The thing is people in cars will SEE a pickup truck, (especially if it's lifted so their headlights shine right in your back window), so you don't need to blare your horn everywhere you go. And as people traveling on two wheels, we can all atest to how auto drivers tend to "miss" us. So any attempt to be perceived while on a bike is better than none. Hell, even in the DMV motorcyclist manual it says to "ride as if you are invisible".

That's not to say I don't believe many of these Harley guys waaaaay overdo it with their pipes. There is loud and there is LOUD.

And I live in S. California where everyday of the year is a good day to cycle. I see/hear them all. Harleys, Kawas, Yamahas, Hondas, and Ducs. All with there own version of loud. I live near both a Marine base and a large college. On weekends I hear the bravos on their two-wheeled stallions blowing down the straight-away outside my apartment. And I can tell you Japanese bikes can be just as loud as Harleys. It's just more of a high-pitched grating whine than the stacatto firecraker burble of the American iron. Ever heard a Hayabusa go from 0 to 60 in 3 seconds? Loud. On my commute theres this guy riding a straight-piped Duc race bike of some kind. Loud as all hell, and probably not at all street legal in this state. Even the scooter punks in Little Italy make their 50cc Aprilias loud. So it's not just the "Outlaw Gangsters".

Haven't heard any loud BMW's, though.

Me? I'd just like a nice, modest MuZ Skorpion Sport. Not loud, not fast, not gaudy. Just out of the ordinary. But until then I'll stick to my little Schwinn LeTour quietly gliding down the bike path.