Though some would consider this an urban myth of some sort, there is defiantly some truth to it. Let’s be honest, most car drivers don’t notice motorcycles until it’s too late. As evidence, here is the most often uttered statement taken at the scene of an auto/motorcycle accident: "But officer, I didn’t SEE him!" As any experienced rider will tell you, when riding a quiet new or used motorcycle you have to work twice as hard to make sure car & SUV drivers know you’re around. That’s because not only don’t they SEE you, they can’t HEAR you. Toss is a cell phone, a loud car radio, two screaming kids in the back seat and your presence to the average car driver is about zero. Hell, they’re lucky if they SEE other CARS, let alone you on a motorcycle.

That’s not the case on a performance motorcycle or big V-Twin with earth shakin’ pipes. Everyone knows when you’re there when riding one of these. You can see there heads whip around trying to determine the direction and source of the sound. Yes, you will get a ‘dirty look’ every once in awhile, but you won’t find yourself swerving into another lane because some other driver decided he/she wanted to be where you were. On the other hand, making a nuisance of yourself be revving the engine for no reason or blasting through quiet residential areas late at night doesn’t win you any points with local law enforcement or John Q. Public.

Those are the reasons many states are cracking down on overly loud pipes with new noise ordinances. To sum up, if you have performance exhausts on your motorcycle, show restraint when riding. If you don’t have performance exhausts, put them on and let car drivers know where you are so YOU don’t become a hood ornament.

(Source: AIM)