OK folks, time to wake up and smell the coffee (and I can say that because I am finally out of bed, sitting in a café, eating soup and drinking… wait for it… coffee!).
Seriously though, things are getting out of hand in this country. Fresh off the road from the Sturgis run, I am just getting over the hard time we all had trying to find a good place to eat and drink without being hassled about our colors. “Sir, I am sorry, we have a no-color policy here… but you can turn your vest inside out if you want to.”
“Yeah… that’s not gonna happen,” were the words that came out of my Enforcer’s mouth. I added, “you might as well ask us to hang them upside down on the wall while you are at it.”
We left.
Anyway, now I am back in Texas and settling back into routine when… There we were, just minding our own business… Going to a benefit for a fallen biker who left his family in a jam (more like the BS insurance companies left them in a jam), when all of the sudden a cop crosses three lanes of traffic while we are in a pack eight deep making a u-turn under an overpass. He points to the only prospect in the group and tells him to pull over.
I slow down, designate a rider to stay close (one with a squeaky clean history, title, registration, insurance, inspection, quiet pipes, low bars, and everything else), and I lead the rest to the next parking lot where we dismount and wait to see what is up. At this point we are interested in keeping our prospect out of trouble while not putting the rest of the club in a position where a pissed-off peace officer might start digging to try to find something wrong with everyone else in the group.
About five minutes pass before our prospect and his chaperone come rolling down the street and pull into the parking lot. Luckily, I suppose, the only thing the cop got him for was loud pipes. Well, the cop wrote “excessive noise by use of a loud engine” on the ticket, which could mean a number of things… but it was the pipes that got him nailed.
Which is totally BS anyway because, his pipes are not excessively loud and may not even be the loudest pipes in the group. He was just an easy target who was going under an overpass that amplifies and reflects sound and the cop had a wild hair and had to pull someone over. In fact, the cop acknowledged that he had a daughter who was “distracted” by a motorcycle and it “caused her to get into an accident.” So he was looking for someone to bust.
Whatever.
Anyway, on to the real issue here which is noise ordinance laws and rider responsibility. I personally feel that loud pipes DO save lives. You may want to look into the statistics of how many riders are killed because they were rear-ended. No, the noise of pipes may do nothing for oncoming traffic, but it can be a clear indication to that crazy soccer mom on the phone in the mini-van that is riding up your ass from behind!
And with that being said, I also think it is our responsibility to not be a-holes about the whole thing… really loud, ear splitting exhausts gunned in quiet neighborhoods or in the middle of the night… or even when people are just standing too close can be a really rude thing. I mean, my Panhead is pretty damn loud, but if I don’t gun it in the neighborhood, kick start it in my closed garage at night to muffle the noise, and coast on through to the main drag in a mild mannered fashion, I don’t see a problem with it.
OK- done with the soapbox portion of our show and on to the meat. You see; there are a number of cities in this fine land of ours that are working to silence loud exhaust pipes. Not loud car stereos, not jackhammers and noisy construction, not the jets that fly 3 feet from my freakin’ roof at 9:30pm when my two little girls have finally fallen asleep, not the neighbor’s gas powered lawn mower, trimmer, and blower that he just LOVES to use at about 7am on a Saturday, not incessant car alarms that don’t do a bit of good anyway except to make you hope someone steals the damn thing and shuts it up. No, none of this is an issue… what is the real burden on society’s fragile eardrums are loud motorcycle pipes. Makes sense right? I mean, according to the US Department of Census, motorcycles make up approximately .12% of the vehicles on our roads! What, and with at least 80% of those falling at or under any noise ordinance level, we are looking at a HUGE number of bikes simply destroying the quality of life for the average citizen. Sheesh.
Regardless of the above rant, you have cities like Boston, New York, Daytona, Myrtle Beach, and others trying to silence the droves of bikes on their streets. And now California is looking at a statewide bill to strike down loud pipes. SB 435, known as the “motorcycle exhaust bill,” which would require stock exhaust on all model year 2013 and newer motorcycles, HAS PASSED and is currently sitting on the Governator’s desk waiting to be signed into law. There is a link at the bottom of this post to contact the governor and tell him you DO NOT WANT SB 435 signed into law!
In a related vein of thought, Edmonton, Alberta, claims to be the first Canadian city to officially start fining motorcycles for excessive noise levels that exceed 92 decibels while idling or 96 decibels while the engine is revving to benchmarks of 2000 and 5000 rpm. The city council passed the new bylaw amendment that took effect on July 1st; the fine was set at $250.
During the demonstration prior to July 1st, police tested in excess of 100 bikes and found about 15 percent of the motorcycles failed by using a sound meter that was placed 20 inches from the exhaust. 15 percent!!
Reports go on to say that police officer’s are “fine tuning” their hearing to be able to distinguish the illegal pipes as they travel down the road.
So, there you have it… no colors, helmets required, only short ape hangers, and now no loud pipes! Do what you can to fight the good fight and be sure to let us know if there are issues in your area that need to be addressed.
To view the AMA’s alert and to contact the governor, click here: Action needed on motorcycle exhaust bill (SB 435)
Love, Respect, and Ride Safe,
ArtBiker
