Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[MostlyBonkers]

Well put Michael. Well put everyone really!

My experience has been similar to what NoiseBoy said. I've climbed that ladder of consciousness and I think 'Oh, just fuck off!' when I hear loud pipes. To me, it feels like I'm walking down the street and there's someone walking along with a ghetto blaster turned up high. It's aggressive, obnoxious, annoying and I just want to punch them. Worst of all it just gives us bikers a bad reputation. 

I might start carrying a few bananas around and insert them where the sun doesn't shine. Firstly in the tailpipe and then I'll threaten to shove one so far up their arse they'll be able to taste it! [emoji6]

Wherever you ride, there will be other people, or animals, within earshot. Why pollute when it's unnecessary and plain selfish? Just pay attention, ride safe and bin the cans completely. IMHO.

[NanoMech]

I'm enjoying this discussion, and the RevZilla article on loud pipes! I do feel the subject ranges across polar opposites; loud Harley Davidson pipes vs quiet electric motorcycles, and risk of danger to the bikers vs those around them, pipes or not.

I believe safety is a gradient, ranging from danger to the rider, to danger to those around them. I'm sure many people have read of proposals, in Europe and the USA, to add sound to electric vehicles at slow speed or a complete stop. My understanding is this for the benefit of handicapped people that may have reduced hearing abilities, or sight/body-restricted to fully, and frequently, view active traffic while crossing a road.

I've added a Swedish manufacturer "SoundRacer" system, with dual speakers to my DS, and I use the sounds when at a stop if I see people near the crosswalk. The main use, however, is to get a laugh, and appreciation/respect for a quiet electric motorcycle with similar performance characteristics, from ICE bikers. You can view a 30 second mp4 of the SoundRacer operation here:   . I've attached the sound frequency increase line, separate from the wheel hall sensor input line, to the bike high-beams to "blip the engine"

[buutvrij for life]

Awesome, Nano!!!! 

And build sophisticated!

[Manzanita]

My only complaint about my quiet Zero is when trying to pass bicycle riders on narrow back roads.  They tend to wander all over the road and sometimes will make a U-turn without looking because they don't hear a vehicle coming (I assume). I would love to use my horn to let them know that I am behind them and trying to pass, but around here (for some reason) that gets bicycle riders really mad so I avoid doing that. So far I haven't hit one yet and I hope I can continue to avoid a collision with a bicyclist. Sometimes a little noise can help.   

As a long-time former bicyclist around bay area backroads, one thing drivers/motorcyclist may not get is that going downhill (or fast on the flats) a bicyclist gets significant wind noise in their ears and can only hear the loudest cars behind them. They will not notice a Prius or quiet small car or a zero going downhill (but they should be checking behind them if they are taking the whole lane and blocking traffic on a downhill, and move over when safe). However, on uphills they can/will hear any car coming up behind them, even a zero or a prius. Often they don't acknowledge the car behind them even when they notice it, as it can be difficult to turn your head all the way around while climbing slowly along the edge of the road. But trust me, unless they have earphones in (which is illegal, but you see people doing it) they will hear you on uphills. But annoying inconsiderate bicyclists in the bay area is a thread in itself!

Generally I agree that depending on a loud bike is a bad idea. I split traffic everyday and for example, I never split unless cars are side-by-side; when cars are staggered there is always the possibly that cars will make sudden lane changes. This is my #1 safety tip for splitting lanes: never split staggered cars. You roll the dice every time you pass a car with an empty lane beside it. Well, guys in loud bikes often do split staggered cars and are expecting drivers to hear them--it is a bad assumption. Every car these days has a 6 speaker stereo system and to bet your life that you will be heard is a bad bet.

[firepower]

Others on this forum have used a bicycle bell on their their Zero to warn pedestrians and bicyclists.
The type is the single ding when lever is released. It gets attension but is not too long loud or offensive.

http://www.wiggle.com.au/?s=Bicycle+bell

[MostlyBonkers]

Good idea! Thanks for sharing firepower.

[togo]

Maybe drum on the plastics if you don't have a ding-bell installed (I don't and probably won't, until it happens to me ;-) ).

I find myself drumming on the plastics at a stoplight- a bicyclist might hear it.

[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

Aerostitch's latest blog post about riding the Zero FX in winter conditions has some nice things to say about silent riding: http://www.aerostich.com/blog/keys-please/

[ChainGun]

I ride in heavy traffic jams every day, to and from work and I split lanes and ride the shoulders most of the way (in Israel this is common practice, even the highway police usually ignores the bikers who do that). In my experience, bike loudness is rarely a contributing factor in bikers safety when riding between the lanes

1. Many drivers ride with closed windows due to air condition
2. Many drivers listen to music or podcasts
3. Some drivers operate their smart phones
4. In heavy traffic, bikes move too fast for drivers anyway

As someone above me wrote, our safety should be in our hands, not in the hands of car drivers. The only change in my riding style since switching to Electric is that I pay more attention to pedestrians. Here lays the real danger IMHO. I'm not going to put any artificial loudness, I simply pay more attention, ride only in ECO mode in urban environment, etc.

[2014ZeroSR]

This thread is fascinating / Outstanding comments by all.

+1 mrwilsn (very nice)
+1 Manzanita (Lane Splitting rule)
+1 MostlyBonkers (for “COAST”)

At work today, I did an informal poll of RN's, PA's, NP's, MD's and numerous support personnel (about 60).
The results, almost all were hard-core in their beliefs, a definite Yes or a definite No - very few were middle of the road. Not surprising were – The Harley riders (about 10) were all “Yes”.

When approaching a Bicycle rider – Think like they do – 'On your Left -or- On your Right', 'Rider Up'. I've been at numerous Bicycle events. These phrases work wonders.

My rule - My safety is My responsibility.