Harleys

[gharknes]

I'm not against bikes.....have one myself (Honda 1100cc CBRXX Super Blackbird) but it is quiet, I love to go on long trips and looked forward to visa runs etc which I did on the bike, it doesn't annoy other people as the exhausts are still nice and quiet - even with aftermarket pipes fitted it would still be quiet, so what is it with people and these big harleys (and others) with no exhaust whatsoever......why, it could not be good for long journy (do my head in listening to that for hours), it is extremely annoying for everyone around that has to listen to it (it is for me) - most people I know think that people who run around on bikes with exhaust baffles removed are just plain annoying dicks and although they themselves think it's cool 99% of the people that have to listen to it wish they didn't, why don't they simply fit a proper exhaust and stop being so annoying...........harley owners welcome to comment if you can think of something to say to defend this highly annoying behavior.

rant over

PS personally I don't regard a harley as a true motorbike, it's ugly, has no design purpose, is way overpriced, creates extreme noise pollution, is uncomfortable to ride, most countries would bann it unless exhausts fitted within noise restrictions............pointless really.

Edited February 18, 2010 by gharknes

[Absingjul]

This:

[KarenBravo]

Harley motorbikes come under the heading of agricultural equipment.

Shouldn't this thread be moved to the farming sub-forum?

[krading]

Mid life crisis death traps.

How many over 40 year old 'Wild Hogs' have died crashing their freedom machines?

[Slaps]

You obviously haven't got a clue mate, don't know where you live but I'm in bkk and don't here any Harleys make a noise, sweet mate,

But I do here the 100cc's or whatever with no <deleted>@kin baffles and the <deleted>@kin TukTuks and them <deleted>@kin things the Japs use that are more expensive than Air Con Taxis..Why? whats all that about?

Rant over

[luangtom]

Y'all must ride Jap-crap that sound like little hornets buzzing down the streets and sois. Y'all must never have taken on a trip across the country on a 5,000-km piece of Americana. Y'all look like a <deleted>' monkey humping a football on those crotch-rockets. Yer little tuner-cars that sound like Maytag washers with their cone-mufflers cannot compare to the rumble of a good V-8. Hey, y'all, can you tell I am not impressed by the so-called technologically advanced little winders? I'll take my disgusting Soft-tail and keep riding it amongst the Land of the Hornets.

[tavarich]

I hear two hundred little scoots to one Harley here in BKK. These little pricks trick out the muffler and take off the heat shields, and then ride down the street like a bat out of hel_l. These ass hats are the ones that are obnoxious and cause the accidents. I know because I am riding on my stock Yamaha right in the middle of them.

[thrilled]

Lookee her garkness,

I don't go around trashing your kind of jap scrap,jap scrap,or rice burner or whatever it is you call them.

One thing Harley Davidson is A motorcycle not A bike.Just because you can't come up with A million baht to own one,

you shouldn't put the people down that do.As far as loudness goes,you can make any engine loud,or quiet.don't put down the machine,maybe put down the owner/operator.So many syereotypes today.

[wobblyjohn]

Big noise big knob, some tit was reving his up outside my condo at 12-30 a while ago, kids and old folks are in bed and this dick triggers car alarms, very considerate, how about doing the same in their own country

[RabC]

I fully agree, you can ride what the hel_l you like but why o f@ckin why do you have to remove the baffles and rev the hel_l out of it either after start up or on shut down. As to the locals on their hairdryers they are kids so what about the fat over 40 red necks on their hogs what's their excuse?

[mcyachty]

Hi there,

I will try and give you my reason, and I understand what you are saying.

I had a bike, quiet as a mouse. Great to ride, but one problem. Because it was so quiet, everyone merged into my lane, and one taxi pushed me off the road near Kings Cross in Sydney. It was a nightmare.

I then upgraded to a bigger bike (Yamaha XVS 1100 Classic) and put on a set of Jardine loud pipes. I then found riding to be a pleasure. No one ever merged into my lane, or pushed me off the road. NEVER.

I understand your complaint, but I also have to agree that these Tuk Tuks, and small buzz box bikes are more of a nuscience.

Take care mate, chill out, and maybe take one for a test ride. You never know, you may just enjoy it.

[angiud]

Bike brands: Japan, Italy

Car brands: Germany, Japan

Supercars: Germany, Italy

Talking of HD, who made it, John Deere??

[guzzi850m2]

The topic starter obviously hates Harley's together with many others on this forum Everybody have the right to have an opinion off course, so here is mine:

On my Road King my wife & I can ride all day long very comfortable without any pain when we reach our destination, cruising at app. 100-140 clicks pr hour. One reason why I don't ride a black bird or bimmer is that on Thai roads you really don't want to go that fast, these bike belong on the German autobahn where you can go +200 all day if you like.

Another reason: a Harley got soul which your bamboo rocket don't have. You don't understand what this mean of course, but HOG (Harley owner group) have over 1 mill members worldwide which kind of speak for it self.

Yes you are right regarding the sound, some are too noisy, mine is deep rumple enough to set off car alarms occasionally, buy not ear defeating, but people can hear me coming, making it safer for everybody.

Ride safe on your very fast "bird"

[raro]

guess this rather belongs in the bike forum.

And please keep it civil

[JUDAS]

Do Harley riders get hassled by the police for having loud pipes the way the rest of us do if we fit an aftermarket exhaust? or is it someone expected/allowed that they will be loud?

[guzzi850m2]

Do Harley riders get hassled by the police for having loud pipes the way the rest of us do if we fit an aftermarket exhaust? or is it someone expected/allowed that they will be loud?

No we don't because most policemen loves them, one saluted me once.

On a trip with HOG (8 HD's) up in North East, a policeman stopped the traffic on the crossing (green light) so the whole convoy could pass (130 pr hour) he-he, and he was smiling too.

Have heard about a few who got fined though

[canuckamuck]

My brother has Harley straight from the dealer in 2006. I think he has ridden it about 20 times. He has to wear hearing protection and he sets off car alarms when he drives by. A total waste, at least he will make some money back when he sells it to the next knob who thinks this is quality. It lives in the garage so it still looks pretty.

I thought it was a stupid idea to buy it, I think he agrees now but won't say.

[Lancelot]

My brother has Harley straight from the dealer in 2006. I think he has ridden it about 20 times. He has to wear hearing protection and he sets off car alarms when he drives by. A total waste, at least he will make some money back when he sells it to the next knob who thinks this is quality. It lives in the garage so it still looks pretty.

I thought it was a stupid idea to buy it, I think he agrees now but won't say.

Actually I think its a god given right to remove the innards from a fellows Harley (or any other bike for that matter) and announce to all and sundry that "Here I come" in ear shattering decibels. After all, its only noise guys. Come on people, grow a pair!

I also uphold the divine right of entrepreneurs that locate a 24/7 karaoke bar next to the Harleys owners humble abode and belt out morlam tunes at even higher decibles.

Consideration for others

[Totster]

Another reason: a Harley got soul which your bamboo rocket don't have.

Hold on, hold on.. you are saying that your lump of metal.. has a soul ?

totster

[how241]

I like a bike with a good throaty sound. Sometimes a little noise can alert a near by driver and save your life. I have to agree, with some of the posts, that many of the Harleys go too far with the noise. Is it necessary to shake the ground as you go by ?

[Slaps]

Easy you lot, even Harleys have feelings

HarleyAd.wmv

[H2oDunc]

When I used to go to the bike shows around Thailand I used to love telling the Blackbird owners that my little piece of British engineering excellence had more torque on tickover than their Japanese moped had at 8,500 rpm :D

Love em or hate em there is no getting away from the Harley. EVERY bike manufacturer would love to have a customer base like theirs.

The loud pipes do get on my T&^s as well though!

[gharknes]

my complaint about harleys is mostly noise, why should we all suffer, what you ride is your business, I wouldn't buy one because I like motorbikes, and as for torque........well check out the figures, CBRXX pulls pretty well .. I'm happy :-) and as for soul...........well thats a matter of oppionion......shall we put it to a vote lol

quote....Soft-tail and keep riding it amongst the Land of the Hornets...ya'all won't be riding anywhere near me mate, I like my peace and quiet, and not much you could be doing about it on yur lump, when i'm on your road it's mine.

oh and I have a million baht but definately definately would never consider buying a HD, in fact I wouldn't ride one if it was free....up to me.

loud...pointless...useless sounds american lol

but seriously they are just too loud and annoying for most people........my main point, and why do we all have to suffer because youu have no muffler, I'll bet most of you HD riders wear ear plugs on a trip or you have serious hearing damage, so whats the point lol

Edited February 19, 2010 by gharknes

[gharknes]

and for the moderator that moved this thread

it was about the noise of bikes to the general public i.e. all forum readers and not specifically biker types so perhaps you would move this back where it was as most posters that replied where general forum users as intended.

[davethailand]

I'm sure lots would disagree but i thin some bikers are jealous of Harleys as when I Harley goes past people stop and look as they are different, when a jap bike goes past people don't bat an eyelid.

Noise wise yes some are loud but IMO there is loud that sounds nice and loud that sounds shit! Most Harleys sound good IMO as do some jap bikes so the noise doesn't bother me.

Sounds better that knobheads that take the baffles out the their crap 2 stroke death traps.

[Tanaka]

Lookee her garkness,

I don't go around trashing your kind of jap scrap,jap scrap,or rice burner or whatever it is you call them.

One thing Harley Davidson is A motorcycle not A bike.Just because you can't come up with A million baht to own one,

you shouldn't put the people down that do.As far as loudness goes,you can make any engine loud,or quiet.don't put down the machine,maybe put down the owner/operator.So many syereotypes today.

Harley not a bike? I guess that is why so many of you HD riders refer to yourself as Bikers? And you are right of course that it is the rider who makes the bike loud i.e. removes the muffler or replaces it with straight pipes. Question is why so many Harley riders do this? Because you are afraid people won't notice you on your thumping penis extension otherwise? And being noticed is important to Harley riders, have they told me. Well, some have, gives them a kick, they say. Well when I rode my first 125 Ducati fourstroke, I also changed the exhaust to open. Sounded good to me. Still think so. But since then (a long time ago) I realized there are other people around who also want to live their lives and they may not share my ideas on engine sounds. It is called consideration. So now I limit the more open exhaust to the racetrack. Oh and if you want a real Bike, not a tiny one like HD, try a BossHoss. You might be surprised. And you don't need to change the exhaust.

[Richard-BKK]

I'm owner of a 1200XL Sportster, it makes less sound then most bikes I meet on the street. Any Harley sold in Thailand is producing less sound then most other comparable motorcycle manufacturers. Therefore the whole Harley-Davidson are noise generators is inaccurate. Not so long ago I was waiting at a traffic light and a Kawasaki ER6N rider with a two-brother exhaust system was in front of me, he was making maybe 4 times more sound then I was making.

Overall, I bet that people most people are more disturbed by small displacement bikes from Thai teenagers with exhaust dampers removed then from the average Harley rider.

[JonnyF]

I don't mind HD, I can see the attraction but they're not my thing as I prefer modern technology. The ridiculously loud pipes take the piss though, I love bikes but I object to having to stop my conversation for 10 seconds while some guy rides by at 40 kph.

If you HD riders with the straight through pipes think people are looking at you because they think you are "super cool", you might want to think again.

A stock HD is loud enough IMO, anything more than that is a very small step away from the Thai teenagers with the ear bleeding pipes on their Honda Wave.

[case69]

Im not an Harley fan but im not against them either, they have 2 wheels instead of 4 dont they. Each to there own if you ask me. With all the bloody bars playing flat out music all night im surprised you can hear them.

[elkangorito]

I once worked with a guy who was a HD lover (he was an electrician & he owned a HD). One day, I asked him what the attraction was. His reply was that HD's are very easily customised to suit your "personality". He stressed this "personality" part. Further to this, he also advised me not to rush into the purchase of a HD. Of course, I asked why. He told me that if you didn't have the money to keep up with the maintenance, you'll have a useless bike.

Another guy, with whom I'd worked, was a former Harley owner. His advice was simple, "If you can't afford to buy a Harley shop, don't bother buying one (a bike) because the spare parts purchases will send you broke."

Yet another friend of mine, who spent most of his time riding around the world, said very simply, "Harleys are complete crap. They were designed for use in WW2 & the engineering has changed very little since. They cost a fortune in spare parts & your whole body vibrates for an hour after you get off one. If you're serious about road touring & not "showing off", buy a BMW or another well engineered & well balanced bike."

Fortunately for me, I've only ever raced motocross, done enduro & trial. If I buy a bike in Thailand, it will not be a stepthrough, scooter or a road bike. It will certainly not be a Harley! Since I would only do the speed limit (max 100kph), a 250 Enduro will be perfect. At least on one of these things, I have a lot of control over balance & steering at lower speeds.