Can ya hear me now? That is the sarcastic saying that comes to mind when you get that new exhaust bolted on to your bike. The loud thunderous sound that brings the bike to life. You can almost feel the deep sound going through your...

chest and you can hear the exhaust rattle anything you pass. Many argue it’s too loud. I’ve been asked more than once by my neighbors why my bike has to be so loud. So why does it?

Some of the reasons I hear people say they want to change their pipes  are for performance, sounds great, safety so people hear me coming, and because the pipes look good. I think performance and sound are the two most common reasons. For me it was all of the reasons.

With the ever increasing clamp down from the local, state, and federal jurisdictions on both sound disturbances and clean air emissions laws, it brings a big question to mind. What future options will be available to riders in regards to performance gains and sound altering from the replacement of exhaust systems? It seems you hear more and more riders getting tickets for loud pipes. Is it because there are so many more bikes or is it because with more riders there are many more people acting out flagrantly breaking the law? How do we as a community feel about this? It will affect us all whether we ride a Sport race bike or an American V twin.  Is it fair that the government can decide on behalf of our community what is best? I know there has been more than one occasion when I relied on the loudness of my pipes to wake another driver up to my presence. When I ride through a town with many people on the street I try to keep the noise as low as possible. Unfortunately there are many that feel this is the time to show off a little and draw some attention. Will it be those people that ruin it for all? Or is it just that there are too many people that do not understand the reasons behind the noise? Which ever it is we as the bike community are going to suffer. I for one enjoy the performance gains and I have seen too many times that the noise has saved me. We have all read the saying "loud pipes save lives." I hope I can continue to have the freedom to choose what I want when it comes to pipes.