Loud Exhaust On Snowmobiles... Is there a place for this anymore?

1M900 · Nov 7, 2010

There is no doubt that loud exhaust is unappreciated by many, but this is due to people riding like punks. One of our spots requires you to ride past a ski resort, no doubt full of tree huggers, but I always keep a low key on it until well beyond there and never have an issue. Some people simply have to cause a scene and get themselves into a problem. Personally Ihave my doubts that our so called "loud" sleds are any more irritating than their slow driving and subaru outbacks thinking theyre trucks. I love driving out from sledding and seeing one stuck then they love ya but id rather let them freeze to death than pull one out, they mock my 500 hp and 9 inches of lift but ive never had to stay the night or call a wrecker! All in all, I think we can all get along. Where I live is pretty open and few people and problems are rare, but when it comes down to it some people dont act like adults and slove problems in a civilized manner, thats when the helmet comes off and its solved the way that gives the real outdoorsmen (us) a bad rap! There is no winning here because our toys are killing the world and there is no telling them otherwise because al gore said so, and i personally met his "science" advisor at a university event an ripped him a new a** lol, hes just as ignorant as the rest of them and has no evidence or data to back himself up, just poorly observed trends over the past few years. Sorry, I am really uptight about this matter and could go off for days about it, but they will never like us and we will never like them and thats just the way it is. Politics, what a waste.

Loudisfast · Dec 6, 2010

LOUD IS FAST!

Dogmeat · Dec 6, 2010

Loudisfast said:
LOUD IS FAST!

You're a complete idiot

Loudisfast · Dec 10, 2010

So are you,
The fastest things in the world are loud, dragsters,funny cars,pro stock,drag bikes,nascars,super bikes,ect. ect. my sled is loud and its very fast if I muffle the pipes it will take away power. twin turbo four stroke four cylinder no muffler and it pulls like a top fuel funny car, o suck it. yeehaw.

MORSNO · Dec 10, 2010

Loudisfast said:
twin turbo four stroke four cylinder no muffler and it pulls like a top fuel funny car

Until you lose your riding areas because of noise. Yes, it HAS happened. I'm all for a nice sounding motor, but loud is NOT always fast. We've all smoked a fart canned import.

Rocky Mountain Rider · Dec 15, 2010

Yourworstnightmare said:
Ok.... I see your point..... but.. I'll throw a spin on things...

Why is it ok for Harley riders to have bikes that are so darn loud they can be heard from MILES away, when 1/2 way across my town on the hwy?

Why are they allowed to be loud?

Most high performance machines are loud for a reason...... less restriction.

However, if you do some research.... vehicles with a shorter / no "muffler" exhaust off of a TURBO are actually fairly quiet, in comparison to their supercharged or N/A counterparts.

110dBa shouldn't be considered "rediculous". I know that a concert hall is a LOT louder than that. Shoot, a BAR is louder than that.

You can NEVER compare the sound of a Harley to a snowmobile!!

Scott · Dec 15, 2010

Loudisfast said:
So are you,
The fastest things in the world are loud, dragsters,funny cars,pro stock,drag bikes,nascars,super bikes,ect. ect. my sled is loud and its very fast if I muffle the pipes it will take away power. twin turbo four stroke four cylinder no muffler and it pulls like a top fuel funny car, o suck it. yeehaw.

YEP....Dirty little motor industry secret....it's simply the lack of a muffler that makes anything fast.

:face-icon-small-con:face-icon-small-dis

Scott · Dec 15, 2010

There is always some weiner that comes in here and thinks that noise makes horsepower.

MORSNO said:
Until you lose your riding areas because of noise. Yes, it HAS happened. I'm all for a nice sounding motor, but loud is NOT always fast. We've all smoked a fart canned import.

I'm in rep-lock for you, otherwise I'd throw you some more regular rep...but for now, please make do with a "thanks" and a thumbs-up.

CatWoman · Dec 15, 2010

Just to add for a couple of the comments......YES, there are MANY of us that don't like the obnoxiously loud sleds out in the backcountry. It's actually rather annoying. I ALWAYS love watching those with the obnoxious sleds get smoked by someone on a quieter machine. :face-icon-small-coo Rider ability has a lot to do with what a sled can do.

If you're getting lost from your riding crew, then you or that crew needs to be paying better attention. Just my opinion of course....but if you go riding with a group, you should always be paying attention to where others are. How do you know someone isn't buried under an avy, or in a treewell, or upside down, or slammed into a tree, etc? :face-icon-small-con 2 way radios are always helpful when out riding.

Being from one of the worst impacted areas for closures, dates in place that we are legal to ride (our legal riding season is VERY short in comparison to other places)...this hits home especially hard. No one here ever believed this would happen, but it has. :face-icon-small-fro

shmuckaluck · Dec 15, 2010

Hey guys,
I think Loudisfast is just a button pusher, I don't think he's actually serious. How many twin turbo sleds do you see out there?

CatWoman · Dec 15, 2010

Besides a button pusher....alter.

Z-Man · Dec 15, 2010

I really think everyone here is missing a bigger issue. Yes my sled is loud but if you are one hill away you can not hear it.

The thing that is going to get the areas closed faster is the fact that 2 cycle engines have oil coming out of the exhaust pipes. That is the environmental concern and the reason fewer and fewer 2 stroke motorcycles are being produced and that Yamaha put it's time and engineering dollars into building 4 stroke machines.

They are quieter too.

Loud is just another excuse to ban 2 stroke snowmobiles and snowmobiles in general. If we all got 4 stroke sleds tomorrow they would just change the reason they wanted them banned.

If you are truly concerned join your local and state clubs and help out in the fight to keep our riding areas open. Doing nothing only leaves you to blame when your favorite spot is closed to snowmobiles.

CatWoman · Dec 15, 2010

Actually that's not the case here in Flathead. Thus we have a restricted riding season (and MANY areas closed)....Dec. 1 to April 1. All about the noise disturbing the Grizzly Bears (and still getting closures because of this)....and next on the agenda are wolverines.

I hear about it straight from the mouths of those in positions of authority (many of whom are motorized recreationists themselves). I get to hear the behind the scenes stuff that goes on.

Why give the exact ammo that the enviro's need? And it's really frustrating to read about someone from elsewhere wanting a LOUD can to come out west.

I am a member of many organizations!

The Fourth Wolf · Dec 15, 2010

Z-Man said:
I really think everyone here is missing a bigger issue. Yes my sled is loud but if you are one hill away you can not hear it.

The thing that is going to get the areas closed faster is the fact that 2 cycle engines have oil coming out of the exhaust pipes. That is the environmental concern and the reason fewer and fewer 2 stroke motorcycles are being produced and that Yamaha put it's time and engineering dollars into building 4 stroke machines.

They are quieter too.

There is absolutely no environmentally based modification or concession that we could make as a community that would ever appease the anti-motorized crowd. Even if we rode machines that ran on air, made no emissions, and left no tracks they would still fight us. They don't want machines in their mountains. Period.

But they're not the one's we need to focus on. The real issue with loud pipes is the risk of alienating the snowmobile-neutral voting public. If you and your piped sled are pissing off the blue-hairs and the soccer-mom's because you're disturbing their peace where they live then all you're doing is helping to turn those people, who had no opinion previously, against us.

Don't take this as anti-four stroke because it isn't: The emergence of four strokes was an industry response to government regulation. Good on Yammi for taking a lead in this technology and all, but make no mistake, if the EPA wasn't ratcheting down on 2 strokes there would be very little market driven motivation for the big 4 to make a four stroke sled.

Z-Man · Dec 15, 2010

CatWoman said:
Actually that's not the case here in Flathead. Thus we have a restricted riding season (and MANY areas closed)....Dec. 1 to April 1. All about the noise disturbing the Grizzly Bears (and still getting closures because of this)....and next on the agenda are wolverines.

This is my point exactly. It wouldn't matter is you invented an electric snowmobile that did not pollute and was silent. The enviro nuts do not want you riding there. Snowmobile are so harmful, but how many of you who ride have witnessed that the animals actually use the tracks we make to get around. It is easier for them to walk a packed track that 4 feet of powder.

Z-Man · Dec 15, 2010

The Fourth Wolf said:
There is absolutely no environmentally based modification or concession that we could make as a community that would ever appease the anti-motorized crowd. Even if we rode machines that ran on air, made no emissions, and left no tracks they would still fight us. They don't want machines in their mountains. Period.

But they're not the one's we need to focus on. The real issue with loud pipes is the risk of alienating the snowmobile-neutral voting public. If you and your piped sled are pissing off the blue-hairs and the soccer-mom's because you're disturbing their peace where they live then all you're doing is helping to turn those people, who had no opinion previously, against us.

Don't take this as anti-four stroke because it isn't: The emergence of four strokes was an industry response to government regulation. Good on Yammi for taking a lead in this technology and all, but make no mistake, if the EPA wasn't ratcheting down on 2 strokes there would be very little market driven motivation for the big 4 to make a four stroke sled.

A little common sense when riding in areas where people are skiing and snowshoeing goes a long way to help our image.

As for the blue-hairs, they are already banned from enjoying these areas because most of them could only get to these places via motorized transportation.

CatWoman · Dec 15, 2010

Z-Man said:
This is my point exactly. It wouldn't matter is you invented an electric snowmobile that did not pollute and was silent. The enviro nuts do not want you riding there. Snowmobile are so harmful, but how many of you who ride have witnessed that the animals actually use the tracks we make to get around. It is easier for them to walk a packed track that 4 feet of powder.

No, it IS the NOISE that is making it in the court system. Whether or not the enviro's want us around is different. They can fight...but they have to have some sort of basis...and noise is something that EVERYONE can relate to. Malloy rules in favor of them every time when this is brought before him. Every person can understand about LOUD. This brings in folks whom otherwise may not have ever given a thought one way or the other to sleds.

I know all about animals used the sled tracks. I have pics of critters in the trail. That is irrelevant in regards to the noise factor.

Z-Man · Dec 15, 2010

CatWoman said:
No, it IS the NOISE that is making it in the court system. Whether or not the enviro's want us around is different. They can fight...but they have to have some sort of basis...and noise is something that EVERYONE can relate to. Malloy rules in favor of them every time when this is brought before him. Every person can understand about LOUD. This brings in folks whom otherwise may not have ever given a thought one way or the other to sleds.

I know all about animals used the sled tracks. I have pics of critters in the trail. That is irrelevant in regards to the noise factor.

Yes, because noise is not the issue. You being there is the issue. Noise is just something that they can use to stop you from being there. If all of our snowmobiles were silent tomorrow then pollution would be the next target or whatever else they can dream up. The loudest pipes on a snowmobile can not be heard from just over the next hill. Snow is an excellent sound deadener and so are trees.

For now, ride slow in areas were there are people skiing, snowshoeing, sledding or doing any other activities and save riding wide open till you are in areas were you do not disturb others.

It only take one idiot racing through a crowd of people to get us all Banned.

CatWoman · Dec 15, 2010

Z-Man said:
Yes, because noise is not the issue. You being there is the issue. Noise is just something that they can use to stop you from being there. If all of our snowmobiles were silent tomorrow then pollution would be the next target or whatever else they can dream up. The loudest pipes on a snowmobile can not be heard from just over the next hill. Snow is an excellent sound deadener and so are trees.

For now, ride slow in areas were there are people skiing, snowshoeing, sledding or doing any other activities and save riding wide open till you are in areas were you do not disturb others.

It only take one idiot racing through a crowd of people to get us all Banned.

YES....loud pipes can be heard over the next hill. I guess maybe if someone was deaf, they couldn't hear it...but it is fact it can be heard, and I (or others) don't even have to take off my helmet to hear it. I can hear it over my own sled at times. Mountains/hills provide a great echo effect....and actually carry sound. I spend a lot of time in the woods year round, sound still carries in the mountains.

Like I said, there are folks whom I talk with that I get info from. There's a point where the Forest Service or Fish, Wildlife, Parks will stand behind us, or against us. I get a LOT of info about this because of the people I know and friendships built with them.

I've been involved with the Land Use stuff for a VERY long time. This is not something new to me. I have no desire to argue fact with you. I know fact. LOUD does NOT help us, and indeed does a whole lot of harm. The court cases prove that fact. As I said...noise is something everyone can understand, and most do not like.

Burghy · Dec 22, 2010

My experience with park officials and loud pipes

last year all my buddies and i made a trip to walden colorado and played in rabbit ears for 3 days. Our third day we had a bit of a toughy due to the fact one of our friends was riding a less that adequate sled. finally at the end of the day we were head back to the parking lot and upon seeing the final 300 yard trail to the parking lot in a fit of joy that kid (big dog barker can) ripped it pretty hard in a fit of relief and joy... upon hearing that we were swarmed by about 3 park rangers.. going bazerk explaining that irresponsible riders like us were the reason that these rules were changing... they proceeded to explain that in the coming years nothing above a certain amount of decibles would be aloud and his sled def. didnt meet those standards...

eye opening experience for me because ive never had an issue with my mbrp racing can..

just thought id share

Loud Exhaust On Snowmobiles... Is there a place for this anymore?

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