Do electric motorcycles make artificial noise?

I'm interested in getting an electric motorcycle, but something I've been wondering:

ICE motorcycles can be loud, and that can act as a safety feature, especially when lane splitting. I'm thinking about Los Angeles, where motorcycles regularly weave through bumper-to-bumper car traffic. The noise they make helps prevent riders from getting accidentally doored.

Do electric motorcycles have any kind of artificial noise maker to achieve the same thing? Or does anyone sell a device that does this?

Note that I'm not talking about generic speakers, because

I don't want to have to blast music all the time just for safety, and
most speaker kits are pointed BACK at the driver, not FORWARD towards traffic.

Anyone know the answer?

20 comments

I question the premise entirely. I've seen "loud pipes are safer" quoted endlessly, but never any data to back it up.
Are there already quiet scooters weaving through traffic? If so I wouldn't be any more worried on a quiet bike.
- "loud pipes are safer"
  Its not. And the sound is pointing the wrong direction for most crashes.
- I'm very irritated when loud motorcycles drive by. It's noise pollution, it's antisocial.
  Some googling came up with this chart, listing motorcycles as 4-8 times louder than cars.
  This post refers to a Romanian study which found loud motorcycles are not more likely to be heard by drivers unless right next to the vehicle.
  With the advent of electric motorcycles there should be regulations mandating they have the same volume ceiling as other vehicles.
- They weave through slow moving city traffic, not highway traffic anywhere I've seen.
- Quiet scooters arent on highways and interstates- places where traffic will still back up and lane splitting is perfectly legal, even with traffic still moving.
- Loud pipes really do save lives. This is an extremely valid concern
  
  Can you show the data to back that up? The person you are replying to said, "never (seen) any data to back it up."
  https://www.autoweek.com/news/industry-news/a35952569/loud-pipes-do-not-save-lives/
  That's the only study I can find anywhere on the internet, and it is refuting your statement.
Most exhaust pipes are pointed BACK. if loud pipes actually helped in any significant amount, they'd point them forwards.
Always ride as if invisible, sound deadening in cars is getting better anyways.
- Most exhaust pipes are pointed BACK.
  And then there are the assholes who remove the dampening parts out of the exhaust so they can hear their bike roaring even when they are riding fast...
Pretty sure your answer is going to be no. The ONLY way to do this would be a horn or speaker system pointed forward like you mentioned which would have to be speed controlled, otherwise it would just be a constant siren of sorts. That being impractical and likely not well sought after, I dont think anything exists. Like other commenters have already said, scooters and such quiet, small displacement bikes dont have any noise enhancement and have never needed it- BUT they are primarily used in slower-speed city-type traffic, not out on higher speed highways and interstates (regardless of the actual speed of traffic flow when lane splitting is utilized).
I understand your concern, though. I used to commute daily on 2 wheels in the Bay Area on highways and on I-80 and people definitely could hear me and would move over when they could, and my bike isnt even “loud”- just a 900cc Triumph. Sometimes they wouldnt realize they were on the center line blocking progress and you could blip the throttle and then they’d notice and move over- something you wont be able to do on an electric bike, short of just beeping the horn i guess. It was a nice, reassuring feeling that you knew that THEY knew you were there. Not to mention i’ve been in a cage plenty of times and heard motorcycles well before ive seen them, so again…noise is justified.
- Looks like Yamaha might be making just such a device. Interesting.
  
  Awesome! It is kinda odd that electric vehicles have to have noise generators at lower speeds for safety reasons, why dont motorcycles?
To answer your question: Not that Iv'e ever heard of.
But just FYI. Speakers can make all kinds of sounds, not just music. They can make beeps and sirens too. They can even make motorcycle ICE sounds if you wanted to. Speakers can also be pointed in any direction. So if you want you can totally have speakers blast motorcycle sounds all around for safety.
If your plan is to be an asshole on a motorcycle and break traffic laws and weave around inside other drivers’ blind spots you deserve to get doored, among other things.
- It's legal to lane share in California.
  Even if it wasn't, wishing physical injury on someone for minor infractions is unkind and unreasonable.
  
  Seriously. Can't believe there's a "He shouldn't have resisted!" guy on Lemmy

20 comments