Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/568010
CN III VOICES L E T T E R S T O T H E E D I T O R "To think you need to put a loud exhaust on any modern sport bike to 'unleash' its performance is idiotic." Responsible Not Obnoxious This is directed to Christian Rice and all the other idiots who equate "loud" with "perfor- mance." I have no problem with someone putting a responsible aftermarket exhaust on their bike. Read "responsible" as not obnoxiously loud. Good systems like an Akrapovic will do that—give an increase in power, better powerband and less weight without generating excessive noise. But seriously, to think you need to put a loud exhaust on any modern sport bike to "unleash" its perfor- mance is idiotic. Look at any of the dyno charts for any of the top sport bikes, and then look at the hon- est dyno charts provided by a reputable exhaust manufacturer for that bike, and you will see very little in horsepower gain. This isn't the '70s or even the '80s. Modern sportbikes do not need an aftermarket exhaust to "unleash" their performance. It is already there. Putting a loud exhaust on a bike to intentionally make it loud is something that the majority of morons who ride Harleys do. You shouldn't be riding a sport bike, you should join your brothers on their loud, obnoxious Harleys. And don't even try to justify with the myth "loud pipes save lives." File that bull along with the "helmets cause neck injuries" myth. Go ahead and try to flame me, but you wont be able to, because the facts are on my side. All loud exhausts do is piss of the general public, and those of the "responsible" motorcycling population, and give more ammo to the anti-motorcycle politicians. Will Mansfield Liking Flat Track I still think AMA Flat Track is the best example of motorsports there is. As I've said before, what other form of motorsports can offer you this kind of speed and have trouble keeping up with the lead changes—per lap? Sure, there is the occasional runaway win, but that is not the norm. Flat track has more "photo finishes" than horse racing. The bookies in Vegas hate Flat Track (for obvious reasons). Only thing that even comes close is Speedway. Mac Mclemore Valentino Rossi Valentino Rossi is 38 years old and can still ride like a 20-year- old. He is in the running to make it a 10-time World Cham- pion. This guy is Great! David Morgan Romain Febvre I was wondering when one of the top factory riders was going to put it together and dethrone Antonio Cairoli. But it looks like we had to wait for Cairoli to injure-out before that happened. And even when Cairoli wasn't able to defend the title it wasn't Gautier Paulin, Kevin Strijbos, Clement Desalle, or even Max Nagl that would seize the mo- ment. It was the rookie Super- moto rider—Romain Febvre. Who would have imagined it? Congratulations to Mr. Febvre for winning the title in the same dominant fashion as Cairoli had. TJ McCann Letters to the editor can be sent to voices@cyclenews.com. Published letters do not necessarily reflect the position of Cycle News. Letters should not exceed 150 words and are subject to editing. Anonymous letters won't be considered for publication and each letter should contain the writer's name, address and daytime phone number… Editor P16 Got An Opinion? If you've got an opinion on something you've read in Cycle News. Or an opinion on something you'd like to read in Cycle News… or an opinion on anything motorcycle related, send it in. We want to know what our readers think. Email correspondence to Voices@cyclenews.com. Make sure to include your name and a daytime phone number.