Why do some riders insist on being obnoxious?

[canuguzzi]

Took a ride for breakfast, time to find another good eatery and happened on Esteros on Valley Ford Road headed toward Bodega. Great food. Place is frequented by bicyclists but that is okay, they click clack walk to their tables but don't crowd anyone. I order and sit down outside, at the next table are two guys riding, well, guess. A guy closer to age to me rides up on his BMW 1300GT and asks to join me and we have a good time talking and sharing notes about roads and stuff.

The two guys at the next table finish and wearing full coverage helmets but no gloves fire up their straight pipe rides. Everyone outside had to stop talking. Then these two wizards of brainless humanity sit there idling away as one of the idiots starts adjusting his choke. The other one, apparently not able to hear his own noise has to blip this throttle every 2 seconds. Meanwhile their exhaust spews onto everyone. About the time I was was going get up and say something, these clowns finally figure out where 1st is and ride off.

No wonder some people dislike motorcycles so much, we have these morons as ambassadors. They had to park, tailpipes toward the seating and couldn't just roll their bikes a few feet away (would have been downhill) and start their POS bikes there.

I fell better now. Would have felt better had the two deaf Sheriffs sitting inside come out and gave tickets and ran for wants and warrants.

[Idontwantapickle]

I feel your pain my brother! At least they're easy to spot.

Hunter

[Wayne Orwig]

Flatulent pipes lose rights.

[Lannis]

Like we've said before ....

Just because we're all on two wheels and In The Wind doesn't make us all brothers under the skin.

Some people on two wheels are immature, antisocial, egotistic, obnoxious, ill-conditioned brats who need to be smacked.   All we can do is try to offset the impression that they leave on people.

Lannis

[Vasco DG]

Same crap the world over. There is one tool down near my beach house who will start his open piped horror at 7.30 of a Sunday morning and leave it idling in his driveway for ten or fifteen minutes, presumably to 'Warm Up'. Mystery Bay is idyllic and in the early morning all you can hear normally is the Kookaburras and songbirds in the forest. Then this tiny-penised shit-for-brains fires up his great turd and destroys the idyll! He lives about 3/4 of a km away but it's still deafening! When he roars off, popping and farting on the over-run and backfiring between gears, every bird for miles panics and flees. It takes about a hour for them to return which is about the length of time Dickless spends out on his 'Ride'.

I swear I'm going to have a massive pulmonary embolism on Sunday when he does this trick!

Pete

[Lannis]

They seem to think like they're doing something manly or admirable.

It's like a band playing in a bar or club.   If they play a "bluegrass" or "Old-time" piece, WITHOUT FAIL some drunk redneck at the bar will scream

YEEEEEE-HAAAAAAAAW !!!!!!!

at the top of his lungs, then look blearily around with a gap-toothed grin like he's done something original and clever.   He's the equivalent of your loud pipe guy ....

Lannis

[HDGoose]

My LeMans IV had a set of real Dunstalls on it. Sounded great. Until I was trying to leave a camp ground one morning early. Couldn't do it quietly.

[Vasco DG]

I like quiet, especially on modern bikes that don't gain any benefit from being noisy. It's less tiring, doesn't upset folks and doesn't attract the attention of the Wallopers.

Pete

[canuguzzi]

750 Meters is quite doable Pete. Of course then you'd have to haul yourself down there to turn the darn thing off or wait until it runs out of fuel. WTH have they made me think?

[LowRyter]

What???? 

[Waltr]

They seem to think like they're doing something manly or admirable.

It's like a band playing in a bar or club.   If they play a "bluegrass" or "Old-time" piece, WITHOUT FAIL some drunk redneck at the bar will scream

YEEEEEE-HAAAAAAAAW !!!!!!!

at the top of his lungs, then look blearily around with a gap-toothed grin like he's done something original and clever.   He's the equivalent of your loud pipe guy ....

There are times this forum just makes me smile.

Lannis

[56Pan]

I guess I'm guilty here.  Used to run 34" drag pipes on an old HD.  It had S&S panheads, big valves, headwork on a flowbench, and an aftermarket cam.  I tried running it with baffles and with straight pipes.  The engine just definitely ran stronger with the straight pipes.  But I sure as heck never acted like those two wailing shitheads at Norge Pilot's restaurant.  Tried not to be obnoxious but I'm sure there were times when I must have pissed off a few people.  If I ever get the old girl back together, I'll probably still keep the straight pipes on it.  And try my best not to be loud and aggravating.  I'm sure I'll get soundly trashed over this. 

[Guido Valvole]

I live around the corner from what *used to be* the most sleazy, slimy, spirochete-infested Hardley bar in the area. Had those twits running up and down the street until very late at night on weekends. Until the proprietor got caught red-handed with a large stash of kiddie porn and made to Go Away for a good long time. So much better now!

That said, in the late 80s I was the owner of what was likely the loudest motor vehicle in the People's Republic of Berkeley (CA). Ducati Darmah, desmo bevel engine, which being finest 1950s race engine technology was none too fond of intake or exhaust restriction. Of course what I thought was a fueling problem was electrical -- the *now* well-known problem of ignition pickup wires flayed in boiling oil and losing insulation was a secret pre-internet. Found out the hard way and accidentally. BUBs got replaced with de-baffled Silentiums, much better and no more 3-foot long flames out the exhausts. But on song, it was more like a big-block CanAm engine, not like the Briggs & Stratton lawmower with a hole in the muffler sound of too many straight-pipe Harleys.

There's a lot to be said for a bike that's so quiet you can go by a cop at x-over and he doesn't even look up from his donut  Guzzis, otoh, well, they're not Harleys and they're not modern sportbikes so they just don't compute and I get ignored. Works for me -- and they all have stock exhausts.
cr

[canuguzzi]

Yes, these two didn't just sit and idle which would have been bad enough but run the throttle up and down. There were so close the exhaust blew on you and moved napkins.

Otherwise I'd wouldn't even mention it, as mellow a fellow as I am.

[Red07]

I have a dipshit neighbor who sounds like these guys.  He (for some strange reason) feels that his Street Glide needs to warm up for 10 minutes in the morning. (5:30 am). Then he sits and blips the damn throttle for another 30 seconds before he leaves.

I've talked to him about it, but of course, I'm the bad guy.  I'd like to get a train horn and mount it in the back yard and face it towards his house.  Occasionally push the button when I get bored!

Randy

[normzone]

I bought my H2 wholly unknowing what I was doing. It was my second motorcycle, and I spent some time looking for the place where you adjusted the valves.

It was a cold hearted bitch to start. About six on a Craig:Colorado morning...

RRRRRRINGDINGDINGDINGDINGDINGsilence



RRRRRRINGDINGDINGDINGDINGDINGsilence


Repeat for a quarter hour.

[tris]

I have a dipshit neighbor who sounds like these guys.  He (for some strange reason) feels that his Street Glide needs to warm up for 10 minutes in the morning. (5:30 am). Then he sits and blips the damn throttle for another 30 seconds before he leaves.

I've talked to him about it, but of course, I'm the bad guy.  I'd like to get a train horn and mount it in the back yard and face it towards his house.  Occasionally push the button when I get bored!

Randy

Interesting that - I can remember somebody telling me that you should idle the engine until it would run properly off choke as you wouldn't want it to cut out as you pulled away and left you stranded in front to a truck.
Don't do that myself I ride off with the choke on and knock it off in stages as soon as I'm moving

[mach1mustang351]

I work in a motorcycle dealership and I often hear people say "loud pipes save lives." Not sure which study this is from, but probably backed up by a major university.

[Red07]

Interesting that - I can remember somebody telling me that you should idle the engine until it would run properly off choke as you wouldn't want it to cut out as you pulled away and left you stranded in front to a truck.
Don't do that myself I ride off with the choke on and knock it off in stages as soon as I'm moving

Sounds like a great warm-up strategy for a carbed bike.  Now,... What advice would you give my neighbor with his fuel injected 2011 Harley Street Glide?  (Not sure what type of pipes, but they are loud!!)

Randy

[Rough Edge racing]

 Some guys put radial cams in their hot rods for the V8 race car idle "cool factor". I suspect the Harley long warm up guys are the same, they like the rough  sound...It's probably better to warm up the engine and driveline by riding or driving moderately for a few miles...
 I live in a rural area where houses are spread out more than suburban tracts. There's a few loud Harleys in the area and they don't bother me. I would rather hear them for a few minuets than barking from crap eating dogs   

[markw]

There are times when you just have to react....Sitting in public viewing area at Northwest 200 a couple of years ago ,everyone getting along nicely when S for brains decides that he and his mates are going to put up those damn tents about 3 feet in front of me,now I am not a particularly big bloke but I can quite get the hump with anyone who asks for it and I was def starting to get antsy...several other people were muttering but not actually doing anything so that voice that gets into your head starts...Well if they are going to piss me off I am going for broke and going to piss them off right back.Waited until they fully put tent up and they then started to cook sausages on a BBQ ,smoke drifting a treat over lots of people who still only muttered. The voice in my head now  gets to my voicebox and before I knew it I told them that they have two choices , either they put it down right now or I will and not be responsible for where the sausages get stuffed! Could have been a hospital stay for me but they complied like schoolboys .

[blackcat]

I actually love watching the guys with the big stogies in their mouths revving their bikes as they poodle on down the road. It is funny and I usually laugh out loud.

[Chuck in Indiana]

- the *now* well-known problem of ignition pickup wires flayed in boiling oil and losing insulation was a secret pre-internet.

I had the very same problem. The dealer couldn't figure it out, either.  That's when I first learned that carburation problems are generally ignition.

[oldbike54]

There are times when you just have to react....Sitting in public viewing area at Northwest 200 a couple of years ago ,everyone getting along nicely when S for brains decides that he and his mates are going to put up those damn tents about 3 feet in front of me,now I am not a particularly big bloke but I can quite get the hump with anyone who asks for it and I was def starting to get antsy...several other people were muttering but not actually doing anything so that voice that gets into your head starts...Well if they are going to piss me off I am going for broke and going to piss them off right back.Waited until they fully put tent up and they then started to cook sausages on a BBQ ,smoke drifting a treat over lots of people who still only muttered. The voice in my head now  gets to my voicebox and before I knew it I told them that they have two choices , either they put it down right now or I will and not be responsible for where the sausages get stuffed! Could have been a hospital stay for me but they complied like schoolboys .

  Totally agree ,although not sure exactly what you said 

 Ahh , the Northwest 200 , greatest MC roadrace in the world that most have never heard of . Better than the Island IMO , real racing , the Dunlops , J McGuiness , G Martin , Anstey , brave boys all .

 About those fellas warming up their engines , wonder if they know how much harm they are doing to their precious Milwaukee marvels ?

  Dusty

[opc]

Noise isn't the only way to be obnoxious. 

Driving (MINI Cooper w/ wife) home to Phoenix from Colorado MINI rally on Hwy 160 last weekend, we ended up one car back from a group ride (5).  Their lead rider was 3 car lengths ahead of the other four who were in a tight staggered formation at about the speed limit. Is this formation to discourage passing?  The jeep in front of us obviously wanted to pass, but the formation/scatter and the limited passing zones on the one lane road prevented him.  When the road finally widened to a two lane passing zone, the HD riders split... two into the passing lane, three stayed in the right hand lane.  Seemingly to make sure so no one could pass.  Extra wide staggered formation?  After the passing zone, they went back to their previous formation.   They did it again when we got into Kayenta taking up both lanes in town.

Classy move.