do loud pipes save lives?

[Skip Faulkner]

I heard about an accident that happened yesterday where I live that relates to something Gino, Mike, Fred and I, plus some others were speculating about while standing in front of a pristine little lake above Moab. It was about intentionally laying a bike down in a situation where it looked like that was the only way to go. We were questioning how realistic that was. Could you really do it. You would have no time to think, just react. You would almost have had to be planning it or thinking about in your mind regularly, because it would almost have to be an instinctive thing, no hesitation. Most of the views were it would be almost impossible to do in a high speed, quick wrong move thing. Well, the accident that happened yesterday involved a Harley, Goldwing and a truck. The two bikes were traveling at about 50mph, going out of town on a four lane road. A truck turned left in front of both of them ( they were abreast of each other, using both lanes). The Harley guy laid his bike down, just in time to catch the rear wheel of the truck. He came out ok, bruised and a little road rash. The Goldwing t-boned the truck and was seriously injured. I know one of the witnesses and he said that the truck was so close when it turned, the Harley guy had to have been anticipating it, because he immediately laid the bike down, on purpose. For what it`s worth, the driver, of course, says he didn`t see the bikes. They both had lights on, bright sunny day, both riders dark dressed, dark bikes, with traffic behind them. Skip

[JSherlockHolmes@aol.com]

--- In DSN_klr650@egroups.com, "Skip Faulkner" wrote:

> I heard about an accident that happened yesterday where I live

that

> relates to something Gino, Mike, Fred and I, plus some others were > speculating about while standing in front of a pristine little lake

above

> Moab. > It was about intentionally laying a bike down in a situation

where it

> looked like that was the only way to go. We were questioning how

realistic

> that was. Could you really do it. You would have no time to think,

just

> react. You would almost have had to be planning it or thinking

about in your

> mind regularly, because it would almost have to be an instinctive

thing, no

> hesitation. Most of the views were it would be almost impossible to

do in a

> high speed, quick wrong move thing. > Well, the accident that happened yesterday involved a Harley,

Goldwing

> and a truck. > The two bikes were traveling at about 50mph, going out of town on a

four

> lane road. > A truck turned left in front of both of them > ( they were abreast of each other, using both lanes). The Harley

guy laid

> his bike down, just in time to catch the rear wheel of the truck.

He came

> out ok, bruised and a little road rash. > The Goldwing t-boned the truck and was seriously injured. I know

one of the

> witnesses and he said that the truck was so close when it turned,

the Harley

> guy had to have been anticipating it, because he immediately laid

the bike

> down, on purpose. > For what it`s worth, the driver, of course, says he didn`t see

the

> bikes. They both had lights on, bright sunny day, both riders dark

dressed,

> dark bikes, with traffic behind them. > > Skip

Picture this....you are cruising down a two lane road at 45 mph. (The posted limit) Coming up is a four way cross intersection, you do not have a stop sign, the left and right cross lanes do. In the intersection you see a '62 Continental, facing you with it's left turn signal on, but it is not moving, it appears to be waiting for you to pass. Not trusting the situation, you down shift a gear and guard the brakes. In the right cross lane, there is a car waiting to merge in your direction, but they are waiting for you to pass. Around the right side of the Continental, another vehicle passes, toward you, because they don't want to wait for the Continental to turn. Just before you reach the intersection, the Continental pulls in front of you with hard acceleration. There was no where to go. Could not counter steer left or right because of other vehicles in the way...head on to the left, t-bone to the right....there was no way out, brakes weren't stopping me fast enough, do I grind or fly?.........I chose grind. I put that bike between me and the car......... slid right into the front right wheel of the Continental, broke the wheel, hub, shock mount, axle, and ripped the bumper off so that it stuck out like a unicorn's horn..........walked away with a cracked sternum and cracked helmet. I'm not saying you will always have the time or opportunity to make a choice. I did, and it worked for me, that time. Jim Sherlock

[JSherlockHolmes@aol.com]

--- In DSN_klr650@egroups.com, gienappt@s... wrote:

> > After market pipes add power but are loud. Does this create create

a

> more noticable presence on the road? Has anyone noticed a

difference

> when thy have gone from quiet to loud pipes? > > Tim Gienapp > Colorado Springs, CO

This is a very volatile subject. It has heated supporters on both sides. Personally, I believe that loud pipes really don't contribute a much to life saving protection. My reasoning is based on a few factors. First, 75% or more, of fatal, or near fatal accidents come in the form of cagers turning left in front of a motorcyclist, or turning into traffic from blind or semi blind side streets and alleys. Another factor, is what is called the "Doppler Effect." Think back to when you watched the bike races, Nascar races, or Indy races on TV. A car would be approaching the camera and microphone. You would hear a low pitched whine, or mild roar, as the car nears the microphone. Just as the vehicle is abreast of the microphone the sound is at its loudest. As the vehicle speeds away, the sound is still loud, but begins to dimminish, rather quickly. This is a very simple example of the doppler effect. The sound is loudest at its exit point, then heads backwards along the direction of the sound waves, weakening as it is damped by the surrounding environment including the atmosphere. The sound waves generating from the exhaust are pointed rearward and therefore the highest volume will be at the exit point and continuing on rearward. For side lane changing cagers, your louder pipe may get their attention a little quicker. (Provided the stereo, cell phone, or children doesn't have the driver distracted)But, since the majority of threats come from in front of you, the louder pipe will probably not provide much in the way of attention gathering. A bright headlight, brightly colored helmet, riding gear, etc. will provide a much higher degree of protection. I know there might be some folks who will quickly disagree with me. I can't speak for them, only myself. I run a Supertrapp which is louder than stock, but I don't use it for a life saving reason. I figure that life protection is best left up to my defensive riding skills, a clear mind when I ride, brightly colored riding gear, and the protection of the Good Lord above. Loud pipes saving lives? I don't think that science can support that hypothesis. I'm not saying it will never happen, but it won't happen enough to bank on it. Just my opinion. Jim Sherlock