Motorcyclists are always trying to get the most out of our bikes — the most sound, the most power, the most fun. Some folks take this to extremes, clearing out everything that could possibly interfere with those precious exhaust pathways, up to and including their spark arrestors. As a fellow motorcyclist, I beg of you: Don’t do that.
Last night, as I scrolled mindlessly through Instagram reels, I found one that really irked me: Someone taking a cutoff wheel to their bike’s spark arrestor, permanently removing the screen that stops hot carbon particles from shooting out from the bike’s exhaust. The reel included a little disclaimer, warning viewers “if you need to be sparky legal don’t cut it off,” but concerns about the law should pale in comparison to concerns about starting a goddamn forest fire.
Do you never ride your dirt bike — an offroad vehicle — over dead leaves? Dry grasses? How much damage to the world is worth that little benefit to your bike’s sound? We’ve reached a point in our manmade environmental decimation where even Brooklyn’s Prospect Park can catch fire, and the blazes set by your dumb little bike mod can have far-reaching consequences. Please don’t burn down a forest just to change your exhaust note.
Motorcycling is inherently an exercise in determining acceptable risk, but shooting sparks out into the wild is not acceptable. Go do something else dumb instead, preferably something that’ll only hurt you if it goes badly.
