March 15, 2006

• Loud Pipes Piss People Off.

  Anyone who knows me knows I like motorcycles.  I like to ride them, I like how they feel, I like the motion, I like the sense of flying, I like the way they sound.

  Wait, the way they sound? Motorcycles can be damn annoying to hear.

  I like the way some of them sound.  Like mine.  I don’t like it when they cause me pain, when they vibrate windows, when they manage to be loud enough to be heard over the sound system of the club I’m in at the time.  To me, the most annoying are those cruisers – you know the ones I’m talking about, and the mosquito on crack amplified through a megaphone sportbikes, but anything that gets too loud is going to annoy someone.

  I’m not the only one who doesn’t like overly loud bikes.  I’m a rider, so I can’t help but be a bit tolerant, but there’s a lot of people who don’t have any reason to like bikes.

  The natural outcome, at least in this country?

  Bikes are getting limited or even banned in some areas.  Becomes some jerks can’t keep their pipes at a reasonable volume and not crack it open in residential areas, there are places I can’t ride that joe-low-rider-thumping-bass and ma-gas-guzzling-SUV are still welcome.  This bums me out.

  I’m not the only one!  This is a great write up from the President and CEO of Harley Davidson encouraging people to keep their bikes quieter.

  Did you know that Harleys used to be called “The Silent Gray Fellows” because they were so (relatively) quiet?

  Anyway, if you know anybody that is in the “I’ll have my pipes be as loud as I like and fuck you for suggesting I shouldn’t” camp, please send them this link.  And then shun them till they stop being so damn loud.

  • 12:04 pm
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