Intresting one this? U have 1 vote I don't have a race pipe but no baffle. I belive (right or wrong) if cage drivers can't see you they might hear you. So anything I can do to make sure others see me on the road i'll try. I don't wish to annoy next door or the Police but would rather people on the road from cycle's to Lorry driver's can hear and see me. your thoughts?
i agree they do save lives only if you dont come across a def divvering old sod in his estste car thats 100 years as he's had it from new and dont use the mirrors !
Think you'll find most police wouldn't be bothered about the noise it's only at meet's they will do you etc. I defo think that loud cans save lives!!!
I have taken the baffles/db killers out of most of the bikes Iv'e owned without any problems from plod, whether having loud cans saves lives is questionable without having some kind of scientific experiment or recorded survey
I like to think they do. When filtering you definitely get a more 'courteous' response from car drivers moving over. When I'm in the metal cage and can hear a bike coming before I see it, I'm already prepared to move over as well. Although....a couple of years ago (a friend of a friend ) was out with his, er friend. They were pottering down a country lane when aforementioned friend dropped several cogs & popped an almighty mono on his Gixxer, which had just been fitted with a Racefit Growler. This startled pedestrian, who nearly jumped out of his skin, tumbled, rolled down a grass verge & under a bush. Said friend of a friend didn't see this, and merrily wheelied off down the road. I on the other hand (or should I say my friend), saw the whole caper & nearly crashed because I was laughing so hard. The pedestrian emerged from the bush slight perturbed and waved his fist at me. I rode off in to the distance.
If your gonna rip up the high street in first gear at 6,000 revs your gonna get pulled. But drop it into 3rd or 4th and keep the revs low and they won't have a clue. Tbh 94% of police ain't interested in bikes and wouldn't know the first thing about them. 5% are bikers and love to see a sensibly modded bike and will probably chat to you about how lovely your ride is. And we all know what the other 1% are!!!
Totally agree - a good rev of the engine is sometimes more subtle but more effective than a blast of the horn when trying to get yourself noticed or when making a point. Sounds bloody great too!
Now now don't tar all welsh BIB with the same brush. Most of not all I have met anywhere from Mid wales South have been great. Not tried North wales yet and not sure if I want to change my views on the welsh police by going there.
I have a friend who is ex traffic car and bike and also I.A.M observer and he rides his R1100s fitted with full Akro system NO Baffles and if you ask him its an audile saftey device... ' they hear me then see me '
Practical thinking, at the end of the day if theirs a 1% chance it'll help just 1 more person see/hear me I'll take the bollocking I ride with full beams on at times to
I rode with full beam once I got flashed by a car driver, I gave him the finger but realised a mile down the road there was speed trap, so he was warning me of this and not my blazing headlamps, I felt a bit of a twat after so I tend not to ride with full beam.
I have to agree with Barmby. Yes, loud pipes can cause people to give you a second glance, which in Volvo world is a plus, but claiming that they save lives is a bit of a stretch, even in sweeping statement world. They can be said to save lives in the same way as riding with your thumb on the horn button saves lives. Making such a claim without evidence in its favour, not anecdotal or heresay, could sound, to the uninitiated as just an excuse for making a lot of noise. On another note, a good customer of mine is an inspector of police in Merthyr Tydfil. He's a top bloke, and in his garage he's got a Lotus Exige and an R1, which i'll bet he uses exactly within the letter of the law...
