Yes GB. I've heard and read that so many times . . . Unfortunately that is the reason given almost every time. It is utter BS and hides the real reason -- they just like to make noise. On the H-D forums they brag about setting off car alarms by revving their engines in parking garages and along streets I have ridden motorcycles for 55 years, since I was 17 yrs old. I've owned over 60 bikes -- one time I had 10 bikes -- I know, I was crazy then. I mostly owned Japanese bikes, but also a few German, a few Italian, and a few American bikes -- each and every one with stock exhaust. I like quiet. Imagine if every one who rode a motorcycle (or even a very small car) used loud noise to announce their presence on the road -- what a shitty loud world that would be. Riding a bike just requires you to be careful and proactively watch others in traffic -- in other words, ride defensively. And no matter how careful you are, it is dangerous. I was never an ATGATT rider (all the gear, all the time) but I did always wear a full helmet, jeans, gloves, and a sturdy MC jacket -- no small feat living, here in the Sonoran Desert. I recently gave it up, realizing that I made it this far sometimes by sheer luck alone.
(BTW, I never wore the "land pirate" costume that most H-D riders wear. I even used to wear my Kawasaki MC jacket while riding my H-D. Needless to say I was shunned by the H-D loyalists. Oh well.)
(BTW, I never wore the "land pirate" costume that most H-D riders wear. I even used to wear my Kawasaki MC jacket while riding my H-D. Needless to say I was shunned by the H-D loyalists. Oh well.)
I was seeing a motorbike enthusiast for a bit (he had a collection of 50+ vintage motorbikes, and they were all something better than an H-D, according to him, at least), and he had told me something along those lines: that the noise was more about showing off. Which, to be fair, car enthusiasts rev the engine too.