A lot of bad info is flying...
First, the "Loud pipes saves lives" is and has been proven a myth. The Hurt Study (Hurt was the priniple investigator who recently died by the way) showed that modified cruiser bikes are over-represented in crashes. Those are the same bikes who use the loud and often illegal exhausts.
The same H-D crowd who cry for safety (and use it to claim a need for loud pipes) are the ones who don't where bright clothing and/or helmets. Until they do, cry me a river.
BMW riders are the safest on the road. Last time I checked they don't ride loud
Lie with all the stories you want but that fact is "Loud Pipes Saves Lives" is a myth. Fact.
Most of the riders who put the peg over the line are idiots plain and simple. It's not uncommon to see people veer towards them to brush them back. Its about attention, not safety or lane position. They don't need to be over that far. I also don't cross the center line when towing my boat.
Second, if anyone claims that just an exhaust and tune will net a 30-40% improvement in Hp make sure you ask them for the dyno sheet and precisely what was changed and WITNESS the bike and dyno. Probably a good time to wager some money too. I turn wrenches and have owned several muscle cars with major modifications done to them so if someone wants to spew horsepuckey I am going to call them on it. Straight pipes or pipes without baffles almost
always drops the Hp of the bike as the exhaust can not be scavanged from the pipe on the adjecent cylinder(s).
The false claims about a pipe or exhaust magically creating huge Hp gains is just as bad in the car world as it is in the motorcycle world. Most pipes are bolted on simply to make the bike louder. The vast majority of bikes to not get a re-jet kit and/or the computer reflashed (ergo all the popping and cackling you hear from poorly tuned bikes) so the Hp claims are a moot point anyways.
To the OP's question, the majority of H-D bikes run modified exhausts. NH has the highest permitted motorcycle exhaust noise in the USA at 106 dB. From the factory they are 82 dB. It's vanity noise and they don't have to be loud. Te loud bikes got out of hand during the late 90s and early 2000s when everyone jumped on the H-D bandwagon. It used to be a few big rides a year. Now you can have a weekly "Ride for Retards" and still get a big crowd
NHcalm is working on the Seacoast to combat the loud bikes and I suspect it won't be long before the 106 dB is lowered to something realistic. My wife's family lives all along the seacoast and it's gotten bad with the H-D crown. Seriously guys, I am all for having a nice sounding machine but many of these bikes (yes, many) have gone to the point of being obnoxious. Many of those in the H-D rides wear ear plugs it's so loud. After revving a bike a couple hundred times over a couple hours you'd think it would get old but some of these guys are just like little kids. Every stop light, every stop sign, it's excessive revving and/or driving around with the bike two gears to low for what is needed. Give it a freakin rest.
A lot of the "look at me" mentality in the the H-D world has actually created tons of attention for themselves but it's not the attention they want. Rye, New Castle, Hampton, and North Hampton police were just in the paper recently and discussing a start to cracking down on bikes with loud pipes.
Bike week has gone from being about motorcycles to something else..... You decide if you want to participate. I personally just stay away as it's not my thing. Too bad NH can't find something better to replace it.
And for the record, I am a car and motorcycle enthusiast. I've had my motorcycle endorsement since I was 16 yo. I have owned many bikes but no longer do. Never owned a H-D as I think they're crap but that's my opinion. Heavy, poor handling, loud, slow, air-cooled fart machines
Whenever I see someone riding a H-D I deduct 20 pts from their IQ. A cigarette in the mouth and I deduct another 20 pts. Stereotypes exist for a reason
