Yamaha MOTOROiD • Hacker News Board

Re: Yamaha MOTOROiD

#181

Post by cat199 » Sat, May 29, 2021, 4:14 PM UTC

83457 wrote: post #139

NikolaNovak wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I owned ride 6-7 different motorcycles, and I believe there's a special place in hell for those who put on loud aftermarket exhausts. Sure, it sounds nice to them . It shows an astonishing disregard to thousands of other people they impact daily. Let alone your next 10 neighbour houses who put up with it on consistent basis. ... :O There's no increased safety factor - there's no real location or distance clue such lo…

I always assumed that the point of loud vehicles was to assert dominance by being an asshole. If people are annoyed and upset then it is working exactly as intended. You have provoked an emotion that fuels your ego and image of yourself as a bad ass that doesn't care about other people.

Me as well, until I bought Forza Horizon and discovered my car had a turbo..

I don't dispute that some loud exhausts are the result of exactly what you describe, but also many are motorheads who have less restrictive exhaust systems for performance reasons or just to enjoy their vehicle (unfortunately sometimes at the expense of other peoples hearing)

Re: Yamaha MOTOROiD

#182

Post by uglycoyote » Sat, May 29, 2021, 4:15 PM UTC

reader_mode wrote: post #164

83457 wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I always assumed that the point of loud vehicles was to assert dominance by being an asshole. If people are annoyed and upset then it is working exactly as intended. You have provoked an emotion that fuels your ego and image of yourself as a bad ass that doesn't care about other people.

I don't have aftermarket pipes - but your post is clearly from perspective of someone who doesn't ride. Sound is an essential part of the riding thrill, riding my bike past 10k RPM gives me F1 sound and insane rush. I suspect riding an electric motorcycle would be much less thrilling that way and make me more aware that I'm on a suicide machine. I regularly get small children approach me on motorcycle and want to pul…

Sure.. I get a kick out of twisting the throttle on my Yamaha a couple times but I totally disagree that it is an essential part of the experience. If you could sell me a completely silent but very powerful motorcycle I would buy it. And even if you are thrilled by the sound, there comes a point (when you put straight pipes on) where it clearly becomes less about whether the rider can hear their own bike and more about whether everyone else can. So As someone who has spend hundreds of thousands of kilometres on a motorcycle I totally agree with grandparent post here, once it gets to that point where you are changing your exhaust to make it louder, it out is mostly about egos and images.

Re: Yamaha MOTOROiD

#183

Post by NikolaNovak » Sat, May 29, 2021, 4:15 PM UTC

gooseyard wrote: post #174

NikolaNovak wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I owned ride 6-7 different motorcycles, and I believe there's a special place in hell for those who put on loud aftermarket exhausts. Sure, it sounds nice to them . It shows an astonishing disregard to thousands of other people they impact daily. Let alone your next 10 neighbour houses who put up with it on consistent basis. ... :O There's no increased safety factor - there's no real location or distance clue such lo…

I can't even stand listening to it on my own bikes, particularly if I'm slabbing it somewhere on a freeway at a steady speed, the racket is insufferable after 15 or 20 minutes, even with plugs and a full face helmet. There seems to be a prevailing masochism among this flavor of biker, who often add ape hangers and then ride around pretending to be comfortable.

Hah, I always wondered about those and didn't know the name ("Ape Hangers") until now... feels like my arms would lose circulation and muscles would hurt from that position! I assumed I'm just a wimp :P

I see a few posts now that I know what to search for that it "relieves strain on wrists and arms", but honestly, I think standard riding position (city / adventure / touring bikes) has the most natural and relaxed body position overall, as long as you can adjust it to your body size and proportions.

Re: Yamaha MOTOROiD

#184

Post by sdenton4 » Sat, May 29, 2021, 4:17 PM UTC

NikolaNovak wrote: post #67

CraigJPerry wrote: post #5

I can’t wait for electric motorbikes to be more diverse and advanced. I used to be a “my loud exhaust helps me to be seen” kinda guy. Until one day, sat in standstill traffic in my car on the M74 motorway just outside Glasgow, a rider on a BMW S1000XR, with the same loud exhaust as on mine, filtered past the window and I didn’t hear him until he was level with my rear passenger door. Exhausts sound great, i love the…

I owned ride 6-7 different motorcycles, and I believe there's a special place in hell for those who put on loud aftermarket exhausts. Sure, it sounds nice to them . It shows an astonishing disregard to thousands of other people they impact daily. Let alone your next 10 neighbour houses who put up with it on consistent basis. ... :O There's no increased safety factor - there's no real location or distance clue such lo…

As a bicyclist, loud motorcycles are the fscking worst. They're deafening and extremely distracting, which is extra terrible if anything complicated is going on. Which there often is, because people on loud bikes are often driving like fscking idiots, dodging between cars who end up nearly crowding me off the road.

Re: Yamaha MOTOROiD

#185

Post by NikolaNovak » Sat, May 29, 2021, 4:20 PM UTC

lubesGordi wrote: post #156

baybal2 wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I noticed that people on more powerful bikes crash way more often for their own lack of driving skill, than the other way around. Lost count to seeing scenes like kids on H2Rs "crashing" into something at like just above pedestrian speeds. It takes a lot of skill to drive a powerful, and heavy motorcycle. It's definitely should not be your first, or even second machine. I'm myself on two-wheelers for 15 years still f…

Bigger more powerful bikes usually have flatter torque curves which make the bike easier to control.

I think that stands to a point (the twitchiest bike I ever rode was a 400CC supermoto), but depends on details and circumstance. Besides throttle control though, their weight may be harder to handle for newbies in e.g. stop and go traffic or narrow / twisty streets....

Re: Yamaha MOTOROiD

#186

Post by wwalexander » Sat, May 29, 2021, 4:22 PM UTC

PopePompus wrote: post #146

mrweasel wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sorry, I don’t understand why you’re downvoted, because that’s kinda interesting. Has someone wrote the sound also don’t help in many cases so that could indicate that many aren’t paying enough attention while driving or we’re lacking some way to make bikers visible (both motorcycles and bicycles).

If you can't find a safe way to use your mode of transportation without ruining the quality of life of your neighbors, perhaps it's time to find a new mode of transportation.

If you can’t find a way to sit in front of the AC and listen to the radio without clogging roads, burning fossil fuels at a double or triple rate, and impeding your visibility so much that you regularly endanger the life of your neighbors, maybe it’s time to find a new mode of relaxation.

The USA is one of the few countries where motorcycles are uncommon and seen as a surprising choice, probably due to our laughably simple drivers test that doesn’t even require knowledge of how to drive a manual. Motorcycles burn less gas, cause far less traffic, and cause far less damage to others when accidents occur. The single reason why motorcycling is dangerous is because of 4-wheel drivers, who constantly:

* Change lanes/cut you off without signaling * Slam on their brakes without signaling * Try to merge into your lane when they are next to you * Read their phones and do all of these things

When I say constantly, I mean (in my city) every block or two of riding. Motorcycling is an exercise in constant scanning for the next person who is going to intentionally or unintentionally try to kill you, and having a loud exhaust is a way to quickly get them to realize they’re about to do so. It’s hard to see car drivers constantly put us in danger by (illegally) not paying attention for their own comfort, and then insinuate that it’s the motorcycle riders who are the problem.

One last note - I think most HNers are talking about loud sport bike exhausts like Yoshimura here, not Harley exhausts that sound like thunder every time you let off the clutch. These exhausts are normally at an acceptable, sociable noise level but can get much louder when you rev high, which is nice for blipping the throttle to get the guy next to you scrolling Spotify to look up before he sideswipes you.

So, even though I’m recovering from the multiple fractures I received after going over my handlebars, to avoid hitting a car that turned left in front of me in an intersection, who may never have seen me at all, I think I’ll stick with my mode of transportation. And you can stick with yours, and turn the radio up if you find the noise of motors on a motorway that unacceptable. I certainly do think a lot of riders take it too far, or just do it for attention. But I don’t think it’s fair to blame them in general for doing anything they can to counteract the lack of care and attention paid by people in cars.

Re: Yamaha MOTOROiD

#187

Post by doodlebugging » Sat, May 29, 2021, 4:22 PM UTC

tkgally wrote: post #17

StavrosK wrote: post #2

Oh man, this looks cool but the writing took me right out of the announcement. I don't usually notice bad writing, but this prose seems purpler than usual.

It's a translation of the Japanese at [1]. The original text is reasonable as Japanese advertising copy, but advertising copy usually shouldn’t be translated. Instead, it should be written anew in each target language, sometimes with different content and graphics. I worked freelance for twenty years translating Japanese to English, often advertising copy like this. Though I did my best, I was rarely satisfied with t…

I enjoyed the story behind the bike. I found it engaging and I feel like the photos enhanced the story. As I read through it I was pretty impressed that an article like this, maybe first composed in Japanese, had such a smooth translation into English. I wondered whether it began as an English audience article.

I was amused to find in one of the pictures a misspelled word. I didn't laugh but I did crack a smile. The trash can/ recycle bin in the cartoon encourages the viewer to "Picth In".

Cool bike, great story. I hope they iron out the issues that they find and this bike makes it onto streets everywhere.

I love how the Japanese people in the video linked on one post seem so accustomed to seeing cool stuff like this. I wish the guys at Yamaha all the success.

Re: Yamaha MOTOROiD

#188

Post by Enginerrrd » Sat, May 29, 2021, 4:22 PM UTC

hotz wrote: post #127

mrweasel wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sorry, I don’t understand why you’re downvoted, because that’s kinda interesting. Has someone wrote the sound also don’t help in many cases so that could indicate that many aren’t paying enough attention while driving or we’re lacking some way to make bikers visible (both motorcycles and bicycles).

Aftermarket exhaust and slight left/right swerving movements beats hi-viz. The swerving is meant to catch the eye's attention in the side mirrors. Many people also drive with earphones on so whatever external noises they hear is debatable. I'm betting most bikers will agree that hi-viz alone doesn't guarantee that you're visible.

Not sure I agree with the exhaust, but the weaving seems to help a LOT.

Re: Yamaha MOTOROiD

#189

Post by abecedarius » Sat, May 29, 2021, 4:23 PM UTC

marmaduke wrote: post #80

Aachen wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Like playing your music through a loudspeaker in a public place. You're in luck, that's exactly what electric cars will do instead of being quiet!

It’s a scifi low drone noise though, just enough to notice, it’s not annoying at all.

When you're hard of hearing like me, traffic noise makes conversation impossible just about everywhere inside a city. Electric vehicles might have fixed this, if the solution were not being banned. That is intensely annoying.

(If not outside, you can try chatting inside. But public meeting places inside are almost all noisy too: if not crowded enough to be noisy, most will add music or TV to compensate.)

Re: Yamaha MOTOROiD

#190

Post by NikolaNovak » Sat, May 29, 2021, 4:25 PM UTC

Osiris wrote: post #157

NikolaNovak wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I owned ride 6-7 different motorcycles, and I believe there's a special place in hell for those who put on loud aftermarket exhausts. Sure, it sounds nice to them . It shows an astonishing disregard to thousands of other people they impact daily. Let alone your next 10 neighbour houses who put up with it on consistent basis. ... :O There's no increased safety factor - there's no real location or distance clue such lo…

Modifying the exhaust can add power which is why you never see stock exhausts at the track. But for most riders, the performance improvement is barely noticable. I'm saying this as someone that had an aftermarket exhaust on all of 3 of my street bikes and one of my dirt bikes.

Yes it can, but as you hint yourself:

1. How many aftermarket exhausts actually add meaningful performance

2. How many people actually need / notice / use whatever performance they gain

vs

3. How many people, consciously or not, admittedly or not, just get it for bling and sound

Very few people with aftermarket parts take their bike or car on the track or competition. Very few have training to take advantage of it.

(I don't speak from a theoretical high horse - I spent thousands of dollars myself to add power to my WRX, before I finally realized that 1. Stock car was already faster than myself, and started investing in lessons/training/practice runs, and 2. The hands-down best investment I made in my car was a $200 aftermarket (additional) multi-point seat harness, as it stabilized my body/arms and enabled a much much finer degree of control. If I were to modify a car today, I'd start with suspension/control, not engine/power. For bikes, even more so - every bike I ever owned, from 50 scooter to 400cc supermoto to 500cc adventure and 750cc touring, can do amazing things in hands of a professional rider and can do far far less in my own hands; modifying it for "performance", for 98% of riders, is pointless and we're only fooling ourselves )