what these people charge for a pair of pipes. Literally, just...two pipes with flanges on the ends.

Make your own exhaust.

edit:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5lPeAoO_8k

That sounds pretty quiet.

Supertrapps are adjustable, you add disks at the end to make it louder. It's not a bad idea, but the setup in that video is a pair of slipons. I need a complete 2 into 1 system as the hard bags I'm using are a lot bigger than the nylon bags in that video.
I ended up ordering a road rage because of fitment issues. V-Rod's are the red headed bastard step children of Harley, and my particular model is unique among that group.

Link to the bags I'm using.
http://www.corbin.com/harley/vrsca/hdvrscaw7bag.shtml

 

[sgrinavi]

Because you can't buy quiet pipes for them.

I have to change the pipes on my bike because it's becoming a bagger, and I've discovered that no one makes a reasonably quiet pipe. They all have names like Thunder header, Ground Pounder, and Road Rage. They all live up to those names.
V-Rod exhaust is a strange world, big noise, bigger money, not a lot of choice. Sometimes I think I should have bought a Honda.

There's some reasonable ones out there, I had a supertrap 2-into-one on my ultra that had a nice rumble, but wasn't too loud. It ran better than my thunder-header too.

probably because the quite pipes don't sell. most harley owners I've known believe that the loud exhaust is a safety feature, they'll more likely to be seen by car drivers.

stock they aren't that loud... except nearly every Harley owner is a douche bag that thinks being loud = being cool, err wait, they'll claim = safe, but they're wrong.

I bet the 50s+ crowd of Harley owners with loud pipes, always bitch about them kids with the loud stereo's

Loud pipes save lives..

LOL. I had a shovel head with straight pipes and it actually worked, never had an issue when I was on that bike. It was stupid loud - I got rid of it.

I bitched about the loud music kids were playing in their cars when I was in my 30's, now that I'm in my 50's I don't care.

Yet they won't even wear helmets, and dress in sleeveless vests and assless chaps that look like they belong in gay porn.

If you're seeing someones ass in chaps then you're in a gay bar. All chaps are ass-less, that's why you're suppose to wear pants under them. IMO it's good to see them wearing full gear.

 

[twinrider1]

Buy a used set of stock pipes.

 

[Greenman]

Buy a used set of stock pipes.

Reading comprehension for the win.

I have a set of stock pipes, they won't work anymore because they don't fit with the new bags.

 

[twinrider1]

Oops. I was thinking Harleys in general and missed that you have a V-Rod. And when I read 'bagger' my mind went to a FX or FL. So I was thinking just get a stock 2-1 set from a bagger model of your frame style. But yea, I missed the whole VRSC thing.

That said, lumping all Harleys together as loud and limited in options because the V-Rod that way isn't quite fair.

 

[Greenman]

(snip)
That said, lumping all Harleys together as loud and limited in options because the V-Rod that way isn't quite fair.

True enough.

 

[Zenmervolt]

That said, lumping all Harleys together as loud and limited in options because the V-Rod that way isn't quite fair.

Eh, I don't think it's that unfair. The only options for most of the other Harleys I've seen are all louder than stock too.

But that's pretty much the case in general for all bikes. And most cars too, at least if you're not looking for a stock replacement from a place like Midas.

Aftermarket options are usually sold to people who want performance and free-er flow and that means more noise whether you're looking at an exhaust for a Kawasaki 600R, a Harley, or a Honda Accord. Bikes tend to focus more on the noise in the marketing of the exhausts, but higher noise is a feature of pretty much all aftermarket exhausts unless you're looking at something that's just designed to be a cheaper OE replacement.

ZV

 

[Vetterin]

They are loud for the same reason that farts stink.................so that blind people can enjoy them too!

 

[Greenman]

They are loud for the same reason that farts stink.................so that blind people can enjoy them too!

That's some wisdom right there.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Oops. I was thinking Harleys in general and missed that you have a V-Rod. And when I read 'bagger' my mind went to a FX or FL. So I was thinking just get a stock 2-1 set from a bagger model of your frame style. But yea, I missed the whole VRSC thing.

That said, lumping all Harleys together as loud and limited in options because the V-Rod that way isn't quite fair.

Can you show me the aftermarket solutions for other Harleys that aren't basically open pipes?

 

[Greenman]

Can you show me the aftermarket solutions for other Harleys that aren't basically open pipes?

There are a few, the supertrapps mentioned here can be toned down to near stock levels. I've heard others, but I don't know who makes them.