My friend has been tampering with his Kawasaki Vulcan, trying to get it as loud and beefy as possible. He has spent hundreds of dollars on two different mufflers, he took it apart and put it back together at least five times (replaced fuel jet so that timing would fit exhaust output--or something like that), and he has even taken a drill to part of the muffler.

His Holy Grail quest has finally been realized. Every time I have been to his house in the last two months, he has turned on his motorcycle, cranked it a few times and then asked/exclaimed, "Huh!?! Huh!?!" It scares me.

Perhaps he suffers from an inferiority complex belonging to those who don't ride Harleys. I can see him pulling up to a biker rally, sheepishly saying, "Bad to the bone--bad to the bone," as a gnarly group of outlaw Harley riders snarls at him--in that instant in my vision, I know that he is dust. A loud bike might have something to do with rank in the biker world. The louder the bike--the less likely you will get your ass kicked.

One positive of the noise is that motorists can hear you coming. Some bikers are adamant about their bike's volume as a safety device. If this is truly the case, then you might want to call your silent bike, "Splat."

If not, how about SBD? Fa is too close to fag, and, while I wish that this would be acceptable in an ideal world, I'm thinking it wouldn't go over too well in biker circles (although I don't really know). Actually, I'm just remembering a biker, Al, I once worked with (Al looked like the bounty hunter biker from Raising Arizona). He told me the story of a gay biker named Perry. Al said, "Some guys just like it up the butt." Perhaps bikers live in a more open and accepting society than our own.

By the way, Al had been in three motorcycle accidents, each requiring reconstructive surgery. The last one, in which he was hit by a big rig, left him with a permanent limp. Apparently, his loud bikes didn't keep him out of trouble. So much for "Splat."

I just had an epiphany--well, a minor allusory realization actually. There is a scene in the movie, Quadrophenia, in which some British mod/punk scooter riders are riding down the strip as mod/punks watch from the side of the road. One scooter stands out. It has more headlights than all of the other scooters put together (the British scooter equivalent of loud exhausts, I'm thinking). The rider looks like Billy Idol, and as he toodles down the strip, one of the movie's main characters cheers him on from the side of the road, saying something like "You rock" or "You're the man." I can see you cruising down the strip on your conspicuously silent cycle (CSC?), with maybe a few extra headlights thrown on for good measure, and with your hair done up like Billy Idol's, as a throng of onlookers cheers you on. Realize your dream, CW. But watch out for trucks.

fa?

The noise thing is simply what they call attention-seeking behavior.

The Mutter Sighcle
Kawasockinit
Hardly Thereison

Usually the loud bikes/cars are just for attention but I know some guys that I truly think do it for themselves. It makes them feel good I guess. One of them actually never even rides around the city.

Dave
Electric Scooters Galore

Some people use their ego in different ways I guess. However, there is a thrill to ride something that feels powerful even when no one is around. On the other hand, I think it's equally thrilling to ride an EV that is completely silent - nothing like it!

Jeff
A2B Scooters