Noisy Motorbike Exhausts

[darksidedog]

I have noticed of late that the number of overly loud motorbike exhausts is ever increasing. A few years back the cops in Pattaya had a purge on it and were confiscating bikes with modified exhausts and the problem largely went away. Now it seems impossible to hold a conversation anywhere near the roadside without being deafened by some retarded monkey howling down the road every couple of minutes.

The cops seem ready enough to collect cash from motorists for just about anything they can come up with. Modified and noisy exhausts are to the best of my knowledge illegal, but the number seems to be growing without any check whatsoever.

I am interested to know if this is a nationwide problem, or if the cops in your area ever tackle the issue.

[VocalNeal]

Many, many years ago one of the first things I did to my scooter was to fit a different exhaust. Then when i got my first car one of the fist things I did was to hammer a screwdriver through the muffler.

The difference now is population and numbers. It may be annoying buy it is just youth?

[dinga]

Mae Phim - sadly, same same - no different.  

[Kwasaki]

Until someone in charge decides to do something about it, it will get worse before better.

Just back home from staying in Pattaya south and wore ear-plugs at bedtime.

[NE1]

 

So I suppose there will be a purge on for a couple of weeks , then everything goes back to normal.

[saakura]

Same situation here in central Bangkok. The roads are full of these retards, even a walk in the parks is not peaceful any more.

[NE1]

We live in a rural village , and the kids going to and from school have some of the loudest bikes .

[rocky123]

So annoying. Ive stopped going to bars with open fronts on the darkside Pattaya as the noise is deafening, and the many, little bike shacks, are all revving the bolox out of the bikes till 11pm, keeping the kids happy !!!

[KMartinHandyman]

Mod shops in our little city have been cranking out 125cc motorbikes registering 125 decibels for three or four years now.
I’ve concluded Thais embarrassing easily is a myth as they appear quite proud of themselves with the excessive noise and attention they generate while clocking 40 kph.

[OneMoreFarang]

There are loud exhaust and there are LOUD exhausts. I have to admit I have a moderate loud one when I drive normally, but it makes some noise if I rev the engine from my little 150cc bike.

 

Why do I have this exhaust? Because I wanted it for several reasons. It seems most Thais are not happy if people use the horns of their cars or bikes. I heard stories that people even get shot at for doing that. But it seems that is not the same with exhaust noise. If I rev my engine people hear the noise and i.e. move out of the way they blocked, pedestrians move from the street to the sidewalk, etc. A loud exhaust does what a horn is supposed to do without actually using the horn - it seems to be the Thai solution for not using the horn.

 

Apart from that I agree that there are just too many bike with LOUD exhausts which are always loud and just annoying. No, I am not one of them.

[jackdd]

1 hour ago, OneMoreFarang said:

No, I am not one of them.

That's just what you think. Maybe other people would have a different opinion about that

 

I can't understand why anybody would change the stock exhaust, i prefer it silent.

And the argument "i have it so other people hear me" does not make much sense. Hardly anybody pays attention to this sound, there are just so many motorbikes with a loud exhaust.

That's the same with ambulances or police who turn on their sirens... nobody cares, because some of them like to drive around all day long with them turned on.

If you feel the need to honk or "rev" (that always looks so stupid when i see it on a vlog on youtube) on a regular basis obviously your driving sucks and you should think about how to improve yourself and your mindset on the street.

[OneMoreFarang]

21 minutes ago, jackdd said:

That's just what you think. Maybe other people would have a different opinion about that

 

I can't understand why anybody would change the stock exhaust, i prefer it silent.

And the argument "i have it so other people hear me" does not make much sense. Hardly anybody pays attention to this sound, there are just so many motorbikes with a loud exhaust.

That's the same with ambulances or police who turn on their sirens... nobody cares, because some of them like to drive around all day long with them turned on.

If you feel the need to honk or "rev" (that always looks so stupid when i see it on a vlog on youtube) on a regular basis obviously your driving sucks and you should think about how to improve yourself and your mindset on the street.

When you write: "I prefer it silent" what is your experience with that?

If you really have a silent bike how often did i.e. pedestrians just walk into the street in front of you because they didn't hear you and didn't watch?

 

And about my driving style and mindset on the street: I drive since about 15 years in Bangkok and I had only one minor accident with was not my fault. I drive forward looking and I don't race. But I also don't drive extreme slow. I have to admit I don't have much patients with people who use their mobile phones and try to drive with cars or bikes while they do that. And I have not much patience with people (especially tourist) who decide to walk in the middle of the street instead of the footpath. But apart from that I am quite reasonable.

[VocalNeal]

In our soi there is a guy of Indian decent who delivers the new newspapers. He has an audible old Kawasaki GTO 2-stroke. He rides by everyday at exactly 7.00am. As I said it is audible and obviously him but it is my signal to get out of bed!  If he ever buys a quiet modern bike I don't know what I will do.

[OneMoreFarang]

1 minute ago, VocalNeal said:

In our soi there is a guy of Indian decent who delivers the new newspapers. He has an audible old Kawasaki GTO 2-stroke. He rides by everyday at exactly 7.00am. As I said it is audible and obviously him but it is my signal to get out of bed!  If he ever buys a quiet modern bike I don't know what I will do.

Don't worry, there are aftermarket exhaust for quiet modern bikes

 

[OneMoreFarang]

What just crossed my mind it that the noise level is not just about bikes. I go often to the fresh market in Bangkok and a few weeks ago there was tremendously loud "music". Or it would have been music if the volume would not have been set to 150% which distorted it tremendously.

 

I looked at the source of the music which were some BIG speakers on hand wagons. And right next to the loudspeakers were a couple of monks. It seems they wanted to get noticed maybe to collect donations. It worked, I noticed them. But it seems all Thais around me had no problem with the extreme loud noise. There is also a police booth not even 20m away and it was also no problem for the police.

 

I heard temple fairs up country are similar to this - luckily I don't have to go up country so I miss all that fun and noise.

[Colabamumbai]

Nationwide problem. Last year in Kalisin while teaching the police raided the college and dismantled 200 bikes exhausts.

[r136dg]

Believe it or not, loud exhaust is about the most expensive fine you can get here. B1,000. They're very selective how they nail people for it. I think in part because most Thai kids can't afford it & they can't hear that annoying sh!t while idling at a checkpoint. Who knows.

I don't think I have to mention many other places in the world have areas/cities with posted decibel levels, fines are heavy & they're enforced.

[akirasan]

Well the thing about police checkpoints is the locals all know where they are and just take an alternate route to avoid them. 

[Formaleins]

28 minutes ago, r136dg said:

Believe it or not, loud exhaust is about the most expensive fine you can get here. B1,000. They're very selective how they nail people for it. I think in part because most Thai kids can't afford it & they can't hear that annoying sh!t while idling at a checkpoint. Who knows.

I don't think I have to mention many other places in the world have areas/cities with posted decibel levels, fines are heavy & they're enforced.

You are not wrong there! I know a young lad that was fined 1600 Baht, the bike was detained until he removed the exhaust, then the cops smashed it to bits with hammers - Chiang Mai. I agree with an earlier poster too, the constant thumping of deafening overloud Thai music is far more disturbing than the occasional blast of a loud bike. Most of it is just young kids being young kids.

[r136dg]

12 minutes ago, Formaleins said:

a young lad that was fined 1600 Baht, the bike was detained until he removed the exhaust, then the cops smashed it to bits with hammers

That's what I'm talkin about;-)

12 minutes ago, Formaleins said:

Most of it is just young kids being young kids.

Don't forget the adults in those single axle dump trucks. Seems like everyone of those idiots hacks up their exhaust to make it more annoying than the others;-(

[jackdd]

10 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

When you write: "I prefer it silent" what is your experience with that?

If you really have a silent bike how often did i.e. pedestrians just walk into the street in front of you because they didn't hear you and didn't watch?

Sorry, i meant of course "quiet" and not "silent", even though silent would be even nicer, maybe in a few years when e-bikes are common  I drive a PCX with stock exhaust, it's really not loud, but of course far from silent.

You said you drive in Bangkok, at which place in Bangkok do pedestrians just walk on the street? Most pedestrians don't want to die... So the only places i know in Bangkok would be Khao san road where some drunk tourists run around on the street, and small sois that don't have a sidewalk. But people in the small sois are smart enough to stick to the side of the road, so if one drives more in the middle it's really no problem.

[dotpoom]

I was thinking lately "why are they doing it (loud exausts)"....if it's to look  "cool" then it doesn't work. They fly by so fast I never get the chance to see who they are? 

[SS1]

13 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

There are loud exhaust and there are LOUD exhausts. I have to admit I have a moderate loud one when I drive normally, but it makes some noise if I rev the engine from my little 150cc bike.

 

Why do I have this exhaust? Because I wanted it for several reasons. It seems most Thais are not happy if people use the horns of their cars or bikes. I heard stories that people even get shot at for doing that. But it seems that is not the same with exhaust noise. If I rev my engine people hear the noise and i.e. move out of the way they blocked, pedestrians move from the street to the sidewalk, etc. A loud exhaust does what a horn is supposed to do without actually using the horn - it seems to be the Thai solution for not using the horn.

 

Apart from that I agree that there are just too many bike with LOUD exhausts which are always loud and just annoying. No, I am not one of them.

It's the same thing in Bangkok, riding with some noise is much safer than a completely quiet bike. I have two bikes, one 690cc KTM with an Akrapovic Exhaust (muffler in) and a Yamaha Aerox with stock exhaust. I ride both bikes in Bangkok and have had so many more near misses with the Aerox because it's completely quiet, for example when filtering in between traffic. With the KTM I rarely have this problem as people hear me coming. 

 

Don't get me wrong though, too loud is definitely too loud. Those 125-150cc bikes with cheap open pipes sound ear-destroying and are the most annoying. I put the muffler back into my exhaust because even if I love the sound of a 690cc single cylinder, have to consider other people. 

[OneMoreFarang]

53 minutes ago, dotpoom said:

I was thinking lately "why are they doing it (loud exausts)"....if it's to look  "cool" then it doesn't work. They fly by so fast I never get the chance to see who they are? 

Lots of teenager do this to get attention - I guess especially from all the cute girls. Long time ago I did the same. Sometimes it even worked.

 

Another reason is that people think they drive faster on a louder vehicles. Long time ago in a country far away my boss bough a brand new BMW 850i. He told me his first experience was the following: "You put down the foot an it seems nothing happens. And then you look at the speedometer and realize you drive 140km/h (in town)". Because that 12 cylinder car was extreme quiet. He never change the exhaust and he got used to it...

 

 

[OneMoreFarang]

1 hour ago, jackdd said:

Sorry, i meant of course "quiet" and not "silent", even though silent would be even nicer, maybe in a few years when e-bikes are common  I drive a PCX with stock exhaust, it's really not loud, but of course far from silent.

You said you drive in Bangkok, at which place in Bangkok do pedestrians just walk on the street? Most pedestrians don't want to die... So the only places i know in Bangkok would be Khao san road where some drunk tourists run around on the street, and small sois that don't have a sidewalk. But people in the small sois are smart enough to stick to the side of the road, so if one drives more in the middle it's really no problem.

Lower Sukhumvit like Soi 11 is a good example for a street with lots of tourists who behave like they own the street, day and night.

Thais are smart enough not endanger themselves on the streets.

 

Many farang tourists somehow think that drivers should break when they see pedestrians. Sooner or later they learn that this might work in other countries but not in Thailand - some learn it the hard way. So in a way noisy bikes are good for tourists and their survival

[AlQaholic]

Any Thai with any self-esteem will do following things with their bikes right out of the shop:

 

1. replace the muffler with a big empty can type amplifier, sell the old muffler back to the shop to recover some of the money borrowed from a loan shark to buy the bike, or to pay off a long-standing gambling debt.

2. Sell the original wheels (couldn't afford the replacement tires anyway) and replace them with cheap skimpy thin bicycle-like wheels manufactured in a local tinker shop. Use the money to buy lottery tickets or pay off the gambling debt.

[OneMoreFarang]

3 minutes ago, AlQaholic said:

Any Thai with any self-esteem will do following things with their bikes right out of the shop:

 

1. replace the muffler with a big empty can type amplifier, sell the old muffler back to the shop to recover some of the money borrowed from a loan shark to buy the bike, or to pay off a long-standing gambling debt.

2. Sell the original wheels (couldn't afford the replacement tires anyway) and replace them with cheap skimpy thin bicycle-like wheels manufactured in a local tinker shop. Use the money to buy lottery tickets or pay off the gambling debt.

I think they also replace the wheels with the tiny wheels to drive faster - probably to race the bike and make money to pay off the gambling debt.

[LALes]

Thais love loud music and loud bikes.   Peace and quiet are far down their priority list.

Loud bikes roar up and down Sukhomvit in central BKK all the time.  Its no different

anywhere else in this country.   Good luck trying to get anyone to enforce noise statutes here.

[Humpy]

Last year a village headman went to ask the parents to get their son to stop making the loud noise with  his motorbike exhaust . The headman was hit on the head by another family member and died. 

Perhaps this is why the village headmen are reluctant to make any attempt to stop the anti social behavior of these brain dead gofers.

The police have no interest in stopping these idiots.  

[csabo]

Phuket too. I avoid some of my favorite open street front restaurants now. Tired of waiting a full minute to resume the conversation until the bike rides far enough away that we can hear each other. Crazy me I found a restaurant out near a pier and thought we could get some peace and quiet. Nope...kids racing  up and down the pier over and over and over all with blasting pipes. If I was the restaurant owner I would have strung a cable across it the pier about a meter from the ground.