Noisy motorcycles - revisited and continued

[TheSlashFiveTourer]

News Item:- Vancouver Sun (4 August 2006)

NOISY BIKERS FACE STIFF FINES

Police officers, some armed with decibel readers, are set to crack down on heavy metal thunder from the illegally reverberant pipes of tricked-out motorcycles.

The Vancouver police department plans to attack acoustic assault over the next five days by issuing $109 tickets to motorcyclists with bikes making noise well over the average range of 93 decibels.

The city’s limit on noise at construction sites is 85 decibels.

“We get hundreds of complaints every summer from people in the West End about noisy motorcycles,” said a police spokesman.

Fines for noisy motorcycles aren’t new but the level of enforcement will be said the spokesman. Some officers will have decibel readers while others will simply target bikes making a flagrantly harsh clamour.

The target area of the police campaign is the echo canyon of the downtown peninsula where the roaring vibrato of a motorcycle can crank out quite the cacophony.

At the corner of Thurlow and Robson, bikers park at one of the two Starbucks and take in some sun and high-octane coffee before revving up their engines and heading off. The racket is familiar to a sales associate at Banana Republic across from one of the Starbucks. “It usually happens in the evening. The corner seems to be a place where people with really loud bikes like to congregate. It gets pretty loud. That’s how they show off, I guess. It’s a way of drawing attention to themselves. It can be pretty bad. Especially if the bikers let it rip as they drive out.”

The problem is that many bikers remove or modify the muffler tailpipe to make them louder.

A local specialist in soundscape awareness from Simon Fraser University in Vancouver states there has always been a connection between noise and the biker culture. “There is a general ethos that noise is power. That the louder the roar of the beast, the more powerful it is and the more wary you should be of it.” The specialist said the traditional roar of a Harley-Davidson is almost part of its brand. He went on to declare that the issue of noisy motorcycles is a tricky one, where the balance needs to be reached between the bikers’ right to indulge in their hobby and the noise-sensitive public’s right not to be offended.

The specialist concluded that city garbage trucks in the West End of the city probably make more noise than motorcycles.

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Today’s Readers Digest words of choice in this article are:

1. "illegally reverberant"
2. "vibrato"
3. "cacophony"
4. "ethos"
5. "soundscape awareness"

So there. ` ` `:lurk

[Bob_M]

"flagrantly harsh clamour"

Yow! you Canucks sure can turn a phrase :D

[Cliffy777]

We do not use that type of language in any of the newspapers around here, that is for dang sure!

[BradfordBenn]

My hunch is that it is happening in Vancouver, BC and not Vancouver, WA.... just a guess.

[R80RTJohnny]

Nothing like a precedent. Coming to a community near you!

As a BMW Rider I can't help but to chukle.

H-D saw this coming by removing it Screaming Eagle pipes from the market.

[pmdave]

Apparently, many motorcyclists have not realized that it's never in the best interests of a minority to piss off the majority.

Noise is one of the big issues. Trucks make noise, but they are doing something useful--hauling Chinese goods to Wal Mart, groceries to Safeway, etc. Normal citizens are slowly coming to realize that motorcycles don't come noisy--but are made noisy by self-centered scofflaw bikers.

As more and more communities discover that there is money to be made by enforcing the equipment laws, there will be a crackdown on motorcycles that will affect us all.

Noise annoys. Got lout pipes? What part of "illegal" don't you understand?
But, aren't we all in this together? Aren't we all bikers? Aren't we going to stick together and fight big bro?

Uhhh, no.

pmdave

[PUDGYPAINTGUY]

I guess this is the sentiment that may explain why Screamin' Eagle are not ON sponsors/advertizers...hehehehe

[TheSlashFiveTourer]

My hunch is that it is happening in Vancouver, BC and not Vancouver, WA.... just a guess.
Vancouver (WA.) has a newspaper? ` ` ` :ha

[Rod Sheridan]

It's time to add "Loud Shirts Save Lives" decals to our bikes! I have one on my airhead, along with a "Chrome Won't Get You Home" decal, a real conversation starter at some coffee stops.

Or perhaps we could counter attack by riding to places the loud bikes congregate and drown them out with airhead valve clatter, K bike engine whine, or turn up the volume on the talking GPS receivers! That'll teach them.

Of course if we all turn up in bright coloured Aerostitch suits, wearing reflective vests and full face helmets, that should drive the scofflaws away, and if that doesn't work, we could hand out brochures on ERC courses. We would soon have them running for the hills.

P.S. Don't forget to bring your earplugs, in case we do actually drive them away, don't want any hearing impaired beemer riders.

Regards, Rod.

[BubbaZanetti]

i'm a super hypocrite,

loud as hell harley or chopper thing - BOOO

loud as hell duc, triumph, airhead, etc - AWSOME

i rode with a guy yesterday that had a pretty loud R11S, i liked it A LOT.

[threeflys]

It's time to add "Loud Shirts Save Lives" decals to our bikes! I have one on my airhead, along with a "Chrome Won't Get You Home" decal, a real conversation starter at some coffee stops.

.

I love wearing my Royal Enfield shirt that proudly says "Loud Valves Save Lives" on the back, especially when I venture into a H-D shop! Yes, I occasionally take a walk on the wild side! ;)
Chris

[hlothery]

I love wearing my Royal Enfield shirt that proudly says "Loud Valves Save Lives" on the back, especially when I venture into a H-D shop! Yes, I occasionally take a walk on the wild side! ;)
Chris


My favorite picture is the one of my RT in front of Sturgis Harley Davidson. I got in and out of the parking lot before they knew I was there, because the RT was so quiet!!

[Crow18]

The other day we were picking up the car at the repair shop before a trip to Seattle (had to pick up my parents at the airport and so couldn't ride), and got to talking with the mechanic. He rides a Ninja with loud aftermarket pipes, and said he really likes knowing that people can hear him coming.

Half an hour later, we drove past him on our way out of town. I had the window open and the radio was turned off and I was looking right at him, and I didn't hear a thing until he was past me.

I've heard that loud brakes save lives too. Squeeee!

[username]

At the corner of Thurlow and Robson, bikers park at one of the two Starbucks and take in some sun and high-octane coffee before revving up their engines and heading off. The racket is familiar to a sales associate at Banana Republic across from one of the Starbucks.


i love the dichotomy at work here: yuppies and boomers drinking starbucks and riding loud, badass motorcycles outside the banana republic store.

effete meets F-you.

biker #1: [VROOOOOOOOOOOOOM VROOOOOOM!]

biker #2: [screaming] you wanna get a latte?!!

biker #1: WHAT?!

biker #2: let's get a coffee!!!

biker #1: I CAN'T HEAR YOU! I'M REVVING MY ENGINE BEFORE I [VROOOM!] PUT IT INTO FIRST GEAR! IT'S COOL! HEY, I WANT A HALF-CAF-NONFAT-CARAMEL-SOY-FRAPPUCINO-WITH-WHIP!

biker #2: WHAT?!

biker #1: this is AWESOME! [VROOOM VROOOM]

biker #2: hey i need to [VROOM!] go to banana republic!! they have the new wool blend micro-pinstripe trousers out now! [VROOOM!]

biker #1: WHAT? A SCHNAUZER?

biker #2: [VROOOM!] no, TROUSERS!

biker #1: no, i think they only have coffee and pastries. [VROOOM!] man, i could also go for a low fat lemon [VROOM!] poppyseed muffin, but i really need to increase [VROOM!] my fiber intake. have you seen the polished pique premium french cuff shirts at banana republic?

biker #2: WHAT?!!

biker #1: hey look at those dorks on the BMW bikes. what is that guy wearing, a freakin flourescent jumpsuit?! [VROOOM!] is he going skydiving or riding?!

biker #2: [VROOM!! VROOM!]

biker #1: think we should put our [VROOOM!] bikes in gear and ride?

biker #2: [VROOOM!] nah, mine has to warm up some more.

biker #1: [VROOO-cough-sputter-clatter-CLANK] i think i just ran out of gas!

biker #2: [shuts off bike.] [shouts:] that's pretty badass to ride till the tank is dry! yeah! i hear this town has a yankee candle outlet, let's head over there and see if they have the new fall scents.

biker #1: why are we still yelling?

[curtain]

:D

[bowhunter]

That's some funny schick right there!!

[sgtboring]

[QUOTE=username]i love the dichotomy at work here: yuppies and boomers drinking starbucks and riding loud, badass motorcycles outside the banana republic store.

effete meets F-you.

Its realy funny that at times I feel like the only one in world who gets irritated by the loud pipes. I had a thread started about the F-you HD yuppies that seem to be growing on trees. :sick But most folks run for the PC response that they have met all these great HD riders. :nono Yes they are around. There are those who's pipes are not window breakers and they do not always look pissed off while riding. Only I am seeing less and less of happy santa type HD guys .

I hope the cities and townships get crazy on noise and other equipment (the HD fashion statement of removing the turn signles) violations. :rocker But I have not always been as nice to others as I should. :doh

[rocketman]

The other day we were picking up the car at the repair shop before a trip to Seattle (had to pick up my parents at the airport and so couldn't ride), and got to talking with the mechanic. He rides a Ninja with loud aftermarket pipes, and said he really likes knowing that people can hear him coming.Half an hour later, we drove past him on our way out of town. I had the window open and the radio was turned off and I was looking right at him, and I didn't hear a thing until he was past me.

I've heard that loud brakes save lives too. Squeeee!

That is one of the biggest fallacies of loud pipes. In fact you don't hear them that much sooner when they are behind you, it is after they pass that you hear them. The sound is directed behind the rider by the shape and direction the pipe is pointed, i.e. behind the rider not toward the front. So there is really NO safety issue gained by them. When I did an article for the local motorcycle rag I write for about the Madness Behind the Myth, (that loud pipes saves lives) I spent a lot of time taking note of just when I heard a bike as it approached me from the rear. No matter how loud it was, it was not till it was next to or in front of me that I could really hear it better than a quieter machine. Try it yourself and you'll see, a loud machine behind you just is not that much, if any, more noticeable than a quiet one.

RM

[Burnszilla]

Username,
Any screenplays in the works?? Good stuff!

[Rod Sheridan]

Rocketman, perhaps you could post the article you wrote please?

Regards, Rod.

[username]

That is one of the biggest fallacies of loud pipes. In fact you don't hear them that much sooner when they are behind you, it is after they pass that you hear them. The sound is directed behind the rider by the shape and direction the pipe is pointed, i.e. behind the rider not toward the front. So there is really NO safety issue gained by them. When I did an article for the local motorcycle rag I write for about the Madness Behind the Myth, (that loud pipes saves lives) I spent a lot of time taking note of just when I heard a bike as it approached me from the rear. No matter how loud it was, it was not till it was next to or in front of me that I could really hear it better than a quieter machine. Try it yourself and you'll see, a loud machine behind you just is not that much, if any, more noticeable than a quiet one.

RM

rocketman, i disagree - the pipes ALWAYS warn me of the presence of harley riders. i'll be out tooling along, and i'll hear them rumbling somewhere... soon enough, there they are RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME, and then i pass them and and am rewarded with silence.

heck, those loud pipes are more effective than a tail light!

;)

:D

i love to rag on harley people, but they have so many bikes sold, that they are bound to have lots of people acting like dopes on them. when i'm out riding around, i always see lots of harleys with riders on them, loaded with gear, taking fun trips. theyre good fun, and always great to meet on gas stops etc and chat with. but the DBs that just buy them to go around town or into starbucks, and make noise, well, i wouldn't miss them much at all.

[username]

Username,
Any screenplays in the works?? Good stuff!

yes. it's about a nice quiet guy whose wife leaves him, and takes everything but his motorcycle gear and his BMW K75. in order to clear his head, he decides to ride around america for a while, just aimlessly. every time he stops for gas, he has one of three conversations:

1. the i-didn't-know-BMW-made-bikes conversation.
2. the aren't-you-hot-in-all-that-gear conversation.
3. the wow-your-bike-is-so-quiet conversation.

he slowly begins to dread stopping for gas or beef jerky, and instead of finding himself on this trip, he completely loses himself in the rage of having those same three conversations with everyone. eventually, he is afraid to stop to get gas at gas stations. he waits until night time, and then siphons it from vehicles in motel lots. the police catch him inthe act one time, and he becomes a fugitive. forced to live on the lam, he becomes increasingly desparate. one night, he sneaks into a harley rally and steals gas from all the bikes on the trailers. the next day, no one notices, but his fingerprints are found on chrome everywhere. bedlam ensues. the FBI is called in and he is surrounded, trapped inside a barn. he makes a final run for it on the K75. in the climactic last scene, he is about to gun the bike and charge a police roadblock where all the cops have their guns drawn and they are going to shoot like crazy. he calmly chants, "the BMW K75 is bulletproof" over and over in a low voice, and gradually, he gets louder and louder, until he is screaming it. he flips his nolan helmet closed, and then guns the engine, heading right for the roadblock.

unfortunately, he has an aftermarket parabellum windscreen, which is NOT bulletproof. he is riddled with bullets and crashes and dies instantly.

the cops gather around him in a circle as he lies in a pool of blood.

cop 1: [triumphantly] we finally got him.

cop 2: [punching his fist into his palm] this will send a message to all those outlaw bikers.

cop 3: [confused] what kind of bike is that?

cop 1: [bewildered] it says "bmw" on the side.

cop 2: i didn't know bmw made bikes.

cop 1: me either.

cop 3: look at that outfit he has on.

cop 2: he must be hot in that. it looks like a winter coat.

cop 3: he twitched when you said that, are you sure he is dead?

cop 2: [bang bang bang!] he's dead all right!

cop 1: i'll bet he's even hotter, where he is now!

[laughter]

cop 3: he is so still and so quiet...

cop 2: yeah, and the bike is still running.

[fin]

[Burnszilla]

:clap
I'm volunteering to play "the guy."

[The_Veg]

loud as hell duc, triumph, airhead, etc - AWSOME
You'd LOVE a bike here in Dallas I know- it's a Norton 850 with un-packed megaphones, ridden by an English dude I know from the local 59 Club. When I ride behind him I can't hear MY bike.

[Motorman]

I took the wife to a BMW shop today to find out if she would be comfortable on an oilhead RT vs the K that she's been used to. It was funny that she found the passenger position was markedly higher on the R-RT than out K75RT. She also asked another question that I thought was odd. She wanted to know if the bike was as loud as a Harley. The salesman started it up in the store and she was happy that it was actually quieter than the K75. She still thinks the seat is too hard. I knew the bike was too expensive for the budget so we're still looking. sigh.

[GeneT]

I much rather hear the loud pipes as compared to the A-freekin BOOM BOXES and the cheap ass speakers vibrating the surroundings.

:dance

[Honu]

Two things..

1) Username
Thanks for the laugh, that was a great screenplay. I was really giggling hard, I think my neighbors have complained about the noise.

2) We recently had a little moto gathering down here in Monterey for Laguna Seca (lots of bikes come to town). With the wide variety of bikes it was a very good auditory training opportunity. My friends and I attempted to discriminate the variety as it turned around the corner. The really loud ones were almost always HD's. Nothing like the chills one gets at the races with the sound of the GP bikes flying by. All in all... a good ear opening experience.

[soffiler]

I am most fortunate to have a 30-mile commute consisting of 20 miles of rural backroads. Mostly farmland, a few residences, but primarily just very quiet at 6AM with the greatest fear being deer. This AM was particularly nice and I took an extra-long loop that brought me into another town just south of my normal route. I guess I don't know the LEO habits in this town. Tooling along at 50mph in a 25mph zone (you have to see these roads... 50mph is sane and appropriate for conditions) I suddenly note a LEO in the weeds of the opposite lane, facing me. Brake hard, downshift, pull in clutch and roll silently past him still going about 35-ish. A quick glance sideways to learn my fate, and I observe that he's sitting there doing paperwork. He never even glanced up. Had my pipes been louder...

[rocketman]

rocketman, i disagree - the pipes ALWAYS warn me of the presence of harley riders. i'll be out tooling along, and i'll hear them rumbling somewhere... soon enough, there they are RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME, and then i pass them and and am rewarded with silence.

heck, those loud pipes are more effective than a tail light!

;)

:D

i love to rag on harley people, but they have so many bikes sold, that they are bound to have lots of people acting like dopes on them. when i'm out riding around, i always see lots of harleys with riders on them, loaded with gear, taking fun trips. theyre good fun, and always great to meet on gas stops etc and chat with. but the DBs that just buy them to go around town or into starbucks, and make noise, well, i wouldn't miss them much at all.

Ha Ha! :D

RM

[rocketman]

Rocketman, perhaps you could post the article you wrote please?

Regards, Rod.

Sure! Its HERE (http://www.virginiawind.com/byways/loud_pipes_save_lives.asp)

RM

[dancogan]

rocketman, i disagree - the pipes ALWAYS warn me of the presence of harley riders. i'll be out tooling along, and i'll hear them rumbling somewhere... soon enough, there they are RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME, and then i pass them and and am rewarded with silence.

heck, those loud pipes are more effective than a tail light!

;)



:laugh :laugh :laugh :clap

[moa84843]

Why waste time on fines less than $1,000 US for the first offence.

That is probably not near high enough to get things under control, but it is a much more sensible number than $109.

The cities need to be able to make a lot of money or the enforcement will not get done.

Maybe after a certain decibel level the city should get to confiscate the bike, along with a much larger fine.

The bike could be auctioned off for off road use only, or parts.

I would like to see draconian noise laws. It is a really bad idea whose time has come.

The motorcycle industry does not have the ability to police itself in any meaningful way I have seen.

Yes there are other offenders than motorcycles, but my experience has been overwhelmingly motorcycles.

[bubbagazoo]

The chief of police here in Edmonton has announced that he is developing a strategy to go after loud motorcycles. I think this is a great idea. I also think that it is discriminatory. I have just sent a letter to the Edmonton Journal saying that if the police want to go after noisy vehicles, they need to target all sources of vehicular noise, not just motorcycles. Tuner cars and pickup trucks with after market exhaust systems are just as loud and as annoying as motorcycles with loud pipes and should be included in any crack down on noisy vehicles. And the crack down should also include those vehicles with 8000 watt sound systems that are turned up so you hear the schmucks music (if you want to call it music) from 4 blocks away with your windows rolled up.

Noise pollution comes in many forms. Some we can control and some we cannot. Campaigns to control the forms that we can control should be non-discriminatory. Both of my motorcycles have their stock exhaust systems so I am not worried about being caught in the noise crack down. It just annoys me when the LEO's target a specific segment of the noise generating "public".