Aftermarket Motorcycle Exhausts: Why bikers buy them!

Posted in Industry Blogs

If you ask Google, or pretty much anyone else, what makes people buy aftermarket exhausts for bikes, the most common answers are fairly predictable. For a start, you’ll see plenty of folk banging on about showing off, saying loud pipes make people think they’re hard, or cool, or faster than they really are. And you’ll hear plenty of arguments about whether being heard makes you safer or not.

Sure, there are a good few members of the ‘look at me’ brigade out there; and it’s fair to say that a quick blip on the throttle with a louder than standard exhaust will more than likely alert that little old lady who’s about to step out in front of you. But we think it runs so much deeper than this, right into the heart and soul of the biker. Let’s explain:

First things first, why do we ride bikes anyway? For the vast majority, it’s all about how it makes us feel. It’s the buzz of the speed, the sense of being at one with the machine, actually part of it, nailing that perfect line through the bends, the rush of wind on the straights and the blurring of the hedges, dealing direct with the elements – the heat, the cold, the wet – it’s just you and the bike, no air-conditioned car wrapping you in cotton wool and killing the whole experience. Riding a bike, you can smell the scenery you’re riding through, feel the atmosphere around you, and it’s exhilarating. You can’t get that from any other form of transport.

Let’s torque about good looking exhausts

Riding a bike activates the senses, and that’s why it creates such electrifying feelings.

So to understand what’s going on in our heads, we need to explore those senses in more detail. And we’re going to concentrate on four key factors which tend to determine whether or not we like something, be it a new telly, an electric drill, a phone, or of course a bike.

Deep down, there are four things which really influence us:

Does it look good? Does it feel good? Does it sound good? And does it make sense?

Whether we realise it or not, these are the thoughts going on in our minds as we choose, and customise, our perfect bike.

In terms of whether it makes sense, we’re thinking about the price we’re paying, and the features such as power, torque, equipment, and reliability which we’re getting for that money. And we think a Fuel Exhaust contributes here too, adding that bit of extra poke at a great price for a piece of kit which is guaranteed for life.

When it comes to looking good, well, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and we all have our own ideas about which bikes just look the business, and which look like a dog’s breakfast. That’s why our aftermarket exhausts are designed to look great, not just perform great.

Looking for that purrrrfect exhaust growl?

As for sounding good, this is of course the one where Fuel Exhausts make the biggest impact! Getting that perfect exhaust note is like creating a work of art. There’s something about the combination of the tone, the volume, the growl and the bark, the overrun burble, that stirs us deep inside. It’s almost impossible to define and explain, but you just know when it’s right – and when it’s wrong! It’s the difference between a knackered Skoda and a tuned Lambo, a pizza delivery moped and a superbike. In the same way as a particular chord or note in a song will send a shiver down your spine, the right exhaust note just resonates within you.

And when you’ve got a bike which looks great, sounds awesome, and makes practical sense in every way, then you’ve got a bike which is going to feel perfect to ride.

This is why we put so much time and effort into developing aftermarket motorcycle exhausts which do so much to tantalise our sense of sound – because riding a bike is all about the pleasure and thrill of the experience, and the sound has so much to do with achieving that.

So next time someone tells you that buying a new exhaust for your bike is just about showing off, tell ‘em they don’t know what they’re talking about. Because they don’t.

Oh...and whilst you're here just take a quick look at our exhaust range - you'll love 'em!