maelstrom try this link. Thats not my car but I have the same exhaust.

https://www.thx2.net/exhaust/BorlaStingerXRrev.mpeg

My vette is an '03 model therefore it has a 350 cubic inch fuel injected engine.

Man do I love vettes. I miss owning a sports car and getting to that kind of speed.

I thought you knew a HD is nothing but a CHROMIUM PLATED PENIS EXTENSION. The sound is just an added benefit to those that feel so inadequate.

I've not visited Australia yet, are there a lot of Harleys there?

I'm not a huge fan of Harleys, but they are an American icon of sorts. Very few motorcycles can match the chrome on a Harley… they are beautiful machines. However they tend to be unnecessarily loud. . Am I wrong, did Harley successfully patent it's unique exhaust note?

An amplified sound is not what makes a harley a harley. The harley as specd by the manufacturer emits a resonable volume. Those LOUD harleys are the result of egocentric poseurs modifying the exhaust system. I am a motorcyclist too, but I have no need to inform everyone else in the area about it. If I seem angry about this, it's because I used to live by the Pacific Coast Hwy in Los Angeles, and those poseurs would motor up and down the road all the live long day.

Yup, I live on a cruising route... right across from a stop sign on a slight hill in a semi-rural area. You can imagine the noise. I can hear those ba*tards for over a km.

The house that we were going to pay off and retire in has become a short-term investment that we'll flip when it's financially advantageous. :irritated

This tired old argument always comes up in these threads

1) Most of the sound of these rolling turds is directed to the rear. They're somewhat audible from the side and a minimal amount is directed forward.

2) Any modern car is soundproof enough to negate any safety effect from the minimal amount of sound that preceeds the bike. My car certainly is tight enough that I don't hear 'em coming.

3) If sound is a valid safety item then I'm gonna put the biggest chrome fart pipe on my car that I can get for $99 at the parts store. I've been rear-ended twice... I guess if my exhaust was louder that wouldn't happen

3a) In fact, since I say that rear-directed sound is ineffective... I'm going to drive from now on with the horn blaring all the time.

At one stage (it might still be the case) there were more Harleys here, per head of population, than anywhere else in the world.

This is a serious hot button of mine.

Q. What is the difference between a Harley and Hoover?
A. The position of the dirtbag.

May you never have a neighbor who buys one of those things. They wake or disturb you at all hours and just love to let everyone know they are coming for blocks. During my idiot Harley neighbor's pool party I took the muffler of the lawn mower and ran two tanks of gas out of it. It was in a garage aimed at his pool. Sweet revenge. They are rude bastards - everyone of them that modifies their exhaust. For some reason they thought I was rude. The best day in my life was when we moved out of that house.

The worst part is to be next to one at a stop light or sign when he decides to show you he has a gas motor that is loud. They are so loud they cause pain. If one ahead of me gets on it I'll lay on the horn as I follow them to the next intersection. It really pisses them off.

My question is why don't the cops enforce the noise ordinances? Are they afraid of the bikers?

Society is filled with people who have no problem violating the space of others and I am tired of it.

Joe town, running your mower without the muffler is hard on the exhaust valve and seat, as the muffler works as a heat sink.
Harley makes a nice bike but it is pricey for the level of tech. A Buell is much tougher. Personally, I would get a KTM Duke
I also cannot say much about moto noise my scooter is an RD400, two stroke twin and when it goes by it sounds like two of the biggest chainsaws you ever heard. On the plus side I have the only one in the county I live in and it is cooling it in the garage undergoing a repaint.

Personally, I like the Harley sound. The noise doesn't bother me at all. If anything, I'm glad that they are loud so I can hear them coming when I'm in my car. Most motorcyclists are defensive drivers, but the last thing I want to do is cut one off when they are riding in my blind spot. I think that these sport bike riders should take a tip from the Harley guys and make some noise.

However, the one thing I don't like about the Harley is the culture. Back in the day, a Harley was a bike ridden by gangstas. Now, everyone rides a Harley. Most Harley riders I know today are attempting to portray some type of bad-a$$ image that they do not fit in any way, shape, or form.

I do want to own a motorcycle in the future, but I think I may opt for a Honda or Triumph.

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.

It's actually Harley Davidsons' SIGNATURE! The sound can also be attained by using glass packed muffler pipes!

Quite a few Bikers' opt to custom their rides' with these pipes to replicate the sound!

because they are so slow. (It's a compensation thing)

By contrast my VFR used to make a noise like George Jetsons spaceship. Quiet efficient and fast.

If I was going to ride a motorcycle I would want one that does things well that a motorcycle should do well. You know, handle, brake, accelerate... all the things that a Harley doesn't do very good at. Something like a Triumph Speed Triple or maybe a BMW.

In my opinion the world is too crowded to intentionally make excessive noise. I don't care that you have a Harley, the noise does not impress me. Another observation: For a group of folks who advertise their independence, they are the most comformist group you will find. Gotta wear the black uniforms. HA HA!

If you want to ride an American icon - get an Indian

If you want to go fast and listen to an exhaust note that came from God's own hand - get a Duc

well i was an avid motorcyclist for about 4-6 years... then i noticed i was always riding my bicycles and sold my motorcycles...

but... first, i have to say that although the sound of the Harley is distinctive and all i have never found it very appealing... now the Ducati i must admit...
and i have to admit that when i was in college my motocycle exhaust system rusted a hole and got loud... i decided it was "cool" and i bored bigger holes. on my next bike i wanted to buy the "loud performance exhaust" (K&N i think) that was also a performance improvement, but cost like $500, so i just bored some holes in the exhaust (note: this doesn't affect pollution as motorcycles have no catalytic converter and it just dampens noise) ---- i used to ride with the "goal" of setting of at least a few car alarms per ride (just weak the throttle as you pass parked cars)

these days i occaisonally find loud motorcycles annoying, but i find it hard to be really critical as i did the same thing 10 years ago...

although the posers who can't ride are annoying: "look how cool i am on my loud bike (that i can hardly steer our of the driveway)"

there are laws that regulate noise levels, but most are not enforced. i never once even got a warning about my loud pipes, although my loud pipes increased my chances of being ticketed by police b/c it attracted attention and draw attention to me and my bike

I ride. I deram of owning a Road King. When I ever get it the first change will be the pipes, With some amount of baffeling though. Open pipes sound bad most of the time. I've got an old Kaw KZ650 that will out "loud" most any Harley on the road. Just mine is more high pitched and annoying.

I HATE NOISY-ASS MOTORCYCLES!

I just hate noisy asses.

(Read that however you wish )

Aren't Harleys all being bought by lawyers and accountants and other ham-shankers that want to pretend to be 'bad boys' these days? Where's the mystique in that?

What's wrong with a Vespa?

There isnt any mystique in it.

Freakin' poser "Hardly Dangerous" riders should tone down their noisy junk. I'm not happy about their noise and wonder why they aren't ticketed for it.

I don't buy into the argument for justifying the loud pipes for reasons of safety either. They want to be safe, the freakin' posers should park their scooters and drive their minivans instead.

There isnt any mystique in it. (anymore)