Well we all had noisey cars/bikes when we were younger, but the droning sound within a car quickly wears off, and becomes nothing but tiring on your ears and your brain........Loud pipes saves lives.......I dont think so, the noise is usually as the bike passes you and simply scares the crap out of you as they go past.......more obnoxious than anything, by riders drawing attention to themselves........Yes nice to have a good note, but only on a stock Vincent could you run an open pipe and not be anoying to yourself and others.......Once you up the comp and some bigger cams, the noise with open pipes is too much........tried all the above.......all good fun.