Debunking Motorcycle Myths: Separating Fact from Fiction

Back in the early 2000s, I owned a motorcycle shop. The truth is, most of the time spent working on bikes is pretty common stuff, although I did indulge in the occasional custom build and tuned a race bike here and there. But the bulk of it was chewing the fat with customers over old mechanical issues or regular upgrades. There’s nothing wrong with that, but boy, do they give you an earful. Among those rants is a treasure trove of horse manure. By that, I mean tall tales, home remedies, advice from someone’s uncle who’s been riding for 77 years, and other nuggets of “wisdom.”

Over the years, I’ve heard a long list of nonsense that’s been passed down for ages, and honestly, it seems worse on the cruiser side of motorcycling than elsewhere.

Now, mind you, I’ll be the first to admit that I certainly don’t know everything, but through years of racing, working events at J&P Cycles, and scraping by to live, I’ve learned when someone’s peeing on my leg and telling me it’s raining. Let’s take a look at some of my favorite motorcycle myths.

Myth: It’s Safer Not to Wear a Helmet

Believe it or not, I’ve had several conversations with people claiming that it’s safer not to wear a helmet than to wear one. This garbage claim usually revolves around some dubious statements. Many people argue that their vision is obstructed by wearing a helmet. While the average person’s field of vision is about 180 degrees, the DOT requires helmets to have a field of vision of 210 degrees, so unless you’re inexplicably dizzy, your vision shouldn’t be obstructed by your helmet.

Similarly, some claim they can’t hear well while wearing a helmet. I’d like to point out that some of these same people are blasting Skynyrd at 135 decibels while cruising around town. Also, if you’ve ever ridden without a helmet, you know that once you hit about 45 mph, the wind noise is louder without a helmet than with it.

“Some argue you’re more likely to have a spinal injury when wearing a helmet,” claim some. A study on hospital discharge records has debunked this theory, but maybe you’re one of those types who doesn’t trust “experts.” If so, I suggest another experiment: ask someone to swing a Babe Ruth-style baseball bat at your noggin without a helmet and let me know which hurts more, your head or your neck. I don’t need to consult a scientist to guess where you’ll feel more pain.

Myth: Loud Pipes Mean More Power

First off, let’s get this straight: loud pipes don’t save lives; knowing how to ride your bike saves your life. But before we dive into that endless rabbit hole, let’s take a look at loud pipes in general.

Some people assume that a louder exhaust means more power, so drag pipes or an open collector are the most performance-oriented exhaust systems. While a drag pipe or a baffling-free exhaust system may be the least restrictive and possibly result in a few extra horses at the top end of the rev range, they’re not the most performance-oriented pipes outside of a drag strip. They’re certainly not the best choice for your street bike.

Companies like Vance & Hines and S&S Cycle have spent 40 years perfecting exhaust design and creating baffles to get the best possible performance out of your bike’s pipe. Exhaust systems that perform best in the midrange (pipes with baffles) give you more power and torque where you spend most of your time riding (in the middle of your rev range) rather than at redline.

Another myth is the notion that “true duals” are the most performance-oriented bagger exhaust. The term “true duals” means each header is independent on each cylinder of the bike. In reality, a set of bagger pipes with an integrated crossover actually performs better.

“A crossover allows the pulses to talk to each other,” explained Hunter Klee, Director of Exhaust Development at S&S Cycles. Engines of various configurations use crossover pipes in exhausts, but it’s particularly relevant in engines like those in your bagger, with large combustion chambers and shared intake. That’s why S&S designed a hidden crossover in their headers to create a system that looks like true duals, offering the consumer crossover performance.

Myth: Ape Hanger Handlebars Offer the Best Handling

One of my personal pet peeves is when someone describes ape hangers as the “best” handlebars. With seemingly endless options of handlebars in cruiser land, there are tons of opinions on which bars will improve your high-performance Dyna or Street Glide, and almost all choices won’t translate into better handling of your hog. People seem to confuse comfort with handling. Just because you personally feel more comfortable with your arms 18 inches above your head doesn’t mean the bike will respond better to steering inputs up there. If ape hangers were the most performance-oriented bars, MotoGP riders would sport 14-inch apes and not clip-ons. End of story.

Myth: A Sportster Isn’t a “Real” Harley

The “bigger is better” attitude seems to permeate all areas of Harley culture and drives me nuts. This bias is probably most apparent when people talk about Sportsters.

Personally, I think Sportsters are the best Harley-Davidsons ever made, but for many, a Sportster is the beginner bike to be rid of as quickly as possible to move up to a big twin. The idea is that the bigger bike, be it a Dyna, Softail, or bagger, is a better and faster machine. But let’s look at some simple math. A Twin Cam Street Glide weighs around 850 pounds, depending on the model, and the stock 103 engine puts out about 70-75 horses at the rear wheel, for a ratio of about 11.33 pounds per horse, if we’re generous. In contrast, a 1200cc Evo Sportster weighs about 520 pounds stock and puts out about 55 horses, resulting in a ratio of 9.45 pounds per horse. So when you’re looking down on a simple Sporty while sitting at the stoplight on your shiny new bagger,

Then there’s the ever-present criticism that you can’t tour on a smaller bike like a Sportster. Of course, this is also a load of garbage. While you might argue about how comfortable a smaller or larger bike would be, the fact is, many people ride long distances on smaller bikes. Our personal videographer, Steve Luke, recently rode from a South Dakota snowstorm to the beaches of San Felipe, Mexico, on his trusty 2001 Sportster 883. Chris Comly completed the Iron Butt Rally on a Sportster, and Brett Donahue came in third in the 2007 IBR on a Sportster, covering over 11,000 miles in 11 days.

Some of my favorite conversations have been leaning against a shop bench or around a campfire, talking about improving the looks and performance of motorcycles, but every now and then, a full load of BS creeps into those conversations and gets passed off as fact.