| Author | Message | ||
     Xring |
The new issue of Cycle World, in picking the HD Street Rod in honorable mentions, says Harley insiders hint at more new bikes to come. I don't keep up with HD at all, just curious what it might be. A V-Rod bagger, maybe? Bill | ||
| Doughnut |
I have seen 2 V-rods done up with hard bags and a Road Glide front fairing. Looked REAL nice, but with only 3.7 for the gas, not sure it would work that well for touring. | ||
| Cataract2 |
but with only 3.7 for the gas, not sure it would work that well for touring. With the VROD only getting about 35mpg. Makes me glad my Buell gets around 46-55 mpg even with the small tank. | ||
| Chainsaw |
Street Rod has a 5 gallon tank. Starting to look like a contender for my garage. Anyone notice that HD no longer sells loud pipes? Check the web site....No more Screamin' Eagle slip ons, strictly street-legal fare. Guess they are really taking a stand for quiet pipes. | ||
| Spike |
Most definitely. On Harley's website for their dealers (hdnet.com) they have a section devoted to "noise in the news" that has articles relating to loud motorcycles and the restrictions popping up because of them. They have resources for dealers to encourage their customers not to install loud pipes. They even developed a new "active" exhaust for the touring bikes that has a valve that opens and closes for increased performance without excess noise. Personally I'm glad to see them addressing the issue rather than pretending it doesn't exist. Mike L. '04 XB12R | ||
| Madduck |
Noise is the one issue I get from my BMW riding friends. I always say that harley riders will give up their loud pipes when the BMW riders put speed governers on their rides. I guess sport bike riders will have traction control and abs required to eliminate wheelies and stoppies. Add training wheel and rollover protection and we will all be safer. | ||
| José_quiñones |
The noise issue was Topic #1 during the HOG/BRAG Primary Officer Training. It's a real issue, they want owners to police themselves otherwise the local/state/federal governments will step in more than they already have. | ||
| Robxb |
if someone could tell me how to shrink a picture size, I could post a few v-rod bagger pics that I took in sturgis last year | ||
| Charlieboy6649 |
Huh! Loud pipes you say??? Arizona is loud pipe central...trying to police our own here will get you a big FU! | ||
| Koz5150 |
From the Wisconsin Abate site concerning loud pipes There have been a rash of complaints from motorcyclist across Wisconsin about police issuing tickets for illegal exhaust systems. This seems to be a spring ritual. The scenario usually goes like this; 1) As soon as bikes start coming out in spring, citizens start complaining about loud motorcycles. 2) Police departments respond by paying special attention to motorcycles, and start issuing tickets for illegal exhaust systems. 3) ABATE officers start getting calls from members complaining about "harassment". 4) ABATE officers investigate these complaints, and find that in most cases, yes, the motorcyclist is running illegal exhaust. The fact is that in most of these cases, the police officer was working with in the law by issuing a citation. No one in ABATE will sit still for police actually "harassing" motorcyclists. The whole loud pipes thing is usually brought on by complaints from people who get tired of bikes with straight pipes blasting past their house. The recent rash of problems in Kenosha, Green Bay, Superior and in other areas follow the same scenario. Remember, the definition of proper exhaust hasn't changed in Wisconsin since the early eighties. The bottom line is if you choose to run highly modified or straight pipes you could get ticketed. As a general rule, once the spring flurry is over, and the riders tone their habits down a tad, this fades away. Most police departments have better things to do with their time than chase down motorcycles just to check out the exhaust system. The moral of the story? Take it easy in and around town and your chances of getting busted go way down. When Joe citizen stops complaining, the police stop paying so much attention to us. Don't take my comments here as meaning I don't care about police harassment. I do. ABATE will continue to follow up on your complaints. We want to know if there really is a harassment problem. | ||
| Coolice |
We want to know if there really is a harassment problem. I don't feel its a problem its the law-mufflers are required, I too have been woke up at 2 am by some jerk going 20 mph with his "gotta be heard" straght pipes. NOT good pr in the neighborhood at 2 am. AMA insiders have told me several years ago if we didn't do something soon the gov will and we won't like it. RIDE QUIET, besides your ears will feel better. | ||
| Wheelsleaning |
Robxb: Almost all image editing programs have a feature to shrink pics. I use arcsoft photostudio. | ||
| Nadz |
I don't mind the stealthy stock pipe- can't hear anything over the wind noise anyway, and I didn't buy a bike to "be loud". But since factory pipes are constrained by EPA rules, I'm all in favor of aftermarket pipes. Someday I may even get a Drummer (for performance reasons). I wonder why hawg riders feel the need to run straight pipes- heck, even local dirt tracks require mufflers, and they're racin! They oughta put a timer on jake-brakes tho, that's all I hear 'round here. | ||
| Robxb |
ok T Y wheels. | ||
| Odinbueller |
Screamin' Eagle pipes & slip ons are still available, but they are offered through their own separate catalogue away from the regular P&A catalogue. Basically, the stuff that is "crossed flags" is offered on it's own as a "race use only" kind of deal. Straight pipes always, ALWAYS hurt performance. With the lack of back pressure, you loose almost all of your torque in the low to mid grunt area. Drag pipes are named that for a reason, they're for drag racing. Quarter mile, wide open throttle, no air cleaner, that's why they work. Even some of the "open baffle" mufflers you see for Buell may not be the best for performance for real world street riding. Harley has been pushing the noise issue for quite a few years. Some communities have outright banned motorcycles completely. Ride a bike, you go to jail and your ride gets impounded. And it's not just H-D, metric cruisers & sport bikes are just as bad sometimes. All we need to do as a collective group, regardless of which bike we ride, is meter our throttles at key areas & times: 1. Residential areas - minimal throttle, coast clutch in by retirement homes, hospitals, & schools, keeping our throttles in check in areas up to 35 MPH. 2. Time of Day - Stealth is key in the afore mentioned areas after dark. And the old adage, "Loud Pipes Save Lives" may not be as true as most would think. Someone has a loud bike. What do other drivers do? They look for that bike. Now, while they're driving, like ourselves, they go where they look. I've read more about motorcycle injuries & fatalities from drivers looking for a bike with loud pipes. The best way for others to see us is to be more cautious while we're on the road. If that driver looks distracted, maybe wait until they pass by before you make that left. To be honest, I love the sound of my S3T with a broken in stock muffler. And I have no qualms with the performance either. Let the jabs commence  | ||
| Ivershay |
we aren't allowed to sell straights (no baffles) anymore. better get used to the noise constraints, especially at major rallies in the future. | ||
| Rsh |
Harley's 2450cc water cooled EPA testing, look at page 9 http://www.epa.gov/otaq/regs/roadbike/21-harley-pres.pdf | ||
| Robxb |
ok, what is a heritage ultra tail ????? and back up and look at the label for the 1688cc also what is that all about. I guess I will have some questions to ask at the dealership | ||
| Anonymous |
Note page 7 where it says "Hypothetical Application"? Geez, guys... | ||
| Xring |
Geez, it weighs 1260 hypothetical pounds!!? Bill | ||
| Mikej |
Someone could have really had some fun with that hypothetical application.  | ||
| Bomber |
the noise issue has been with us for longer than any of us have been alive -- the issue grows as the population of bikes grows . . . . a local rider I know runs straights on his bagger, further retarding his forward progress -- he also complains about the noise made by the semi's on the trollway, 1.1 miles away while consistancy is the hobgoblin of small minds, sometimes I just gotta wonder . . . Ice is no doubt right -- if the feds "fix" the problem, we ain't gonna like the fix | ||
| Coolice |
And I'm guilty here too, I have a Buell race kit on my XB. So I would volunteer my pipe to someone who will modify it quieter and not sacrifice all the performance gained by the kit. I know it can be done lets get doin..... Sidenote, my new RoadGlide is stock and will stay stock so I can hear the stereo and doin miles on a loud bike only tires ya out sooner. Maybe in what, 5.5 weeks I might be tradin the Glide for a new Buell??? | ||
| Koz5150 |
After the v-rod project with Porsche went so well I am guessing they teamed up with Winnebago to make a 2450cc 1260 lbs two wheeled camper... | ||
| Outrider |
Ice is no doubt right -- if the feds "fix" the problem, we ain't gonna like the fix Hey guys...California and the Fed already fixed the problem years ago. The only thing they didn't due is force the States to enforce it...YET. Therefore, the aftermarket is alive and well for now. Mammy Yokum predicts that you are going to see more aftermarket goodies gradually appear on the market that will be a performance improvement over the OEM equipment yet still conform to CARB and the EPA. Well, at least in a way that they aren't as noticeable deviation from the test standards (noise in particular) and that should fool the LEO's for a while. Heck, isn't D&D or one of their competitors working on a Stealth Performance Pipe? That alone would be a socially redeeming value and save us from the LEO's at least until mandatory smog inspections for bikes are implemented. Is interesting how the Sports Car aftermarket has developed and is successfully selling 49 and 50 State Smog approved performance upgrades that really work. Hell, my Miata is loaded with them and can pass CARB inspection with a slight change in ignition advance. For the Wisconsin smog inspections, I don't even change oil much less tune up the engine. Ergo, I have the strong feeling that this is the route you will find the motorcycle aftermarket headed. Just an opinion. Reality may vary! LMAO | ||
| Metalstorm |
"stealth performance pipe" Now we're talking! I love having sleeper bikes & cars. They appear to be "mostly harmless" but little do they know what they're capable of. Muhahahahaha! | ||
| Dale |
You can have loud pipes and ride quiet. It is the moron that thinks he can rev the motor with the clutch in all the time that is the pain. | ||
| Onebuell |
Tired of hearing BMW talk on a Buell board. BMW guys tend to talk up a storm about long miles. I have seen many a beamer with no miles and BAD tire cupping issues in the front. Many a Hells Angels can and do ride or outride any of the beamer folks. Why all the stupidity about bmw guy trashing a buell guy? It's much like when im riding my XB9 and a groupd of harley guys dont wave at me, unbeknownest to them that i own and ride a 1999 FXD, Superglide with 88,000 miles all exclusively riden by yours truly. Is this another example of my bike is better then yours? Same with the chopper crowd they think they got the fastest bike in the world and a 10-11 grand BUSA eats them in the straights and turns for a snack ! I too "got" 2 of them in curve on the highway on the dyna just to shut them up. | ||
| Blake |
"With the lack of back pressure, you loose almost all of your torque in the low to mid grunt area." Common misconception is that some "backpressure" is needed for optimum performance. What hurts performance is backpressure. Back pressure (having positive pressure acting at the exhaust valve port) is never beneficial for performance. Exhaust tuning involves creating a free flowing exhaust tract geometry that will place a negative pressure wave (back-vacuum?) at the exhaust valve port when it is open and coinciding with the intake/exhaust valve overlap event while preventing any positive exhaust pressure wave (backpressure) from doing likewise. A straight pipe will be the optimum exhaust tract design for a single relatively narrow rpm range and multiples of it. So if you cut a straight pipe to work at 3,200 rpm +/- 500 rpm, it may also work well at 6,400 rpm +/- 500 rpm, but it will perform horribly at 4,800 rpm. That is because the significant pressure waves inside the exhaust tracts have only one reflection point, the open tailpipe. There are lots more knowledgeable folks than I on this subject and lots of better more detailed explanation of the whole scenario elsewhere online. Bottom line... All else being equal, backpressure never ever benefits engine performance. The freer flowing an exhaust tract is the better it will perform, assuming of course that all else (ignition timing, fuel mixture/delivery) concerning the engine is tuned optimally. I believe that the optimum performing exhaust over a wide range of engine operational speeds is a stepped straight exhaust tract system or one with divergent and/or convergent elements. | ||
| Wheelsleaning |
Ahhh. Someone that understands the physics of power.  | ||
| Raraf |
I think I read a post that a BadWeather Brother purchased a quieted version of the Drummer. Or am I imagining this? | ||
| Light_keeper |
My latest issue of American Iron arrived yesterday. at the back in the whats coming they mention the introduction of the "New Big twin" thats all they say about it. Article to be in the Sept issue, out begining of Aug. By then we will all know about it. | ||
| Bikertrash05 |
I am still waiting for a new VR1000 bike to happen. I had a V-Rod for 2 years; loved the motor, couldn't get used to forward controls. The Street Rod is nice, but heavy. |
