[5252rpm]

Great thread! Kudos to the effort.

For the exact same reason, I avoid getting stuck behind a Himalyan 411 in B2B traffic. The push from exhaust is literally on face. For my height (6ft), my bike (CBR250), Himalayan is the major irritant for me.

While we know these are purpose built vehicles, is there any designing law abiding the angle of exhaust pipe w.r.t ground ?

[Jupizire]

Wovv! Never thought that my post would come up on the front page of Team-BHP! Ecstatic and humbled Made my week!
Thanks everyone for the encouragement and support, and counterviews as well

[Freespirit27]

Well there are bigger problems with trucks, transport buses or even the floor ac buses (heat exchanger) exhausts having smoke or heat coming right at window level of cars or bikers face. Compared to those I think the minor problem of bikes with a particular exhaust design which is easily resolved by just moving out of line of the exhaust path, can be ignored.
Not to mention that gas expands in all directions once the velocity reduces makes the entire problem not cost effective or offering benefits worthy of a design review!

[Jeroen]

Here’s a novel thought to prevent you from getting exhaust smoke from an upward angle exhaust.

KEEP YOUR DISTANCE!

Totally unrealistic in India, because at least 4-5 punters will cut in front of you.

Even so, if you are getting somebodies exhaust smoke up your face, I dare say, irrespective country or culture, you are WAY to close at their rear end!

Jeroen

[parrys]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

Even so, if you are getting somebodies exhaust smoke up your face, I dare say, irrespective country or culture, you are WAY to close at their rear end!

I agree.

Most two-wheeler users want to use up every mm of space available to crawl ahead, as if it's going to make any difference in traffic. Most have no sense of space. I am sure these are the same people who would breathe on the shoulder of the person in front of them while getting on & off a flight, or any such situation.

I would not mind using my exhaust to keep them aware that they are too close, so that they don't touch their front wheel on by bike. It is so annoying to keep an eye behind every single time when stuck in traffic, only because of such road users.

For the few times that I might have encountered this, the exhaust from the vehicle ahead being felt, I moved aside or away. My bad, my mistake.

And exhaust pipes which are not upward angled or upswept, are they not noxious for other bikers in traffic?

Criticism has become the new cool.

[doga]

Originally Posted by parrys

I agree.

Most two-wheeler users want to use up every mm of space available to crawl ahead, as if it's going to make any difference in traffic. Most have no sense of space.

I am one of those crawlers most of the time. It is very irritating for the car guys who see these bikes crawl by tilted as they pray for their car's paint.
However there is a very good reason for this crawl. If you manage to crawl to the front of the pack at a stop light while the light is still red, you then have a relatively open and free stretch of road up ahead when it turns green. This is tremendously liberating .If your commute is long involving many stop lights then I am pretty sure your chances of an off is lower if you start at the front.
Of course you have to pay attention to any errant cars/bikes trying to catch the yellow from the other sides before taking off!

[ebonho]

Originally Posted by doga

I am one of those crawlers most of the time. It is very irritating for the car guys who see these bikes crawl by tilted as they pray for their car's paint.
However there is a very good reason for this crawl. If you manage to crawl to the front of the pack at a stop light while the light is still red, you then have a relatively open and free stretch of road up ahead when it turns green. This is tremendously liberating .If your commute is long involving many stop lights then I am pretty sure your chances of an off is lower if you start at the front.
Of course you have to pay attention to any errant cars/bikes trying to catch the yellow from the other sides before taking off!

Most of the crawling is on the extreme left. Where there is a sea of crawlers. At standstill, you riding skills and bike is nullified by the fact that you are now crawling just like the other crawlers, and have no advantage over them. Hence you come down to their level playing field, and then open yourself up to bar-ends and mirrors and crash guards and uncle boxes smashing into your bike from all sides. I was never a crawler, but I too used to be laboring under this delusion that I should be perched somewhere in the crawler river on the left and keep half clutching forward, and getting rammed from behind or the sides. Then enlightenment dawned. If you dont want to be hit by crawlers, stay out of the way of crawlers. Usually behind a car, towards its left, with an escape route open. Most importantly, well away from the crawlers. Depending on the light, shut your bike off or keep it idling in neutral. Then when the traffic gets moving, the tables are turned. You are a rider riding a nice bike once again, and not a crawler anymore. And you cut through the crawlers and get ahead in the moving traffic, at a pace and with control that they are incapable of. This is now your playing field, and you hold the cards. Once the traffic halts again, pull over, disengage from the crawlers, and wait the light out. Not much different to what my man Will Smith does with the nocturnal zombies in I Am Legend.

Cheers, Doc

[VijayAnand1]

If I'd like to add one crucial -- "super crucial aspect" to any motorcycle/two wheeler is to design tire huggers that control the splash of crud, muck and rain water during rainy season. Most of the bikes today come with skimpier huggers and fatter rear tire which is simply a horrible combination during monsoons or simply following them on a dirty patch of trail.

An upswept exhaust isn't only for aesthetic reasons, there's also a harmonics element to it, which is a topic altogether. In all, in my opinion with super silent BS6 engines these days, an upswept, underswept or a straight pipe doesn't make a big difference to the rider behind, unless you're point blank to the muffler where it occasionally gives out a couple of strong exhaust pulse/puffs every now and then and that's pretty much okay.

I'd strongly opine this design parameter (which is of course tricky considering the day and age's obsession with form over factor) over an engineering factor such as an upswept exhaust.

Cheers!
VJ

[W.A.G.7]

I agree. It is definitely a problem. You stop behind a bike and you notice fumes being blown right away into your face. For Royal Enfield bikes, even though the exhaust can is horizontal, it ends up searing your legs. The heat is strong, so you feel it through your jeans or trousers, especially in the summer months. I remember, my Suzuki GS150R inspite of having an upswept exhaust pipe, had the actual angle of the opening slightly downward pointing. I really wonder, where these useful touches that manufacturers used to put in the cars/bikes; a few years ago, have been lost! Nowadays everybody just puts features into vehicles without thinking of the usability and utility aspect of it.

[ergon_9700]

Agreed. It is a nuisance. I have faced this in traffic a lot in two wheeler. Especially Interceptor. It is more like in your face is what I feel. CB350 to a lesser extent but Interceptor for sure. It annoys me a lot as one can get distracted easily.