Can You Hear Me Now?

Had a chat with some riding buddies about the whole loud pipes issue and I was surprised by some of their opinions. Of course, the guys who already had straight pipes on their bikes were adamant that it was their "right" to do so, and that they did it for "safety" reasons. My oh my, how humble! To be honest, I've heard those rehashed arguments thousands of times and it's not really what I was interested in. What really caught my attention were the ones who did it without really having a reason. Sheep mentality rules, it would seem, as many cruiser riders admitted that they had installed V&H straight pipes (a rather pricey downgrade) because "everybody has loud pipes". These are most likely the same people who get into motorcycling to show their individuality.

I'm not against motorcycles having a certain music to them (the sound from a stock CB750 from the seventies is still music to my ears), but I have to draw the line when a v-twin starts producing enough noise to drown out an Airbus at takeoff. What's truly sad is that some of these cruisers go through all this trouble (and money) to get more attention - why else? - yet a mildly talented rider on a Ninja 250R could still wipe their ass in the twisties! Which brings me to a simple equation:

Loud Noise ≠ Power