Inalienable right to a Harley

[RealGun]

I believe we view what is our right with considerable bias. My dog informs me that Harleys getting on it with no mufflers is not okay with him. I can just hear the outcry and indignation if the noise level from motorcycles was regulated. Is nothing sacred? I love motorcycles but agree with my dog. We live at an intersection and the head of a straightaway that is not unlike bordering a racetrack. The 35 MPH speed limit is ignored, as are the solid yellow lines.

[Guest]

I love bikes, been riding for 30 years. I HATE loud pipes, especially straight pipe harleys.  
 There seems to be an inverse relationship between the power of the harley and it's noise level.
 To paraphase Churchill, "never have so many, gone so slow ,so loudly."  
 Or the harley statement,"if you have to ask, you would'nt understand."--should be,"ask all you want, I can't hear you anyway.."

[Gun Runner]

I hate loud Harleys.  I hate loud ricers (Jap cars).  I hate most loud 4x4 pickups.  I do however LOVE a good sounding, even loud, V8 car.

[Monkeyleg]

I put an S&S "E" carb on my '89 HD years ago, went to an Andrews 27 cam, and switched from the stock mufflers to the ones with metal baffles. It's louder than stock, but not anywhere near as loud as straight pipes. What many HD riders don't realize is that straight pipes rob the bike of horsepower, unless  everything else is set up right. And few bikes out there are set up as full racing bikes. I've raced a few of the guys running straight pipes, and beat them every time.

If I'm in a residential area, I short-shift to keep the rev's down and thus the noise.

A rider down the block has straight pipes on an old panhead chopper. When he leaves for work at 5:30 am, he wakes the whole neighborhood. He just stands on the throttle without regard for the neighbors.

I hope I'm being a considerate rider.

[Guest]

One of our local Harley dealers makes a decent pair of money by talking damn near every customer they have into paying them to put straight pipes on their STOCK bike before they even ride it out of the shopn .Nevermind the fact that it is a poor decision with regards to performance, it also makes the public have a general disdain for people who ride Harleys.

I have a friend of mine that rides a really sweet HD, it has a lot of chrome and loud, but not quite wide open, pipes. He knows that his bike is annoying, and he is courteous about the time of day and areas that he rides it. The problem is that too many riders dont seem to consider other people. This is one of those cases where a few people ruin something for everyone else.

[dinosaur]

I've run Pythons on my EVO for 20 years. I'm on about my 4th set. They're not as good as they are on Shovels or Ironheads but the bike was only made for 2 years and there aren't a lot of choices. Still faster than stock and way more powerful than straight pipes. I tried goosenecks for awhile and they're loud and slow. The engine has a lot of work so it's still fairly loud.

I guess I've run just about every kind of old style pipes on my bikes but the Pythons are a good compromise.

AFA the neighbors go I don't rev at 6 a.m. but since I put up with their kids, their fireworks, their lawnmowers etc. I really don't care.

This year I haven't ridden at all. I was feeling really tired and short of breath. I had another stent put in a blockage and feel much better. However I'm on blood thinners for 6 months so I can't ride anyway!

[Nathaniel Firethorn]

Harleys rule. Buy more Harleys. I own some HDI.

- NF

[atek3]

Sell your Harley and get a Yamaha V-Max... only cruiser with style and power IMHO...

atek3