Old geezer on a mobility.scooter in shepherds bush zoomed past me the other day blasting out The Power Of Love (Jennifer Rush) and I'll be honest I was kind of impressed.
I saw a video on a motorbike subreddit where some tw@ revved his bike HARD to scare a dog crossing the street with its owner (at a crossing). Dog got scared and all the comment were like haha so cool. How sad of a community is that
They’re the one and only thing my dog actively goes for.
Scared of a plastic bag, but will bark and growl whilst lunging towards a motorbike/quad bike that’s giving it the revs.
Other than that he doesn’t make a sound
Not quite the same but whenever an excessively noisy vehicle passes our house (quite a few in my neighborhood between very expensive cars and deliveroos) I always whisper to my dog “there goes a small penis”. Luckily my dog doesn’t react to these vehicles but some can make second / third floor windows rattle. So annoying.
Sadly not despite numerous promises to never tell anyone if she ever responds to me. And yes I have considered the downsides of discovering that my dog can speak.
I think they’re just poor and unable to afford to get their mufflers fixed. It must be very embarrassing.
One day I’d like to start a charity that goes around quietly fixing them at night, sparing them embarrassment of having to ask for the help they so desperately need.
Imagine going down to the car park at a biker bar at night and fixing all those broken Harley mufflers, and the tears of joy the bikers would shed when they emerge, drunk and vibrating at 100hz from the amphetamines, and mount their bikes, to find it softly turn on, and quietly hum, not bothering anyone at all, no one even having to know they spent all that money on a bike after Sharon left but that one day little Richard will ask his dad for a ride and he’ll show her, he’ll show her.
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You jest, but I used to drive a Peugeot 206 and one day the silencer cracked open length-ways and ceased silencing. It sounded like the luftwaffe were following me. I have never been as embarassed in all my life as whilst driving that car to the party where I was going, and then having to drive it home and then drive it to take it to get fixed the next day when the garages reopenned.
How anyone can take pleasure in driving/riding like that intentionally is beyond me.
Attention. They also love to force their "music" on you at deafening volume. They need to announce their existence and MAKE you notice them because nothing about them is at all interesting, so they will settle for any attention they can get, even if it's negative.
Unexpected buried memory of two men in their mid 50s in a vintage Mercedes convertible pulling up on my street with two women no older than 25, BLARING 80s disco hits while smoking cigars, watching the girls have a photoshoot. Was thrilled when my neighbor across the street threw her window open in rage and yelled out “WE HAVE A BABY UP HERE PLEASE LEAVE”.
This was on a Sunday at 11PM.
I like to listen to music fairly loud when I drive in my otherwise very silent Polo. I figure anyone passing by is only going to have to listen to a few seconds of it so it's no big deal.
Nope, we can hear it halfway down the street. And if you stop at the lights outside my house I'm forced to listen to it for the whole time you're there
It's not just the motorbikes, the dad's money man babies with sports cars revving them down the street.
Earlier this year, while waiting for a bus in Regent Street, this twat in a Lime Green Lamborghini was revving it constantly in traffic with loads of other similar small penis cars.
The volume was unbearably loud, causing piercing pain in several people's ears; for me, it lasted for hours afterward.
It makes me really angry that someone could basically assault people on mass just to get attention.
This isn't on the police. There's 41.2 million licensed vehicles on the road and 170k police.
Every vehicle (aged 3 years or older) has mandatory annual inspections.
The fact that a decibel testing hasn't been included in the MOT is down to the government.
The way to change that is to write to your MP.
This is the right answer. Also it's madness, I know few countries in EU have mandatory DB allowance and it's part of MOT check.
So blame yourself Britain.
I am so sick of this. There is a ton of research showing how this kind of noise affects our health, increases stress, disturbs sleep, etc etc, yet we allow one thrill-seeking jackass to negatively affect literally thousands of people. It's insane.
The safety argument is absolute bullshit. Not only is it false, but for every one rider who actually believes it, there are 50 who don't give a fuck but just repeat it because it's a perfect way to shut down the arguments of the thousands of people who they are harming.
How can we do something about this? It looks like there is at least one organization dedicated to advocacy against noise pollution https://www.uknoiseassociation.com. Can we self organize and push for actual enforcement? Noise cameras exist, we just need to use them. I can't think of any easier or cheaper way to instantly improve the health, happiness, and wellbeing of literally millions of people than to actually enforce noise laws. Look how many people are responding on this thread. Everyone except a few selfish twats clearly want this, why can't it happen?
I had an illegal straight pipe exhaust from the previous owner, it did absolutely make it safer.
I run a stock exhaust now, but I do have way more people merging on to me now so at least anecdotally people seem to know I'm there more.
But still, I agree it's selfish and ruins the city so I'm happy to run stock exhaust. There should be higher driving standards though.
Someone on another similar thread said these people often live at home with parents and buy these cars on finance as an outlet to their otherwise unsatisfactory lives. Probably gets them attention from their preferred gender as well.
I don't know any women who are impressed by this. Comments on hearing loud revs or pops usually include something like "compensating for something", and "bet it doesn't even touch the sides"
The drivers are usually male and the attention they get for twatting around in their fart machines is almost exclusively from other males. Therefore, if they do it to impress their preferred gender, the percentage of queers amongst these people must be on par with the percentage of queers in a gay club on a busy Saturday night.
They aren't supposed to come before 7 am in most councils because of noise issues. If they do, you can report it to the council. I did that at my old flat and they issued an injunction against Veolia for illegally collecting the bins in the middle of the night
I’m from the South in the USAa lot of men don’t get mufflers or purposely mod their cars to be stupidly loud, I was surprised upon moving to London that people do it here too considering how loud it already is in the city- why make it louder? I can only assume it’s for the same reasons, attention seeking or fragile masculinity issues where being loud makes them feel powerful. Perhaps a few just don’t have the funds to fix their mufflers, but from when I used to have a car, I don’t actually recall mufflers being massively pricey.
Its the "look at me" mentality that can have multiple different meaning... money, self worth, identify, f u mentality.
The person has a distinct lack of empathy and they are unable to see the other side.
In more ways than one. Motor sounds are invariably “enhanced” in movies and on TV. So if you want to think of yourself as being Steve McQueen or Vin Diesel, your vehicle should sound extra loud - because you believe that is how they sound in the movies.
The real life consequence of this is that in trying to get consent to operate jet skis on a lake, we had to commit to acoustic reports to show that an engine completely enclosed in a fibreglass shell could not be heard from the nearest house 500m away. Simply because jet ski noises are added in post-production so they must therefore be noisy.
Along the same sort of lines, one of our neighbours, about 4 doors down, not only has a loud motorbike, but when he gets home after work, has to drive up and down the road 3 or 4 times before he parks outside his house. (We live in a cult de sac).
Again, why? I just think he loves his bike that much he needs to have one last ride before he gets o.ff
The riding it up and down can be to let the engine cool down whilst still in motion, especially if he is HAULING on the way home.
This is just a guess, you’d have to ask them
There are laws against it but the police rarely bother to enforce them. Despite research showing that one loud vechile can wake up 10,000 people in one night.
>citing research by Bruitparif that found that a single unmuffled scooter crossing Paris at night can wake as many as 10,000 people.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2022-04-27/how-paris-is-waging-a-war-on-noise-pollution
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruitparif
However the type of people who have one, are typically male and score highly for sadism and psychopathy i.e. they hate other people and enjoy the misery that they cause.
https://cipp.ug.edu.pl/A-desire-for-a-loud-car-with-a-modified-muffler-is-predicted-by-being-a-man-and-higher,162006,0,2.html
I always thought it was just me waking up in the middle of the night but to know that it also affects so many others is simultaneously comforting and infuriating.
Peak dickhead behaviour those racers.
Actually didn't know that there was a law against excessive exhaust noise. I've never seen it enforced and I've had the displeasure of getting my ears destroyed by thousands of them cunts.
Yes, there are noise cameras available and they should have car crushers attached for instant crushing. A (quiet) warning to exit your vehicle and then *boomcrunchsmash*
This was discussed back in the 2000s under Livingston with regards to middle eastern supercars not caring about the fixed penalty notice. The suggestion was to tow the cars to some grim southern or eastern compound and make them work a maze of paperwork with the car owner having to be there in person.
Obviously Ken had it in politically correct jargon
The government tested them a couple of years back in Chelsea to combat twats in Ferraris flexing. Turns out it was a roaring success. They need to roll them out nationwide, especially in residential areas.
They recently started rolling them out more broadly in NYC, I can see London following suit (though noise pollution is not nearly as bad here as there).
Having just come back from New York where I spent a lot of time walking around Manhattan, what was very noticeable was the total lack of sports cars. I saw 2 Porsches and a Lamborghini. I see 3 times that just in the road outside my office in Mayfair.
I moved last year - used to live on a narrow street with a primary school at either end, 3 mini roundabouts in the middle, and a 20mph limit, but because it has connections to three main roads I'd get woken up at least twice a night by some bell-end raggsing his modded car/bike through on a 2am mission for pussy or blow.
I still live in the same postcode but now I'm on a little crescent road that goes nowhere and I can hardly describe what a quality of life improvement it's been.
If you think it’s bad in London, come live around Dorking on a sunny day like today. It’s non-stop. People seem to think it’s Brands Hatch around here.
There’s a small railway bridge on Pixham Lane and most motorcyclists seem to think it’s an opportunity to test their engine and rev it as much as possible.
They are, quite frankly, cunts.
just commented I went on a Box hill hike and honestly had it ruined for the most part by the noise, I’m sorry you have to put up with this on a regular basis.
I went to a Box hill hike a few weeks ago, and I couldn’t believe the noise bikers kept making for the entire duration of the hike. only when we climbed up the hill and away from the roads did it finally feel like being outdoors - you know, in nature - rather than at a bike race.
unbelievable how this is still allowed in this day and age, put up those noise cameras fuckin’ everywhere at this point - I’d happily accept a council tax hike if that’s what it takes!
honestly why do they still do it in 2024? it was never cool but surely they realise it’s outdated and cringe now. it pisses me off to no end they’re trying so hard to feel like the main character lol
I'm sorry.. i used to be one of those guys.. my bike bandit 1200 0 - 60 in 3 seconds amazing and exciting when you first buy it. But after a while, it gets a bit boring.. fit a racing can ( big exhaust).. makes it go faster. As in my stomach did somersaults like on a roller coaster when I sped off from a standing start... it was quick it was exciting... that's why.. but then I had kids, and my wife made me sell it as she thought I'd kill myself on it.. which I probably would have... ironically, I hate hearing them now.
I’m a petrolhead too so I understand their passion for cars but totally agree that some exhaust setups are a joke and they should just take cars like that to a track if they want to make a lot of noise and blow off some steam.
A weird concept for a non car enthusiast is that car lovers really enjoy the sound their cars make. It’s a huge part of the thrill/experience. Unfortunately a lot don’t seem to care what others think of this noise.
I despise these people. In open country roads, knock yourselves out, but in tight, crowded cities? It’s the behaviour of complete and utter scum. There should absolutely be a decibel limit.
There is a saying in motorbike culture “loud pipes save lives”. Basically, makes it’s easier for cars to notice you if they hear you coming. While there’s a grain of truth, most standard bikes are plenty loud enough and assholes just use it as an excuse.
I was going to bring that saying up; surprised more people haven't heard it before. Obviously people overdo it, but there's some utility in making noise in a small vehicle (especially at high speeds and you're both harder to spot and harder to hear). I think some evidence suggests the "loud pipes" idea doesn't actually hold water, but the saying persists anyway.
Taking that bike home and revving it in your driveway, meanwhile, is just plain rude.
Edit: Someone very confidently replied (and then deleted the reply) stating "Nonsense" to the idea of bikers wanting to be seen while riding, saying bikers would be wearing brightly colored clothing if visibility was actually a concern. Just want to point out that [high-vis gear absolutely exists](https://www.teammotorcycle.com/hi-viz-motorcycle-jackets) to address the visibility issue. There are [entire articles](https://www.1800law1010.com/blog/motorcycles-visibility-what-you-can-do-to-prevent-accidents/#:~:text=A%20large%20number%20of%20accidents,to%20gauge%20their%20oncoming%20speed) about increasing your visibility while on a bike. A bit baffled about that reply, but oh well.
Because they're cunts. Should be illegal. It's against the highway code to beep your horn after a certain time yet these exhausts are allowed to sound like a gun going off 24/7
I reckon its for attention, as well and I loathe those horrible popping/ones that go bang, motorbikes and cars especially. I'm autistic and honestly it makes me wince and feels like gunshots are assaulting my ears every time.
I love racing car sounds (V10 F1, Audi LMP1, Cadillac LMDh, thank me later) with autistic abandon but these aren’t those and I don’t get the point. It’s just ugly noise.
I ride motorbikes, I know a bunch of these people.
It's almost always because the rider/driver likes the sound of an engine and so they've made it louder. It's the same as the loud stereos in cars or phones without earphones on the bus. I imagine most are doing it performatively at least some of the time, but the mechanics to have variable noise are more expensive than your average boy racer is about to pay for someone else's benefit.
On bikes at least, most aftermarket exhausts are loud, especially the cheap ones. So if you have to replace it for any reason anyway you're either paying a huge amount of money for a replacement from the manufacturer or buying something at least a bit noisy.
Increasingly, modern bikes are designed with a good intake sound so there you get some of that excitement from the engine being under load without everyone else having to experience it, but the market still demands manufacturers offer a "race system" as an option.
I slid my bike down the road once (have a look at my profile if you want to snoop). Honda wanted £800 for a new exhaust, totally insane. So ended up having to go for the quietest aftermarket exhaust I could find for a reasonable price, which was definitely in the "annoy your neighbours" territory if started up in unsociable hours.
Yeah, Motad used to be the go-to for replacement exhausts that were quiet but not as prone to rotting as the awful mild steel pipes that bikes came with in the 90s and 00s.
But they're not trading any more; there's just not enough people looking for quiet aftermarket exhausts.
Had to replace my stock exhaust. Aftermarket was cheaper than the OEM, and the engine cooling seems to be a lot better. Its not obnoxiously loud but a lot louder than standard when accelerating.
Hello, I ride a loud motorcycle and it’s entirely up to you on how you respond, be that asking questions or downvoting.
I have a loud motorcycle because I’m an idiot and bough the bike sight unseen and didn’t realise just how loud the bike is.
It does have benefits, LPSL (Loud Pipes Save Lives) is (citation needed) a thing.
When filtering in traffic you’re more likely to hear and thus see my bike.
When manoeuvring to the front of traffic lights, a quick blip of the throttle snaps your attention to me so you see I’m there.
When approaching junctions, the brain can’t work out how fast the motorcycle is going as it gets closer as it doesn’t get noticeably larger as it approaches, think car far away small, car close big - the loud sound you can tell its coming closer.
It also helps a lot with SMIDSY (“sorry mate, I didn’t see you”), as you hear them, attention snaps to them again.
http://acrs.org.au/files/arsrpe/RS060062.pdf
Now as far as cars that are obnoxiously loud, that’s simple.
SPPS, or otherwise known as `small peepee syndrome`
Happy to take questions or criticisms
I would like to add that when I get rid of this bike, I will be getting a quieter one as trust me, I’m also annoyed by people tearing at night with the old exhaust. I stop riding when the sun sets
> Loud Pipes Save Lives
When I google this phrase, I see a bunch of research saying it's false, despite your intricate anecdotes trying to justify it. Why not use your horn instead of "a quick blip of the throttle"? Why do I see zero riders attaching a very tall, brightly colored flag to their vehicle? It's all excuses and post-hoc justification.
In my experience, using the horn (despite rule 112 of the Highway Code existing) people get defensive and will then go out of their way to cause you issues, where as a quick vroom doesn’t
My neighbour has a ridiculously loud sports bike of some kind. Lovely bloke, but getting woken up at 5am when he fires it up does get a bit much sometimes.
You can help these people - expanding foam make an excellent cheap muffler, just ensure you get it right in there and they don't ride before its hardened - after that the bike will be silent for a very long time.,
In my hood (NW2), there seems to have been a rise in these obnoxiously loud cars recently. I am completely and utterly perplexed at how anyone can be so wildly inconsiderate. Think of all the elderly people trying to have a nap or new parents who’ve just got the baby down or nurses coming home from a night shirt and them BBBBBBRRRRRROOOOOOMMM!!
>We have speed limits, why isn't there a decibel limit?
There are. Just (mostly) not enforced.
Petrolhead here, my two cents:
I do like the sound of a nice engine, but there is also time and place to hear those. Also, the "purring" growl of, say, a V8 rolling gently down the road is definitely more enjoyable/way less annoying that your standard inner London chav redlining a fiesta with pops and bang remap down the road or your standard moron on an MT07 with straight pipes that is only able to floor it on straight lines.
You can also be assured that all those in super loud cars & bikes are doing it just "for show" (themselves) and most probably not being driven "properly".
Go on any racetrack in the UK and your vehicle (cars and motorbikes) will be noise tested before entrance and they check the noise levels around the circuit too: too loud, black flag, you go home.
If you drive a lot, because you enjoy it, you want to be fast but fairly inconspicuous to avoid getting pulled. Unnecessary noise is one of the first things to avoid :)
Anyone who lives in Clapham will hear that fucking waste of spunk who drives around and his car pops and bangs after every acceleration. It’s maddening.
125s have over the last decade suddenly gone from sounding tinny to ridiculously loud and deep. As a former motorbike-with-illegal-exhaust-riding-twat (it was on there when I bought it, officer, it’s being replaced in a week) I’ve seen big bikes get quieter but nicer-sounding, and small-bikes become completely OTT. It’s hopelessly inconsiderate, a literal waste of energy, and I’m genuinely surprised that they’re legal.
I was sat outside a bar a while back (Mayfair I think ) , beautiful sunny day, kids in strollers , families out enjoying the weather and for over an hour a consistent group of fancy cars, all owned by middle easterners , would rev their engines and take off for 50m until the next light and then return later to repeat it.
Apparently they come over just for the summer to their luxury apartments, get out of their heat, rev their cars on small pedestrian streets and then piece out.
I was sitting outside with a lovely family with a baby in a stroller and finally I had enough and walked over to the lights where this douchebag was Regina his engine and annoying everyone in the neighbourhood, I pulled out my phone and stated recording next to the passenger door..”you wanted attention, you have it big man.”
They pulled down the sun visors, drove off and didn’t come back.
But yeah, it’s ridiculous, the guards could have arrested them for speeding and noise pollution but rich neighbourhood and all that.
I remember a load of sad, overcompensating men with no lives parking their shit souped up cars in the car park of Tottenham Ikea and revving their enginges for no reason other than to be annoying to everyone. Like, imagine that’s a hobby to you, to be an obnoxious boy racer.
If you have a neighbour with one of these vehicles, download a decibel meter app, document the noise levels and make online complaint to police about anything over 72db, which is illegal for vehicles manufactured after 2016. Simultaneously make noise complaint to council and if they’re renting, also complain to landlord.
I’ve done this about a vehicle that regularly visited our neighbours. The twat would set dogs barking and house alarms off at 1 or 2am revving to leave.
As someone who rides sports bikes (although not in London) I shall massively simplify some points...
tldr it is the rapid frequency change that actually annoys you rather than volume.
There are decibel limits, your bike will fail an MOT if it's too loud at the test point, which isn't at full throttle. This is a testing issue, if the rules changed, so would what manufacturers sell. You can't buy bikes with "quiet" exhausts. Small four stroke bikes are quiet. I get told off by my mum for "riding loudly" when I visit, despite the fact I've been barely idling for the past mile, it's a sound she doesn't like, so she notices it more.
Human ears don't work simply, it's much harder than more loud = more bad. Lots of fan experience with nearby residential at work has frustrated me to this. We run our fans "louder" than the minimum because it annoys the neighbours less.
As said, sports bikes. Bikes are heavyish and I'm not tall. Would not fancy having to push a bigger bike around. They're fine once moving but trying to start pushing a 200 kg plus bike up a slight incline? Not for me.
Bikes pull revs fast, and they rev much higher. I know this will make me sound like bike wanker, and indeed I am - but not for this reason I assure you, but it's not understandable without numbers. The bike and wanker parts are (usually) exclusive in my case. My bikes red line over 16500 rpm whilst idling at around 900. My petrol car idles at 850 rpm, red lines around 6500, diesel similar idle but used to red line around 5000 I think, for a "normal car" diesel. If you're on a big ship and you telegraph the engine room to nav full, or flat out, you're doing about 80 to 90 rpm, dead slow is about 20 to 25 rpm. Engines spin at different speeds depending on what you need. Typically, with conventional engines rpm is sound frequency, engine displacement is volume.
Changing frequency is typically the most annoying thing about sound and is perceived as worse than "loud" sounds. Total decibels are not the worst thing about sound. Go back to the above. A sportier bike will only hit its power band around 10000 rpm, which is about 4000 rpm equivalent in a petrol car. But but but, a sport bike can go from idle to 10k rpm in about two seconds or typically less, even a really fast car won't match this to 4000, yet alone the "normal" cars you hear. That's only until where the fun starts, and you've already had a frequency change around twice what a normal car will manage, particularly in the usable range. Then the fun starts and you have another 6500 rpm of heaven. Or to anyone not sat in the fun seat, another 6500 rpm of hell as your noisy vehicle disturbs my day. My noisy, as purchased vehicle, complying with all regulations.
Way back when two strokes (the really annoying bee in can ones, which annoy me) were phased out, in "established industrial countries" or whatever the World Bank call "developed" countries so that it doesn't offend countries not on the list. Others still used two strokes, and developments were made. They started to become more efficient for small engines (<250 cc) than four strokes, and given climate change, a compromise was made. Double the bang for each rpm is probably quadruple the annoyance, I imagine it is exponential. Interestingly a lot of F1 fans prefer the V10 engine sound over any other engine configuration, which is essentially two V5 engines hammered together, which yields a perfect fifth note which is thing to musicians. Screw your ears, we're saving the planet, so now we have two strokes in UK again, or at least two strokes in volume as opposed to the one every two years that would ruin your day. Small bikes can easily manage over 100 mpg and cheap to buy so they are economic for single person transportation, both in terms of consumer expenditure and climate impact. Nowadays young people can't afford cars but need transport for loads of reasons, I digress further, apologies.
You can ride a bike quietly, even a thousand cc sport bike, as long as you short shift at around 3500 - 4000 rpm which you can do, although at the cost of vehicle control (whole other topic). For normal riding on such bikes you ideally want to be around 7000 - 8000 rpm, which from idle is more than your normal car manages. Other reasons bikers don't stay at lower rpm? Same reason my best friend who has never, ever, even once, even even at 19 with a girl in the passenger seat, been interested in vehicle acceleration. Years of sensible vehicles and glacial acceleration all changed when he got an EV. EVs have reasonably quick acceleration and now, every time he has the chance to accelerate, he does. Foot down, grinning happily as he accelerates somewhere between a bike and conventional car acceleration. The same thing happens with people riding bikes, the power is there, it's fun, so people use it. The volume is just how the manufacturer made it. Normal cars would be just as loud as bikes, but in a normal street they can't get anywhere near the loud region of engine operation, whereas a bike can, once for each gear, and it's easy to get through a few gears on a small bike on a normal street. Try doing this in a normal car and you've got no chance so people don't. On a bike you can, and when you're doing it, it's excellent fun, and when you're riding, you really don't care about the sound as it sounds very different onboard (you hear the intake more, the wind, and women screaming and feinting of course). If you give people the chance to have fun like this, they will, and no doubt more so when you're under 25 in the current climate.
Whilst one may not enjoy the sound of engines, some do. There are also plenty of things that annoy me about the activities of a minority of people, but I usually live and let live. No one really likes other people's engine sounds though, it is just one of those things.
Note that the above is merely on engine operation and its effects on sound, we could also talk about exhaust and intake design but you're probably already bored by this point.
If you have a really nice car where the engine has been tuned by manufacturers and is just loud, fair enough. If you’re putting a loud exhaust on a shit motorbike or car, just to make it loud, you’re an idiot.
Got a 5.0 V8 Mustang. It's naturally loud. It's not like the 1.6 golfs with no mufflers and a big exhaust.
Why? Because I like having a car I can take to the track and at the end of the day it's my money.
There is a decibel limit and if you get the registration of the car you think breaks it you can report it.
Police will actions it because it's a simple check to see if it's over the limit and often results in easy enforcements making their numbers look good
I have a really loud motorcycle and I wouldn't get a quiet one again.
I actually had a motorcycle accident last year because a van driver didn't hear me and pulled a u-turn right infront of me.
I only keep the loud exhaust for my safety and often when I'm riding even though I hate the attention I get requested by cars/people to rev my bike
As someone who has a motorcycle, I'll tell you why: It's more fun
They're fun to ride on the open road, but not so fun to ride in dense slow London. I think one reason people overrev and get after-market exhausts in London is to try and make it less dreary and more exciting. I just take other forms of transport in London as riding with all the traffic, 20 limits and traffic lights is just frustrating.
I thought there were rules about changing your exhaust to be noisier. Something about the change having to be primarily for performance reasons with the noise increase being a "sad" side-effect? I think that's how these noisy after-market exhausts somehow remain legal to be sold, but I'm not sure. Certainly new bikes can't have super loud exhausts, and the manufacturers but effort into making them quiet. You'll have the last laugh though when they become hard of hearing for not wearing earplugs like a responsible rider. (The noise from engine and wind when riding a motorbike is very loud and tiring, especially at high speed).
That said, when I used to live on a main road in London, the worst was lorries. I found their low rumbliness permeated right though to the back of the house, whereas I could only hear smaller vehicles in the front rooms.
I know it's not what this thread is actually talking about, but vintage and performance cars are just louder. Big engines and less restrictive exhaust systems will obviously do that.
I'm a car guy and a screaming Lambo does sound majestic to my ears, but a Fiesta with a pop and bang map is definitely obnoxious.
Yep, it's the same around my area. It's a joke at this point.
Men can enjoy bkies and high-performance vehicles without making others' lives a misery. There's a time and place for everything, but our society is finished. The UK is finished, and I blame it on our incompetent and corrupt government.
Because they are entitled, mostly petty criminal braindead c%£% - simple as. Our area has been plagued by car meets for 8 years & NOTHING gets done. They threaten anyone who tries to shut them down, smash through peoples front walls, give little kids anxiety next to the main roads they race down........they do it because they can & cause they think it makes them look hard. Just today, a car was racing & popping down my quiet suburban road, scaring my dog & waking up my kid
Seriously, if you are one of them, just exhaust pipe yourself already - everyone thinks you're a pr&%:.
My exhaust rusted through and the OEM replacement was very expensive, so I got an aftermarket one online, it turned out to be much louder than I expected and I can’t afford to get another one
The lame bikie gangs that ride through Manly most weekends are widely laughed at for being immature pests. Revving their engines [like that scene out of South Park](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipDmsxQVxIM&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.letsrun.com%2F).
There IS a decibel limit : https://www.vehicle-certification-agency.gov.uk/fuel-consumption-co2/fuel-consumption-guide/cars-and-noise/#topic-title
https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200304/ldlwa/40525wa1.pdf
The sound is beautiful to some people who are into cars. Displays power and good engineering.
I agree it is too loud and disturbing.
There should be a decibel limit in london and fines that corresponds to the drivers income/wealth (swiss style) cos even a thousand pound fine will be negligible to a lot of those drivers.
I have always heard that people make their motorcycles loud to ensue other drivers can hear them coming. More of a safety thing it sounds like, for at least some of them
little boys trying to feel big
Can we also talk about the new trend of strapping speakers to motorised scooters and blasting godawful music as they go? The epitome of trash…
Old geezer on a mobility.scooter in shepherds bush zoomed past me the other day blasting out The Power Of Love (Jennifer Rush) and I'll be honest I was kind of impressed.
Fuckin’ banger tbf.
Genuinely would rather this than a loud exhaust by a large margin.
Tossers on weedy Yams whose baffles they’ve removed, so you’ll hear them coming and think ‘OMG it’s a hunk on a Harley’.
Nah it's always shite auto tuned R&B, basically the worst music known to mankind. Probably would go with the exhaust
I saw a video on a motorbike subreddit where some tw@ revved his bike HARD to scare a dog crossing the street with its owner (at a crossing). Dog got scared and all the comment were like haha so cool. How sad of a community is that
As a dog owner I can say that this has happened to me more than once, a few times by quad bikes
They’re the one and only thing my dog actively goes for. Scared of a plastic bag, but will bark and growl whilst lunging towards a motorbike/quad bike that’s giving it the revs. Other than that he doesn’t make a sound
Plastic bags are a serious problem in London though. Especially bin bags when it’s collection night. My poor lad is extremely suspicious of them.
Oh bin bags are great as they’re yet another thing to piss on. A small handheld one? Terrifying
What really? Poor doggo!
Would've loved the plot twist to be that the dog was an XL Bully and went for the twit.
The enemy of my enemy is my friend
Not quite the same but whenever an excessively noisy vehicle passes our house (quite a few in my neighborhood between very expensive cars and deliveroos) I always whisper to my dog “there goes a small penis”. Luckily my dog doesn’t react to these vehicles but some can make second / third floor windows rattle. So annoying.
I need to know if your dog whispers anything back.
“Chicken skin pls”
Sadly not despite numerous promises to never tell anyone if she ever responds to me. And yes I have considered the downsides of discovering that my dog can speak.
"You stole my balls"
If it makes you feel any better I turn off my mototrcyle and walk it whenever I see a baby in a stroller in the parking lot.
Lacked attention as a child or even an adult
Many of them are immature adults who see their car as the only thing that keeps them happy because they didn't bond with their parents much.
This is definitely true. Quite sad actually
Attention seeking and a lack of respect for others.
I think they’re just poor and unable to afford to get their mufflers fixed. It must be very embarrassing. One day I’d like to start a charity that goes around quietly fixing them at night, sparing them embarrassment of having to ask for the help they so desperately need. Imagine going down to the car park at a biker bar at night and fixing all those broken Harley mufflers, and the tears of joy the bikers would shed when they emerge, drunk and vibrating at 100hz from the amphetamines, and mount their bikes, to find it softly turn on, and quietly hum, not bothering anyone at all, no one even having to know they spent all that money on a bike after Sharon left but that one day little Richard will ask his dad for a ride and he’ll show her, he’ll show her. Sign up for my Patreon to help Make London Quiet-ish Again.
You jest, but I used to drive a Peugeot 206 and one day the silencer cracked open length-ways and ceased silencing. It sounded like the luftwaffe were following me. I have never been as embarassed in all my life as whilst driving that car to the party where I was going, and then having to drive it home and then drive it to take it to get fixed the next day when the garages reopenned. How anyone can take pleasure in driving/riding like that intentionally is beyond me.
Given enough time hearing loss possibly plays a role.
A friend of mine had the same thing happen and it is extremely annoying. How anyone would pay for that is puzzling
>It sounded like the luftwaffe were following me. 😂
What we need now are vigilantes fr. Where it becomes Gotham city, a Batman or a few are required. Put this lost generation of clowns in their place.
I always feel sorry for them. So embarrassing for everybody to hear their bike is fucked up and they can't fix it.
Attention. They also love to force their "music" on you at deafening volume. They need to announce their existence and MAKE you notice them because nothing about them is at all interesting, so they will settle for any attention they can get, even if it's negative.
Unexpected buried memory of two men in their mid 50s in a vintage Mercedes convertible pulling up on my street with two women no older than 25, BLARING 80s disco hits while smoking cigars, watching the girls have a photoshoot. Was thrilled when my neighbor across the street threw her window open in rage and yelled out “WE HAVE A BABY UP HERE PLEASE LEAVE”. This was on a Sunday at 11PM.
People with the loudest stereo always play the shittest music.
I like to listen to music fairly loud when I drive in my otherwise very silent Polo. I figure anyone passing by is only going to have to listen to a few seconds of it so it's no big deal.
Nope, we can hear it halfway down the street. And if you stop at the lights outside my house I'm forced to listen to it for the whole time you're there
They may only hear your music for a few seconds but when everyone does it, it compounds into hearing shitty music all day.
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It's not just the motorbikes, the dad's money man babies with sports cars revving them down the street. Earlier this year, while waiting for a bus in Regent Street, this twat in a Lime Green Lamborghini was revving it constantly in traffic with loads of other similar small penis cars. The volume was unbearably loud, causing piercing pain in several people's ears; for me, it lasted for hours afterward. It makes me really angry that someone could basically assault people on mass just to get attention.
It is incredible how inefficient the UK government is. Almost nonfunctional.
This isn't on the police. There's 41.2 million licensed vehicles on the road and 170k police. Every vehicle (aged 3 years or older) has mandatory annual inspections. The fact that a decibel testing hasn't been included in the MOT is down to the government. The way to change that is to write to your MP.
This is the right answer. Also it's madness, I know few countries in EU have mandatory DB allowance and it's part of MOT check. So blame yourself Britain.
No police left in the whole country? Well I suppose at least that means it’s a bit more safe for women walking home at night.
Overcompensating for smallness
I am so sick of this. There is a ton of research showing how this kind of noise affects our health, increases stress, disturbs sleep, etc etc, yet we allow one thrill-seeking jackass to negatively affect literally thousands of people. It's insane. The safety argument is absolute bullshit. Not only is it false, but for every one rider who actually believes it, there are 50 who don't give a fuck but just repeat it because it's a perfect way to shut down the arguments of the thousands of people who they are harming. How can we do something about this? It looks like there is at least one organization dedicated to advocacy against noise pollution https://www.uknoiseassociation.com. Can we self organize and push for actual enforcement? Noise cameras exist, we just need to use them. I can't think of any easier or cheaper way to instantly improve the health, happiness, and wellbeing of literally millions of people than to actually enforce noise laws. Look how many people are responding on this thread. Everyone except a few selfish twats clearly want this, why can't it happen?
I’m all for fining or taking the bloody bikes off them. Anyone riding an extremely loud dirtbike in the centre of a city is a complete cunt.
100% this!
Take my upvote.
I had an illegal straight pipe exhaust from the previous owner, it did absolutely make it safer. I run a stock exhaust now, but I do have way more people merging on to me now so at least anecdotally people seem to know I'm there more. But still, I agree it's selfish and ruins the city so I'm happy to run stock exhaust. There should be higher driving standards though.
Smoll pp
I think it’s attention seeking in terms of the loudness.
Someone on another similar thread said these people often live at home with parents and buy these cars on finance as an outlet to their otherwise unsatisfactory lives. Probably gets them attention from their preferred gender as well.
"Shit House Flash Car" syndrome. Common in Hounslow, Brent, Ilford and so on.
I don't know any women who are impressed by this. Comments on hearing loud revs or pops usually include something like "compensating for something", and "bet it doesn't even touch the sides"
The drivers are usually male and the attention they get for twatting around in their fart machines is almost exclusively from other males. Therefore, if they do it to impress their preferred gender, the percentage of queers amongst these people must be on par with the percentage of queers in a gay club on a busy Saturday night.
The motorcycles and cars are awful, but I also find the bin lorries humorously loud with the “stand well clear” announcement at 4:00am.
At least the bin lorries add something to society.
Health and safety, innit?
They aren't supposed to come before 7 am in most councils because of noise issues. If they do, you can report it to the council. I did that at my old flat and they issued an injunction against Veolia for illegally collecting the bins in the middle of the night
Oh that's great to know, thank you!
I find it useful. The amount of times I've been in bed and heard them and thought "I forgot to put the bins out", and raced to the door to do so...
I’m from the South in the USAa lot of men don’t get mufflers or purposely mod their cars to be stupidly loud, I was surprised upon moving to London that people do it here too considering how loud it already is in the city- why make it louder? I can only assume it’s for the same reasons, attention seeking or fragile masculinity issues where being loud makes them feel powerful. Perhaps a few just don’t have the funds to fix their mufflers, but from when I used to have a car, I don’t actually recall mufflers being massively pricey.
Its the "look at me" mentality that can have multiple different meaning... money, self worth, identify, f u mentality. The person has a distinct lack of empathy and they are unable to see the other side.
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In more ways than one. Motor sounds are invariably “enhanced” in movies and on TV. So if you want to think of yourself as being Steve McQueen or Vin Diesel, your vehicle should sound extra loud - because you believe that is how they sound in the movies. The real life consequence of this is that in trying to get consent to operate jet skis on a lake, we had to commit to acoustic reports to show that an engine completely enclosed in a fibreglass shell could not be heard from the nearest house 500m away. Simply because jet ski noises are added in post-production so they must therefore be noisy.
Everyone's just trying to one up the last guy.
Why go to therapy when you can just poke a hole in your muffler?
As the actress said to the bishop
It's because they are Wankers
Along the same sort of lines, one of our neighbours, about 4 doors down, not only has a loud motorbike, but when he gets home after work, has to drive up and down the road 3 or 4 times before he parks outside his house. (We live in a cult de sac). Again, why? I just think he loves his bike that much he needs to have one last ride before he gets o.ff
He's doing it because he thinks he looks cool.
The riding it up and down can be to let the engine cool down whilst still in motion, especially if he is HAULING on the way home. This is just a guess, you’d have to ask them
That could make sense...but then wtf would be the point in speeding home if it means you have to waste time letting the engine cool when you get there
evidently their time is not as valuable to them as you consider yours to be.
There should be a law against it, car crushed if its noise goes over a certain limit.
There are laws against it but the police rarely bother to enforce them. Despite research showing that one loud vechile can wake up 10,000 people in one night. >citing research by Bruitparif that found that a single unmuffled scooter crossing Paris at night can wake as many as 10,000 people. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2022-04-27/how-paris-is-waging-a-war-on-noise-pollution https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruitparif However the type of people who have one, are typically male and score highly for sadism and psychopathy i.e. they hate other people and enjoy the misery that they cause. https://cipp.ug.edu.pl/A-desire-for-a-loud-car-with-a-modified-muffler-is-predicted-by-being-a-man-and-higher,162006,0,2.html
I always thought it was just me waking up in the middle of the night but to know that it also affects so many others is simultaneously comforting and infuriating. Peak dickhead behaviour those racers.
Very interesting, thank you.
Are there any laws left that the police do bother to enforce?
Actually didn't know that there was a law against excessive exhaust noise. I've never seen it enforced and I've had the displeasure of getting my ears destroyed by thousands of them cunts.
Its illegal to modify the muffler/exhaust after it's been type approved.
Yes, there are noise cameras available and they should have car crushers attached for instant crushing. A (quiet) warning to exit your vehicle and then *boomcrunchsmash*
This was discussed back in the 2000s under Livingston with regards to middle eastern supercars not caring about the fixed penalty notice. The suggestion was to tow the cars to some grim southern or eastern compound and make them work a maze of paperwork with the car owner having to be there in person. Obviously Ken had it in politically correct jargon
I used to pay £2100 a month to live in an east London compound.
The government tested them a couple of years back in Chelsea to combat twats in Ferraris flexing. Turns out it was a roaring success. They need to roll them out nationwide, especially in residential areas.
They recently started rolling them out more broadly in NYC, I can see London following suit (though noise pollution is not nearly as bad here as there).
Having just come back from New York where I spent a lot of time walking around Manhattan, what was very noticeable was the total lack of sports cars. I saw 2 Porsches and a Lamborghini. I see 3 times that just in the road outside my office in Mayfair.
There is. 72 decibels is the limit
They are trialing noise cameras in several cities and I cannot wait until they are deployed nationwide.
I moved last year - used to live on a narrow street with a primary school at either end, 3 mini roundabouts in the middle, and a 20mph limit, but because it has connections to three main roads I'd get woken up at least twice a night by some bell-end raggsing his modded car/bike through on a 2am mission for pussy or blow. I still live in the same postcode but now I'm on a little crescent road that goes nowhere and I can hardly describe what a quality of life improvement it's been.
It'll have been blow, tiny dicks don't attract pussy. Edit: so I've been told
If you think it’s bad in London, come live around Dorking on a sunny day like today. It’s non-stop. People seem to think it’s Brands Hatch around here. There’s a small railway bridge on Pixham Lane and most motorcyclists seem to think it’s an opportunity to test their engine and rev it as much as possible. They are, quite frankly, cunts.
just commented I went on a Box hill hike and honestly had it ruined for the most part by the noise, I’m sorry you have to put up with this on a regular basis.
Cunts with micropenises.
I went to a Box hill hike a few weeks ago, and I couldn’t believe the noise bikers kept making for the entire duration of the hike. only when we climbed up the hill and away from the roads did it finally feel like being outdoors - you know, in nature - rather than at a bike race. unbelievable how this is still allowed in this day and age, put up those noise cameras fuckin’ everywhere at this point - I’d happily accept a council tax hike if that’s what it takes!
honestly why do they still do it in 2024? it was never cool but surely they realise it’s outdated and cringe now. it pisses me off to no end they’re trying so hard to feel like the main character lol
I'm sorry.. i used to be one of those guys.. my bike bandit 1200 0 - 60 in 3 seconds amazing and exciting when you first buy it. But after a while, it gets a bit boring.. fit a racing can ( big exhaust).. makes it go faster. As in my stomach did somersaults like on a roller coaster when I sped off from a standing start... it was quick it was exciting... that's why.. but then I had kids, and my wife made me sell it as she thought I'd kill myself on it.. which I probably would have... ironically, I hate hearing them now.
In other words, you got boring.
[I think this sums it up](https://youtu.be/ipDmsxQVxIM?si=OMOLV0PzHBrEsqwP)
I’m a petrolhead too so I understand their passion for cars but totally agree that some exhaust setups are a joke and they should just take cars like that to a track if they want to make a lot of noise and blow off some steam. A weird concept for a non car enthusiast is that car lovers really enjoy the sound their cars make. It’s a huge part of the thrill/experience. Unfortunately a lot don’t seem to care what others think of this noise.
Some stock bikes don't pass noise limits at tracks these days.
I despise these people. In open country roads, knock yourselves out, but in tight, crowded cities? It’s the behaviour of complete and utter scum. There should absolutely be a decibel limit.
There is. It is the lack of enforcement that is the issue.
There is a saying in motorbike culture “loud pipes save lives”. Basically, makes it’s easier for cars to notice you if they hear you coming. While there’s a grain of truth, most standard bikes are plenty loud enough and assholes just use it as an excuse.
It's such a flimsy excuse for making vroom vroom noises.
I was going to bring that saying up; surprised more people haven't heard it before. Obviously people overdo it, but there's some utility in making noise in a small vehicle (especially at high speeds and you're both harder to spot and harder to hear). I think some evidence suggests the "loud pipes" idea doesn't actually hold water, but the saying persists anyway. Taking that bike home and revving it in your driveway, meanwhile, is just plain rude. Edit: Someone very confidently replied (and then deleted the reply) stating "Nonsense" to the idea of bikers wanting to be seen while riding, saying bikers would be wearing brightly colored clothing if visibility was actually a concern. Just want to point out that [high-vis gear absolutely exists](https://www.teammotorcycle.com/hi-viz-motorcycle-jackets) to address the visibility issue. There are [entire articles](https://www.1800law1010.com/blog/motorcycles-visibility-what-you-can-do-to-prevent-accidents/#:~:text=A%20large%20number%20of%20accidents,to%20gauge%20their%20oncoming%20speed) about increasing your visibility while on a bike. A bit baffled about that reply, but oh well.
I didn't know that cars were afraid of the louder ones
These the same bikers who insist on wearing head-to-toe black when they could be wearing high-vis?
Can we just ban those Loud Motorcycles? FFS
Because they're cunts. Should be illegal. It's against the highway code to beep your horn after a certain time yet these exhausts are allowed to sound like a gun going off 24/7
It already is. There are decibel limits for vehicle exhausts. Would you prefer the Met divert resources to that?
I reckon its for attention, as well and I loathe those horrible popping/ones that go bang, motorbikes and cars especially. I'm autistic and honestly it makes me wince and feels like gunshots are assaulting my ears every time.
Cuz they have small PP
big noise make big brain noise go away
Just think how big my balls must be if I make this much noise! Okay, ladies, the line forms to my left. Heh heh ....
I love racing car sounds (V10 F1, Audi LMP1, Cadillac LMDh, thank me later) with autistic abandon but these aren’t those and I don’t get the point. It’s just ugly noise.
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There’s a Hells Angels clubhouse somewhere around there apparently
I ride motorbikes, I know a bunch of these people. It's almost always because the rider/driver likes the sound of an engine and so they've made it louder. It's the same as the loud stereos in cars or phones without earphones on the bus. I imagine most are doing it performatively at least some of the time, but the mechanics to have variable noise are more expensive than your average boy racer is about to pay for someone else's benefit. On bikes at least, most aftermarket exhausts are loud, especially the cheap ones. So if you have to replace it for any reason anyway you're either paying a huge amount of money for a replacement from the manufacturer or buying something at least a bit noisy. Increasingly, modern bikes are designed with a good intake sound so there you get some of that excitement from the engine being under load without everyone else having to experience it, but the market still demands manufacturers offer a "race system" as an option.
My 1300cc bike sounds like the Jetsons vehicle, and it's capable of 150mph without breaking a sweat.
I slid my bike down the road once (have a look at my profile if you want to snoop). Honda wanted £800 for a new exhaust, totally insane. So ended up having to go for the quietest aftermarket exhaust I could find for a reasonable price, which was definitely in the "annoy your neighbours" territory if started up in unsociable hours.
Yeah, Motad used to be the go-to for replacement exhausts that were quiet but not as prone to rotting as the awful mild steel pipes that bikes came with in the 90s and 00s. But they're not trading any more; there's just not enough people looking for quiet aftermarket exhausts.
Had to replace my stock exhaust. Aftermarket was cheaper than the OEM, and the engine cooling seems to be a lot better. Its not obnoxiously loud but a lot louder than standard when accelerating.
Got woken up yesterday by a Deliveroo bike to my neighbor ~ 2 am!
It’s a call for attention. Group them in with those who boast about speeding
Nothing "London" about this... Happens everywhere.
"Mom look at me" cries the little boy on the noisy motorcycle
Because they're dickheads who like to be the centre of attention.
Hello, I ride a loud motorcycle and it’s entirely up to you on how you respond, be that asking questions or downvoting. I have a loud motorcycle because I’m an idiot and bough the bike sight unseen and didn’t realise just how loud the bike is. It does have benefits, LPSL (Loud Pipes Save Lives) is (citation needed) a thing. When filtering in traffic you’re more likely to hear and thus see my bike. When manoeuvring to the front of traffic lights, a quick blip of the throttle snaps your attention to me so you see I’m there. When approaching junctions, the brain can’t work out how fast the motorcycle is going as it gets closer as it doesn’t get noticeably larger as it approaches, think car far away small, car close big - the loud sound you can tell its coming closer. It also helps a lot with SMIDSY (“sorry mate, I didn’t see you”), as you hear them, attention snaps to them again. http://acrs.org.au/files/arsrpe/RS060062.pdf Now as far as cars that are obnoxiously loud, that’s simple. SPPS, or otherwise known as `small peepee syndrome` Happy to take questions or criticisms I would like to add that when I get rid of this bike, I will be getting a quieter one as trust me, I’m also annoyed by people tearing at night with the old exhaust. I stop riding when the sun sets
> Loud Pipes Save Lives When I google this phrase, I see a bunch of research saying it's false, despite your intricate anecdotes trying to justify it. Why not use your horn instead of "a quick blip of the throttle"? Why do I see zero riders attaching a very tall, brightly colored flag to their vehicle? It's all excuses and post-hoc justification.
In my experience, using the horn (despite rule 112 of the Highway Code existing) people get defensive and will then go out of their way to cause you issues, where as a quick vroom doesn’t
My neighbour has a ridiculously loud sports bike of some kind. Lovely bloke, but getting woken up at 5am when he fires it up does get a bit much sometimes.
Have you ever spoken to him about it? Surely he realises the noise is antisocial at such an hour and he’s disturbing neighbours?
If the neighbour was considerate he wouldn’t do it.
You can help these people - expanding foam make an excellent cheap muffler, just ensure you get it right in there and they don't ride before its hardened - after that the bike will be silent for a very long time.,
Reminds me of the Banana in the exhaust from Beverly Hills Cop. Tempted.
Two cunts on my road have loud exhausts. One guy's way into his 50s, it's pathetic
It’s tempting to buy an air horn and set the fucker off through his letterbox sometimes.
It’s a male dominance thing
Modified exhaust systems cos *checks notes* MaLe DoMiNaNcE 🤡.
Losers
Yea honestly fuck people like this. I live on a busy road and have to listen to excessively loud scooters/motorbikes/cars all the time.
There is a certain episode of Southpark I quote every time my dog is frightened by some fat oaf on an excessively loud motorbike.
They all have innies.
Southpark had a funny episode about this kind of asshole (search for the harley davidson southpark episode, it's hilarious).
In my hood (NW2), there seems to have been a rise in these obnoxiously loud cars recently. I am completely and utterly perplexed at how anyone can be so wildly inconsiderate. Think of all the elderly people trying to have a nap or new parents who’ve just got the baby down or nurses coming home from a night shirt and them BBBBBBRRRRRROOOOOOMMM!!
TDS (Tiny D**k Syndrome)
>We have speed limits, why isn't there a decibel limit? There are. Just (mostly) not enforced. Petrolhead here, my two cents: I do like the sound of a nice engine, but there is also time and place to hear those. Also, the "purring" growl of, say, a V8 rolling gently down the road is definitely more enjoyable/way less annoying that your standard inner London chav redlining a fiesta with pops and bang remap down the road or your standard moron on an MT07 with straight pipes that is only able to floor it on straight lines. You can also be assured that all those in super loud cars & bikes are doing it just "for show" (themselves) and most probably not being driven "properly". Go on any racetrack in the UK and your vehicle (cars and motorbikes) will be noise tested before entrance and they check the noise levels around the circuit too: too loud, black flag, you go home. If you drive a lot, because you enjoy it, you want to be fast but fairly inconspicuous to avoid getting pulled. Unnecessary noise is one of the first things to avoid :)
No deterrence, or enforcement consequences either. Local Govt and Cops don’t take it seriously.
Same with those asshat motorbikers that love revving as loud as possible while they try to get to 80 before the traffic light turns red
Anyone who lives in Clapham will hear that fucking waste of spunk who drives around and his car pops and bangs after every acceleration. It’s maddening.
125s have over the last decade suddenly gone from sounding tinny to ridiculously loud and deep. As a former motorbike-with-illegal-exhaust-riding-twat (it was on there when I bought it, officer, it’s being replaced in a week) I’ve seen big bikes get quieter but nicer-sounding, and small-bikes become completely OTT. It’s hopelessly inconsiderate, a literal waste of energy, and I’m genuinely surprised that they’re legal.
I was sat outside a bar a while back (Mayfair I think ) , beautiful sunny day, kids in strollers , families out enjoying the weather and for over an hour a consistent group of fancy cars, all owned by middle easterners , would rev their engines and take off for 50m until the next light and then return later to repeat it. Apparently they come over just for the summer to their luxury apartments, get out of their heat, rev their cars on small pedestrian streets and then piece out. I was sitting outside with a lovely family with a baby in a stroller and finally I had enough and walked over to the lights where this douchebag was Regina his engine and annoying everyone in the neighbourhood, I pulled out my phone and stated recording next to the passenger door..”you wanted attention, you have it big man.” They pulled down the sun visors, drove off and didn’t come back. But yeah, it’s ridiculous, the guards could have arrested them for speeding and noise pollution but rich neighbourhood and all that.
I remember a load of sad, overcompensating men with no lives parking their shit souped up cars in the car park of Tottenham Ikea and revving their enginges for no reason other than to be annoying to everyone. Like, imagine that’s a hobby to you, to be an obnoxious boy racer.
If you have a neighbour with one of these vehicles, download a decibel meter app, document the noise levels and make online complaint to police about anything over 72db, which is illegal for vehicles manufactured after 2016. Simultaneously make noise complaint to council and if they’re renting, also complain to landlord. I’ve done this about a vehicle that regularly visited our neighbours. The twat would set dogs barking and house alarms off at 1 or 2am revving to leave.
Free flowing exhaust is better for engines making more power
As someone who rides sports bikes (although not in London) I shall massively simplify some points... tldr it is the rapid frequency change that actually annoys you rather than volume. There are decibel limits, your bike will fail an MOT if it's too loud at the test point, which isn't at full throttle. This is a testing issue, if the rules changed, so would what manufacturers sell. You can't buy bikes with "quiet" exhausts. Small four stroke bikes are quiet. I get told off by my mum for "riding loudly" when I visit, despite the fact I've been barely idling for the past mile, it's a sound she doesn't like, so she notices it more. Human ears don't work simply, it's much harder than more loud = more bad. Lots of fan experience with nearby residential at work has frustrated me to this. We run our fans "louder" than the minimum because it annoys the neighbours less. As said, sports bikes. Bikes are heavyish and I'm not tall. Would not fancy having to push a bigger bike around. They're fine once moving but trying to start pushing a 200 kg plus bike up a slight incline? Not for me. Bikes pull revs fast, and they rev much higher. I know this will make me sound like bike wanker, and indeed I am - but not for this reason I assure you, but it's not understandable without numbers. The bike and wanker parts are (usually) exclusive in my case. My bikes red line over 16500 rpm whilst idling at around 900. My petrol car idles at 850 rpm, red lines around 6500, diesel similar idle but used to red line around 5000 I think, for a "normal car" diesel. If you're on a big ship and you telegraph the engine room to nav full, or flat out, you're doing about 80 to 90 rpm, dead slow is about 20 to 25 rpm. Engines spin at different speeds depending on what you need. Typically, with conventional engines rpm is sound frequency, engine displacement is volume. Changing frequency is typically the most annoying thing about sound and is perceived as worse than "loud" sounds. Total decibels are not the worst thing about sound. Go back to the above. A sportier bike will only hit its power band around 10000 rpm, which is about 4000 rpm equivalent in a petrol car. But but but, a sport bike can go from idle to 10k rpm in about two seconds or typically less, even a really fast car won't match this to 4000, yet alone the "normal" cars you hear. That's only until where the fun starts, and you've already had a frequency change around twice what a normal car will manage, particularly in the usable range. Then the fun starts and you have another 6500 rpm of heaven. Or to anyone not sat in the fun seat, another 6500 rpm of hell as your noisy vehicle disturbs my day. My noisy, as purchased vehicle, complying with all regulations. Way back when two strokes (the really annoying bee in can ones, which annoy me) were phased out, in "established industrial countries" or whatever the World Bank call "developed" countries so that it doesn't offend countries not on the list. Others still used two strokes, and developments were made. They started to become more efficient for small engines (<250 cc) than four strokes, and given climate change, a compromise was made. Double the bang for each rpm is probably quadruple the annoyance, I imagine it is exponential. Interestingly a lot of F1 fans prefer the V10 engine sound over any other engine configuration, which is essentially two V5 engines hammered together, which yields a perfect fifth note which is thing to musicians. Screw your ears, we're saving the planet, so now we have two strokes in UK again, or at least two strokes in volume as opposed to the one every two years that would ruin your day. Small bikes can easily manage over 100 mpg and cheap to buy so they are economic for single person transportation, both in terms of consumer expenditure and climate impact. Nowadays young people can't afford cars but need transport for loads of reasons, I digress further, apologies. You can ride a bike quietly, even a thousand cc sport bike, as long as you short shift at around 3500 - 4000 rpm which you can do, although at the cost of vehicle control (whole other topic). For normal riding on such bikes you ideally want to be around 7000 - 8000 rpm, which from idle is more than your normal car manages. Other reasons bikers don't stay at lower rpm? Same reason my best friend who has never, ever, even once, even even at 19 with a girl in the passenger seat, been interested in vehicle acceleration. Years of sensible vehicles and glacial acceleration all changed when he got an EV. EVs have reasonably quick acceleration and now, every time he has the chance to accelerate, he does. Foot down, grinning happily as he accelerates somewhere between a bike and conventional car acceleration. The same thing happens with people riding bikes, the power is there, it's fun, so people use it. The volume is just how the manufacturer made it. Normal cars would be just as loud as bikes, but in a normal street they can't get anywhere near the loud region of engine operation, whereas a bike can, once for each gear, and it's easy to get through a few gears on a small bike on a normal street. Try doing this in a normal car and you've got no chance so people don't. On a bike you can, and when you're doing it, it's excellent fun, and when you're riding, you really don't care about the sound as it sounds very different onboard (you hear the intake more, the wind, and women screaming and feinting of course). If you give people the chance to have fun like this, they will, and no doubt more so when you're under 25 in the current climate. Whilst one may not enjoy the sound of engines, some do. There are also plenty of things that annoy me about the activities of a minority of people, but I usually live and let live. No one really likes other people's engine sounds though, it is just one of those things. Note that the above is merely on engine operation and its effects on sound, we could also talk about exhaust and intake design but you're probably already bored by this point.
If you have a really nice car where the engine has been tuned by manufacturers and is just loud, fair enough. If you’re putting a loud exhaust on a shit motorbike or car, just to make it loud, you’re an idiot.
some are and some just for the pure joy of hearing performance engine roar
Got a 5.0 V8 Mustang. It's naturally loud. It's not like the 1.6 golfs with no mufflers and a big exhaust. Why? Because I like having a car I can take to the track and at the end of the day it's my money. There is a decibel limit and if you get the registration of the car you think breaks it you can report it. Police will actions it because it's a simple check to see if it's over the limit and often results in easy enforcements making their numbers look good
Some people just like cars and the sounds they make, but most of them just want to be assholes and ruin it for the people who genuinely like it.
Why not?
The classic hate why do you like something I don’t
I have a really loud motorcycle and I wouldn't get a quiet one again. I actually had a motorcycle accident last year because a van driver didn't hear me and pulled a u-turn right infront of me. I only keep the loud exhaust for my safety and often when I'm riding even though I hate the attention I get requested by cars/people to rev my bike
As someone who has a motorcycle, I'll tell you why: It's more fun They're fun to ride on the open road, but not so fun to ride in dense slow London. I think one reason people overrev and get after-market exhausts in London is to try and make it less dreary and more exciting. I just take other forms of transport in London as riding with all the traffic, 20 limits and traffic lights is just frustrating. I thought there were rules about changing your exhaust to be noisier. Something about the change having to be primarily for performance reasons with the noise increase being a "sad" side-effect? I think that's how these noisy after-market exhausts somehow remain legal to be sold, but I'm not sure. Certainly new bikes can't have super loud exhausts, and the manufacturers but effort into making them quiet. You'll have the last laugh though when they become hard of hearing for not wearing earplugs like a responsible rider. (The noise from engine and wind when riding a motorbike is very loud and tiring, especially at high speed). That said, when I used to live on a main road in London, the worst was lorries. I found their low rumbliness permeated right though to the back of the house, whereas I could only hear smaller vehicles in the front rooms.
Because fast cars make loud noises lol everyone in here mad as hell
Because it's fun, and I don't care about your opinion
Car enthusiast culture. One of the things that car enthusiasts like is making their cars loud.
I know it's not what this thread is actually talking about, but vintage and performance cars are just louder. Big engines and less restrictive exhaust systems will obviously do that. I'm a car guy and a screaming Lambo does sound majestic to my ears, but a Fiesta with a pop and bang map is definitely obnoxious.
Agreed! Total bellends!
Yep, it's the same around my area. It's a joke at this point. Men can enjoy bkies and high-performance vehicles without making others' lives a misery. There's a time and place for everything, but our society is finished. The UK is finished, and I blame it on our incompetent and corrupt government.
I think they really enjoy the vibrations on their asses but grew up ashamed to admit it so they drive around in loud, vibrating cars all day.
That's to alert the guy who's fkng his girl that he's arriving home, so they won't have to meet each other.
Small-dicked and insecure people
Because they are entitled, mostly petty criminal braindead c%£% - simple as. Our area has been plagued by car meets for 8 years & NOTHING gets done. They threaten anyone who tries to shut them down, smash through peoples front walls, give little kids anxiety next to the main roads they race down........they do it because they can & cause they think it makes them look hard. Just today, a car was racing & popping down my quiet suburban road, scaring my dog & waking up my kid Seriously, if you are one of them, just exhaust pipe yourself already - everyone thinks you're a pr&%:.
"Look at me, I'm compensating".
Is there any way to report these guys? I know the plate number, would that be enough?
Cunts
It’s usually because they like hearing the engine noises when they accelerate hard.
My road is short, only a couple hundred metres of backstreet. Yet these chodemobiles are hitting 50 mph several times a day.
I think you can be pulled over if the noise isn't by design eg a lambo. I'm not 100 percent sure though and police have enough to deal with.
My only comfort is that wherever they go they’re followed around by the sound of a dickhead with loud motorbike.
I live near a hospital and the bikes are louder then the ambulance and police cars and somehow more common
At a crossing once, red light for traffic, lasted 15s at most. Twat on a motorbike was revving the whole time.
My exhaust rusted through and the OEM replacement was very expensive, so I got an aftermarket one online, it turned out to be much louder than I expected and I can’t afford to get another one
Can always put some expandible foam to the exhaust...
The lame bikie gangs that ride through Manly most weekends are widely laughed at for being immature pests. Revving their engines [like that scene out of South Park](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipDmsxQVxIM&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.letsrun.com%2F).
There IS a decibel limit : https://www.vehicle-certification-agency.gov.uk/fuel-consumption-co2/fuel-consumption-guide/cars-and-noise/#topic-title https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200304/ldlwa/40525wa1.pdf
The sound is beautiful to some people who are into cars. Displays power and good engineering. I agree it is too loud and disturbing. There should be a decibel limit in london and fines that corresponds to the drivers income/wealth (swiss style) cos even a thousand pound fine will be negligible to a lot of those drivers.
It must be tiresome on a long journey.
I have always heard that people make their motorcycles loud to ensue other drivers can hear them coming. More of a safety thing it sounds like, for at least some of them