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These are the ones I remember.

If you're gonna go with a trike, at least keep it classy

Why is this "5, Insightful": it is one man arguing from experience to absolutely discount another's experience!!!...there is such a thing as a BLIND SPOT you know.

Fair question, and a good point. This is a bit of an old topic by now, so I apologize for being late back into the game, but I think it's worth replying. I did a Google search for statistics, and you know what? I really couldn't find anything to conclusively back either side of the argument. Apparently, I'm not alone; neither could this guy. There is a bit of a priori reasoning, however, that can help sway the argument. As mentioned in the link above, as well as this one, the Hurt report suggests that 77% of multi-vehicle motorcycle accidents are caused by a driver ahead of the bike; most of the exhaust noise is directed rearward, however. Yes, sound propagates in all directions, but it is more attenuated towards the front of a motorcycle...precisely where it would do the most good, if "loud pipes [really] save[d] lives." Furthermore, the Hurt Report summary makes a number of bullet points drawn from the accident statistics. Points 1, 6, 7, 9, and arguably 13 and 30 support the "loud pipes" argument (mostly, IMHO, by pointing out that conspicuity helps to prevent accidents). However, points 15, 16, 17, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 33, 34, and 41 support the "loud pipes do *NOT* save lives" argument (again IMHO, mostly by pointing out that rider training/skills and proper safety gear have the greatest correlation to a reduction in accidents and accident severity).

So...do I have any proof to support my position? Not really. I can make a decent circumstantial case for it, but no, I can't really prove it. I can, however, make a case -- despite your suggestion that the Interstate Commerce Clause is a get-out-of-jail-free card -- that loud pipes result in restrictions to motorcycle activities (see the two links I provided above for examples). I'm not a lawyer, nor do I play one on /., so I'll decline a legal debate about whether the Interstate Commerce Clause trumps local ordinances, although I will go so far as to state that I suspect you'd better have some solid statistics to bolster the "loud pipes" argument before you attempt to have your lawyer take on a local judge based upon that reasoning.

Finally, I'll point out one more thing: claiming that you only ride with loud pipes on your bike in the interest of safety is rather disingenuous when the motorcyclist making that claim is riding NATGATT ("Not 'All The Gear, All The Time'" for those unfamiliar with the acronym). You're not wearing a helmet, gloves, etc.? You're going to have a tough time convincing me that safety is what you are really interested in, then. Yes, it gets hot in the summer. That's why manufacturers make mesh gear in colors other than black.

....don't see me putting a diesel engine in my motorbike anytime soon

Too bad, apparently they are fun to ride. Neander 1400 Turbo Diesel Motorcycle Test & Review

Never one to back down from a challenge, I'll let you in on my reasoning:

QFT:
This happens on the same day that reporters who blew Plame's cover are to stand trial. Looking at news.google.com revelas that the bombing story is pushing the reporter's trial well below where it would normally be in news rankings. Yet another suspicious coincidence involving yet another Bush family member in office under questionable means. I think we all know who the real terrorists are, but are too afraid to speak out against the Bush family due to their unjust power.

Realistically, in the grand scheme of things, Plame is merely a mote. Sandy Burger got away with stuffing his socks full of documents from the national archives, and that was also considered a heinous offense. No one screamed too loudly then either.
The risks involved in something of this nature are too big to take. If you think that *anyone* in a government that leaks secrets about it's own undercover agents and lets people just walk out with classified documents, is going to attempt to pull a covert like this, I'd question their sanity.
The AC reveals that they have another agenda (namely spreding vitrol about Bush) in his statement.
I believe that cover ups are harder to execute, for the simple reason that the execution has to be nearly flawless. There's just too many things that can go wrong, esp concerning the number of people that I would believe would be necessary to get this done.
Cover ups can also lead to blackmail. Anyone who was involved in perpetrating a cover up now has a leg up on the person who asked for it... Now, that's not to say that these guys can't be "eliminated", but then you expand the circle of people who have pieces... I would think that this would lead to more problems, not less.

There's also a decent rule of thumb.. "Never credit to malice anything that can be sufficently blamed on stupidity." Good old American Pragmatism. Love it.

Granted, this is all speculation from a.. how'd you put it... an "unthinking reaction-machine".

To be fair, I don't think that the current government situation in the US is good either, but this statement by the AC, which has no facts, just speculation, reeks of extremeism.
If in 30 years a FOIA case reveals that I'm wrong, hey, I've been wrong before.

And really... name calling? Please.

If you really want to go after people who've done heinous things, lets start with these two:

Ed Kennedy
Bill Janklow

Hmm... Kennedy gets *NOTHING*, and Janklow gets 100 days. If Joe Sixpack were invovled in either of these, they'd have the book thrown at them.

AMA and MRF

The only thing loud pipes will do is make it easy for the govt (CARB) to say that motorcycle "emission systems" shouldn't be tampered with by the unwashed massed and they will create an OBD-II type performance control system on bikes like they have for cars. "its just for pollution" - yeah, right it is to regulate performance more than pollution.

I think a silent vehicle would be the coolest thing, but I think the adult babysitters would find a reason that vehicles are required by law to make a minimum amount of sound - for "safety" and to prevent you-know-who from doing you-know-what.

Well, they have the capability to detect motorcycles and bicycles, but often the street dept. lowers the sensitivity to the point that only vehicles larger than a small car are detected. This is well documented on many motorcycle discussion boards.

Motorcyclists in Tennessee can legally run red lights because of this

http://www.motorcyclecruiser.com/newsandupdates/TN redlitelaw/

Actually, I have read about people who own multiple bikes - one guy teaches MSF classes and owns a bunch of big BMWs, one is an ex-CHP bike and he says there is a significant difference in how he is treated by car "cage" drivers when riding the white CHP bike with a white half helmet than when riding the other similarly shaped bikes.

The point is conspicuity is a complex thing, low frequency non directional sound doesn't help me at all locate ridiculuoudly loud bikes in complex traffic patterns, esp when there is more than one and they are coming from different directions. Loud pipes will be the excuse the govt uses to over regulate every aspect of motorcycles. Not unlike the situation with P2P.

loud pipes
orange not loud

Loud pipes safe lives. The reason those pipes (on motor bikes) are so loud is often because the other drivers on the road might not see you (on your bike) but hopefully they will hear you and watch out to not hit you.

To put it briefly, loud pipes do not save lives. It is a myth. Mostly, they just piss people off.

Loud pipes can kill you; "excessive noise may be fatiguing to riders, making them less able to enjoy riding and less able to exercise good riding skills." My major complaint is that they aren't dangerous enough to either refute the myth or get rid of the obnoxious assholes who believe it (or act as if they do) fast enough to make the roads quiet enough to live by.