[brooder]

are you using a full helmet? and do you have stock exhaust?

Full helmet and stock exhaust mean nothing. I've worn three different helmets and all have wind noise above 40 MPH. The plugs make all the difference in the world. I can keep my visor up at 60+ and not get deafened by wind noise (but blinded by blasted bugs...).

Plugs won't mess with balance. That's an inner ear function. And they don't drown out the necessary noises, just cut out background noise. It actually makes hearing everything much easier.

[md86]

The noise from my new exhaust is pretty bad at around 4000rpm ( 30 - 40mph...ish ) which made me contemplate wearing ear plugs on town journeys. But I'm concerned about taking away one of my senses especially around town and rush hour traffic.

Damn , guy . I've posted MANY times about the headphones I wear (I listen to music while riding) . Now , check this out .....
The other day I was riding . I got to the end of this one road , and I hear a siren . I pull over to the side , and several seconds later a cops flies by . Yeah , I heard him while I was listening to my radio BEFORE I saw him .

[iwannadie]

i hate riding with my visor fully closed just because i feel like i cant hear everything. i cant imagine riding with ear plugs in. last time i had plugs in i couldnt hear someone standing right next to me talking.

not sure how id hear a siren or anything else while riding...

[trinc]

i hate riding with my visor fully closed just because i feel like i cant hear everything. i cant imagine riding with ear plugs in. last time i had plugs in i couldnt hear someone standing right next to me talking.

not sure how id hear a siren or anything else while riding...

i'd say give it a try. when you cut out the wind noise i think you can actually hear better. i have silicone custom molded plugs cause i have a hard time getting the foam mounted properly.

tim

[DreKat]

I have tried ear plugs a few times and have NEVER like to wear them and my ears start to bother me later on after removeing them.

[Wade-Kat600]

mine bug me more with plugs than without - i've also noticed that by cracking teh visor open on the helmet just a smidgen cuts the noise down to a very very tolerable level.

[teddy]

I finally tried the earplugs about two weeks ago. What an investment that $2 was. Couldn't believe the difference. It is actually not too bad to ride next to my dad with his D&D pipe now. I absolutely could not stand it before, I don't think I will ever ride without them again.

[StevieB]

Geez, folks, sorry to preach, but many of you are just not getting it. Here, I'll spell it out for you. I am over-simplyfing, but apparently some folks do not get sublety:

EVERY HELMET EVER TESTED PRODUCED WIND NOISE AT A LEVEL WIDELY ACCEPTED AS DAMAGING TO YOUR HEARING.

EAR PLUGS REDUCE WIND NOISE TO A LEVEL THAT USUALLY WILL NOT DAMAGE YOUR HEARING.

THE LARGE MAJORITY OF EAR PLUGS ALLOW OTHER NOISES IN, LIKE SIRENS, TRAFFIC NOISE, ETC. THEY ATTENUATE THE NOISE- THAT MEANS THE REDUCE IT, NOT ELEMINATE IT.

ARE YOU PEOPLE EVEN READING THE ARTICLE, OR JUST PUTTING OUT YOUR OWN, TOTALLY UNINFORMED OPINION ON SOMETHING YOU KNOW ABSOULTLY NOTHING ABOUT????

AND HELL YES, I AM SHOUTING.

[Wade-Kat600]

LMAO - oh comon stevie - just cuz some of us prefer riding with different gear doesnt make us necessarily wrong - its more of a "they hurt my ears to wear them and detract my attention from riding cuz i've always got my fingers shoved up the side of my helmet tryin to make em NOT hurt"

YES (see i can yell too) LOL They are noisy as hell - but its my ears so its my choice - so pthrrbbbbbbb <(rasberry sound)

[StevieB]

Wde-Kat600:

[LordKeryth]

I don't know if I am already deaf from working around jets or if i have the One True Helmet, but I just don't hear hardly any wind noise at 30mph or 130mph. And I agree about the plugs hurting my ears and taking away from my attention on the road.

[tdrcomm]

I've only worn plugs once, and that was a pair that Cyber gave me at The Gap. I remember them working pretty well. Once I got back home I lost them (Sorry Marc). But since we have a ton of them around the house I will try again to remember what I've been missing. I was always concerned about being able to hear emergency sirens and ambient noises, but more concerned about hearing the sounds that the bike makes. You can tell a lot about how your bike's running just from tone and feel. Didn't want to deaden one of those indicators. But this thread has caused me to think twice. I'll try them tomorrow.

BTW: The earplugs laying around are for Lisa. My snoring sometimes has been known to wake the dead... and kill some of the living.

[md86]

Geez, folks, sorry to preach, but many of you are just not getting it. Here, I'll spell it out for you. I am over-simplyfing, but apparently some folks do not get sublety:

EVERY HELMET EVER TESTED PRODUCED WIND NOISE AT A LEVEL WIDELY ACCEPTED AS DAMAGING TO YOUR HEARING.

EAR PLUGS REDUCE WIND NOISE TO A LEVEL THAT USUALLY WILL NOT DAMAGE YOUR HEARING.

THE LARGE MAJORITY OF EAR PLUGS ALLOW OTHER NOISES IN, LIKE SIRENS, TRAFFIC NOISE, ETC. THEY ATTENUATE THE NOISE- THAT MEANS THE REDUCE IT, NOT ELEMINATE IT.

ARE YOU PEOPLE EVEN READING THE ARTICLE, OR JUST PUTTING OUT YOUR OWN, TOTALLY UNINFORMED OPINION ON SOMETHING YOU KNOW ABSOULTLY NOTHING ABOUT????

AND HELL YES, I AM SHOUTING.

WHAT ?!?!?! I CAN'T HEAR YOU FROM TOO MANY YEARS OF RIDING MOTORCYCLES !!!!!!

[LordKeryth]

just too funny. hopefully the sarcasm won't be lost on certain people.

[allblackkat]

I finally tried the earplugs about two weeks ago. What an investment that $2 was. Couldn't believe the difference. It is actually not too bad to ride next to my dad with his D&D pipe now. I absolutely could not stand it before, I don't think I will ever ride without them again.

I'm with this guy, only i'm the one with the D&D.....

Rode for the 1st time with the ear plugs last night and I felt like I had Spidey senses.... my brain wasn't so busy computing that the sound is too loud and it hurts... instead I had better feeling in my hands, so much so that my hands went numb after 15mins on the bike (something that happens usually after an hour). I also found that I could concentrate my vision further down the road.....Lastly, I actually felt like my sense of smell was stronger too......

I'm pretty sure there is scientific proof behind this, I just haven't seen it on the Discovery Channel yet.