Any motorcyclists on this forum?

[pseudoid]

The only sound I want to hear while riding is the wondrous sound of an internal combustion engine.

You're thinking what I am thinking?

 

[steve59]

Cardo has a 44mm JBL speaker (I think) and sena recently offered a HK speaker upgrade that add an octave or two and help on those long highway roads out west. The cardo pack talk black with the JBL's is pretty good, I can't speak for the sena HK combo yet.

It's pretty easy to tell if a group is safe to ride with and peeling off is always an option if lunch turns into a watering hole.

 

[MRC01]

The only sound I want to hear while riding is the wondrous sound of an internal combustion engine.
Much preferably a H-D or Ducati V-twin.

What? <g>

 

[pseudoid]

What I would like to know is NOT how many riders break the speed laws but how many of us have been nailed for 'speeding'.
Solely for "speeding" my license was suspended in 5 different states. Few suspended it more than once.
A third (?) of those speeding tickets that accumulated over the decades, were on two wheels.
Two were for CVC 22348(b)
"But I wasn't intoxicated, Officer!" have never worked for me!

Every hobby has costs...

 

[Doodski]

What I would like to know is NOT how many riders break the speed laws but how many of us have been nailed for 'speeding'.
Solely for "speeding" my license was suspended in 5 different states. Few suspended it more than once.
A third (?) of those speeding tickets that accumulated over the decades, were on two wheels.
Two were for CVC 22348(b)
"But I wasn't intoxicated, Officer!" have never worked for me!

Every hobby has costs...

For motorcycles I got a speeding ticket in Washington State and The Province of British Columbia and that is all. Only 2 and the second one in BC I was going about 200 km/h down a mountain pass in corners. The one in Washington State I was following a slow driver in the left lane out on the flat plains north of Spokane and I had enough and pulled out at about 100 mph and bang... a copper was there coming in the opposite direction. Most of my occasions when the coppers should or could have done something was with me on 2 stroke dirt bikes in BC. They never had a chance and the train crew was powerless too with me going 60 to 80mph on dirt.

 

[pseudoid]

At one point, before the "driver's compact" where states started sharing DL records; TX was one of the last ones to join the digital era.
Yeah, I got mine also suspended in the '90s in TX, too. But the suspension did not transfer back to CA.
One of the tricks in the '70s was to use an International DL; had one and it worked! Especially while using a heavy foreign accent when pulled over.
More drastic measures to prevent suspensions was to get on "Warrant for Arrest" list (from a previous ticket), spend an hour in jail, post bail, appear in front of some magistrate and plead that you spend an hour in jail with felons. In all 3 cases, the case would be dismissed for "time served" but WITHOUT the points that would have suspended it over and over again!
There was the PBA badges, if you knew someone that had a Kevin Bacon number with an officer.
Then, there was the "Always Plead Not Guilty" trick... in the hopes that the officer did not show up @court.
CA/CVC-40902 -Trial de Novo (... by written declaration) is a crap shoot, but I sneaked out of one on I-5 six years ago.
There was the trick of questioning the officer about the calibration of their 'radar' @court.
The specialized lawyers smelled the money trail and until a few years ago, one can most likely beat a speeding ticket (w/no sweat) for !$300.
Sure, radar detectors were good for sniffing radar out but jamming shifting them worked much much better!

 

[Goethefan]

Had a 30+ year love affair with sport bike riding but Canada's "street racing" legislation refocussed my energy towards mountain biking, while the knees hold out

You'll love the bike! Get a good rain suit or Aerostich. Critical lesson I learned from a mag years ago but rarely hear discussed: when approaching an intersection and a car is waiting to turn left in front of you, change your lane position from left car tire track to right car tire track. It gives you a bit more reaction time, but much more importantly, the lateral movement makes you much more visible to the opposing car. Cars turn left into motorcyclists because the lack of lateral motion or obvious change in size when approaching makes us hard to see.

I still have a shed and garage full of vintage Gpz race bike stuff, maybe some day (LOL, I've been saying that for years)

Excellent advice, numerous times that strategy was employed, Honda 55, honda90 Honda cb175, Honda cb450, Ducati monster dark 750, Ducati ss900, last and very best, Honda vfr800.

 

[steve59]

I've grown weary of the harley sound of late. Back in the day owning, riding and maintaining a harley was a specific type of rider. Not necessarily the 1%'s, but def more the biker lifestyle and less of a status symbol. I loved the sound of a harley coming down the road because it was uncommon which also made the rider intriguing. Now that everybody and their mother owns a harley i'm kinda sick of em'. Ducati, oh yea, and while I might be bragging.. when I go down the road on the 1290 sdr with the full akra folk turn their heads to see whats coming.

 

[MRC01]

I've grown weary of the harley sound of late. ... Ducati, oh yea, and while I might be bragging.. when I go down the road on the 1290 sdr with the full akra folk turn their heads to see whats coming.

Having several very different bikes over the years, each had its own sound. The best sounding motorbike I ever owned was the Honda VF750 Magna. The V-4 with 360* (single position) crankshaft with its 90-270-90-270 firing rotation, combined with Vance & Hines glasspacks had a totally unique sound. At low RPM it sounded like a mini small block V8 with a lopey cam, transitioning to a more Ducati-like sound at high RPM up to its 11000 RPM (Dyna 3k ignition) redline. It turned heads because it was so different from most other bikes, nobody knew what the heck it was.
I wore earplugs on all the bikes. Not necessarily because the engines were so loud, but due to the combination of engine and wind noise. With earplugs I could actually hear better, and reduce fatigue, improve alertness on long rides.

 

[pseudoid]

Having several very different bikes over the years, each had its own sound. ...

All BMWs (R or K) sounded like they had too much beans for dinner!
Ducs always sounded sweet.
Did someone really say they preferred their vfr800 over the ss900???

 

[pseudoid]

I wore earplugs on all the bikes. Not necessarily because the engines were so loud, but due to the combination of engine and wind noise. With earplugs I could actually hear better, and reduce fatigue, improve alertness on long rides.

In California (and possibly most other states), earplugs are considered illegal unless custom ones obtained as RX...
It's crazy, I know. Just the savings in being less "tired' using earplugs is a benefit for remaining aware in long rides... but nooooooooo!

 

[Sal1950]

In California (and possibly most other states), earplugs are considered illegal unless custom ones obtained as RX...
It's crazy, I know. Just the savings in being less "tired' using earplugs is a benefit for remaining aware in long rides... but nooooooooo!

That figures for CA,
It's OK they force you to limit your hearing ability with their draconian helmet laws, but ear plugs are a No No.

 

[Spkrdctr]

I rode with earplugs as the wind sound was very loud. Plus I could still hear the nice roar of that 1340cc inline four (Hayabusa engine). But I didn't really hot rod all that much. I liked going fast on the freeway oh, say 90 to 95 cruising along. I would bump it up to 110 to 115 every once in awhile. The problem is that those big Suzuki's are heavy and it took squeezing the brakes hard enough to cause the ABS to kick in to stop in a decent distance. ABS brakes were the bees knees and saved me from an accident once. I really liked my bike EXCEPT that it had no way to put highway pegs on it. So I had to always ride jacked up on Vicodin for the leg pain I had from my legs being kinked up. But, I have to say I loved riding and really enjoyed my bike.

 

[MRC01]

Hey, as this is an audio site, I found an old recording I made of that Magna after repacking the V&H exhaust with fresh fiberglass (link). It doesn't capture the sound while riding, but it gives an idea. By comparison, here is what it sounded like without any packing in the exhaust (yuck!).

In California (and possibly most other states), earplugs are considered illegal unless custom ones obtained as RX...
It's crazy, I know. Just the savings in being less "tired' using earplugs is a benefit for remaining aware in long rides... but nooooooooo!

I'm not surprised. Yet another law that has the opposite of the intended consequence. I could hear *better* not worse when riding with earplugs.
Back when I lived in CA I never knew about that law. I got pulled over a couple of times. No ticket, and the officer had no comment when I removed my helmet & earplugs in front of him.

That figures for CA,
It's OK they force you to limit your hearing ability with their draconian helmet laws, but ear plugs are a No No.

If you're wearing a helmet, how the heck will they know whether you have earplugs? Also some earplugs look like hearing aids.

 

[Sal1950]

I rode with earplugs as the wind sound was very loud

Sure, I always had my ears plugged for highway riding.
Back in my smoking days, the filter from filter cigs made for decent noise reduction.
Just roll them up like a foam plug and push them in, not too far mind you

 

[Sal1950]

If you're wearing a helmet, how the heck will they know whether you have earplugs?

Good question? I supposed it's another easy tax fine they can lay on you after pulling you over for your too loud pipes.

 

[pseudoid]

...If you're wearing a helmet, how the heck will they know whether you have earplugs? Also some earplugs look like hearing aids.

I guess, you haven't ever been pulled over while wearing them.
You learn to take them out while pulling the helmet off; so as to not listen to that "I am just doing my job!" answer and the final blow after you sign the ticket and he is gracious enough to tell you to "Have a nice day!"...
Near 100F in Lancaster/EAFB/WillowSprings, I was lost in a neighborhood and got pulled over. They told me to not remove my helmet because it could be used as a "weapon". So, I sat down on the ground and took it off anyways but one of the earplugs fell. They told me they had reports of break-ins and I just could not stop myself ridiculing them by saying "What? I am gonna break into a house and steal a TV to haul it away on the bike?" It was downhill from there! Yes, I did get the bonus for CVC-27400 (ear plugs) citation. Case was dropped!

 

[dpturner]

In California (and possibly most other states), earplugs are considered illegal unless custom ones obtained as RX...

I think the law prohibits plugs unless "specifically designed to reduce harmful (injurious) noise levels". Nothing about Rx. I would think the squishy orange ones, used by machinery operators for years, would qualify.

 

[pseudoid]

I think the law prohibits plugs unless "specifically designed to reduce harmful (injurious) noise levels". Nothing about Rx. I would think the squishy orange ones, used by machinery operators for years, would qualify.

You may have missed the part about "I am just doing my job!" and you are going to stand there and argue the finer points of the near 2" thick CVC book, with a cop on the side of the road!
I tell you how it is and you tell me how I am lying? Not worth to engage more - sorry!

 

[Rottmannash]

Having several very different bikes over the years, each had its own sound. The best sounding motorbike I ever owned was the Honda VF750 Magna. The V-4 with 360* (single position) crankshaft with its 90-270-90-270 firing rotation, combined with Vance & Hines glasspacks had a totally unique sound. At low RPM it sounded like a mini small block V8 with a lopey cam, transitioning to a more Ducati-like sound at high RPM up to its 11000 RPM (Dyna 3k ignition) redline. It turned heads because it was so different from most other bikes, nobody knew what the heck it was.
I wore earplugs on all the bikes. Not necessarily because the engines were so loud, but due to the combination of engine and wind noise. With earplugs I could actually hear better, and reduce fatigue, improve alertness on long rides.

I've been told my VFR (V-4) with a V & H Ti pipe sounds like a V8, especially when loping at cold idle.