What's WORSE Than Motorcycles?

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I have a personal objection to the topic of this thread, since two of my cousins died in a motorcycle accident.

Doesn't matter. From my own observation the vast majority of the drivers who have endangered my life have been elderly. Maybe I live in an area that caters to old people or whatnot, but I ain't blind.

jjstar, the subject is noise and motorcycles, and what is worse.

I do not like noise, or to be lumped and identified with what are known as 1% ers. !% of motorcycle riders fit the image you paint us all with. Outlaw Biker is a movie, which has spawned a reality.

Beware of projecting, for there are more police on quite motorcycles, so that image of someone on two wheels that you can run off the road, because you have issues, just might be a cop.

Most riders maintain their machines with care, are very observant of safety issues, get a drivers license, then take further training, pass more writen and road tests, including slow speed operation, stopping from speed, and road use rules. It is not oppression, it is letting the guy who never rode, who bought a 900 pound bike, know that he cannot make S curves between traffic cones, that he cannot control the bike, before he gets on the road.

Most riders are mom and pop, fifties and sixties, and members of touring clubs. I invite you to get over your views and come to Mid Ohio, or any of a thousand other bike meets, and meet the people you slander. Sturgis, Datona bike week, and if we ever have another Blowout in Gulfport MS, might look like what you are describing, but the biggest Biker Gang that shows are the Vietnam Veterans, because the VFW did not welcome them, and we do. They also do the Toys for Tots run, for the Marines.

Harley riders raise millions for charities, most runs are to raise money for something good. Providing funds for childrens medical treatment is very common. Like the Shriners who dress as clowns and drive funny cars, they are a service organization, like Lions, Kiwanis, Rotary, and they do a lot of good.

Kids on dirt bikes driving the neighbors mad is a parenting issue. It annoys me too.

There are problems, but they do not relate to the vast majority of people who ride. Your unkind remarks do, you are projecting hate upon a group, who live with enough danger already. Your words are hate speech.

We lost half of the New Orleans BMW Club when someone just crossed the center line, and plowed into a group of touring Mom and Pop riders, riders have been killed coming to a fund raiser for some town, for good purpose, showing themselves to be caring people, when someone who listened to the likes of you ran down someone's parents who rode on the weekend, who were in town, causing no problems, making no noise, till an SUV turned into their path and just ran them down.

Words kill.

Inventor I know the territory. I know about the road warriors. Cliche's, cliche's, cliche's. Marlon Brandon would be so proud. Actually I have zero expectations that any single one of you to change. Ha. That'll be the day. I'm venting and others are doing the same. Me? I got a nice comfy pair of earplugs that makes the noise motorcyclists exude bearable, I have incense, closed shutters and gas mask (!) if needed for the gasoline and diesal stinks and for the rumbling and roling that shatters my space and housemates' mellow I have strong music to drown out the noxiousness of it all. However you choose to explain this cult of showmanship and fetish of machismo defiance - it still remains a bane to many, many, MANY people's existance and if I had my way - I'd outlaw them, and every other noise pollutant out there including barking dogs, fireworks, lawnmowers, car alarms and anything else over 10 decibals.

I've seriously considered getting a bike. The problem is that it's hard for me to learn to ride one. When I was little it took a while to even be able to ride a bicycle. I remember it well. My dad said I was a ret*d and threw his hands up and stormed off leaving me to learn on my own in time. Once I learned I was almost as good as everyone else. When I turned 16 learning to drive a car felt wierd to me but I managed and it became easy enough in time. Motorcycles feel even wierder. Shifting gears with my foot, braking, throttling, using the cluch with my hands, front brake being controlled by a hand lever while the rear brake is controlled by a foot peddle. These are the things about motorcycles that really mess me up. I concentrate so hard on the mechanical tasks of it that I forget to look where I'm going! It's very frustrating.
If I can ever master this it would have to be with a smaller, lighter bike of 250 CC's or so. Definitely a older one that's already been down a few times. No point spending the money on a learner bike just to get killed on it. Once that's done and I survive, if I survive, I'd want a bigger cruiser like a Yamaha V-Star 1100 or something like that. Harleys are just too expensive for what they are.

No, I don't have an issue with people riding bikes. I don't mind loud pipes either. Mine would have loud pipes. They just sound cool. And yes, with the right pipes you can make a jap V-twin ROAR!! !

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Phagocyte wrote:

Most people would admit that a squealing motorcycle is obnoxious, but I don't understand this whole crusade.

Lately I've been seeing threads here on WP where folks seem to have lost all perspective, and have some monomaniacal view that allows them to see posters who don't agree as being less than human. As you say, a crusade.

Pitiful...

Someday, this will all be moot. But till then - did you know?

People exposed to this type of noise on daily basis suffer from hearing loss, sleep deprivation, chronic fatigue, anxiety, hostility, depression and hypertension.

For people who have vibroacoustic disease (an acute sensitivity to vibrational noise), it causes breathing difficulty, irregular heartbeats and nausea.

Riders often claim that "loud pipes save lives" - that they are more likely to notice the attention of distracted motorists when they are on the road. There is no study on record or statistical correlation between the noise level of a motorcycle and its ability to reduce accidents.

The noise decreases a rider's ability to hear pedestrians and other vehicles. That includes emergency vehicles, such as police cars, ambulances and firetrucks.

It should be noted that motorcycles are also equipped with horns, just like automobiles.

http://www.noiseoff.org/motorcycles.shtml

the LOUD PIPES SAVE LIVES is a joke amog riders with quiet motorcycles challenging the point of loud motorcycles.
you are describing vulgar idiots with no lives and no personality who cant drive 2 extra wheels, not motorcyclists, so describe them as that and say that they arent bikers.

[quote="jjstar"]- it still remains a bane to many, many, MANY people's existance and if I had my way - I'd outlaw them, and every other noise pollutant out there including barking dogs, fireworks, lawnmowers, car alarms and anything else over 10 decibals. [quote="Inventor"]jjstar,

To confuse the issue I am agreeing with you. In studies of places where people lived long and active lives, and were happy, everything was looked at. The only factor that was common to all, was a very low noise level. The noise level of a whole village equaled one refrigerator. Without a sound barrior to overcome, children played, dogs barked, in a near whisper.

Noise is killing us. When the power goes out my whole body relaxes, drops a tension load, like a backpack, and when the lights come on, it comes back. Many modern ills, Cancer for one, were rare before electricty.

I have ear plugs too, but ears in my gut also. The bike is my trip up a cow trail into the mountains, where I park it and walk. A night of sleeping in a cave does wonders for me.

Lawnmowers can be silent and propane, or electric, and there is no excuse for leaf blowers, my personal hate. All vehicles should conform to running clean and quite. A lot of places took air quality grant money and bought junkers, and scrapped them, get it off the road. I have no problem with sound level checkpoints, and it would help to have a car crusher and just smash them to scrap. A Law with shreadder teeth.

If you like loud music, you should like wireless headphones. I am not oppressed by ipods.

One man's freedom ends where another man's begins.

Here, when pollution control came in, 1972, some classes of small engines were exempted, because there was no way to make them clean, it is something like under 200cc, 35 years later it has not changed.

2-Cycle should be banned, and chips to control ignition are freely available and cheap. Mufflers do not rob horsepower. My tractor came with a glasspack, and a deep thunder, I replaced it with a small car muffler, and all you can hear are the valves ticking.

Taking the loud out of Harleys will mostly affect teens and 1% ers, and anyone who alters it should have their License, Registration, and Title revoked. The litttle bikes are exploiting the exempt class, they are the main problem, dirty, loud, whiney, as if made to annoy. Which does appeal to the teen market.

I have designed a small personal transport. I looked up all of the laws, and was shocked. in my class, 12 horsepower, I have to use DOT approved tail light lenses, tires, and have a rear view mirror. The engine is totally exempt.

Noise levels are regulated, a motor vehicle must make less noise than a log truck, one size fits all.

What is legal to import and sell under national law, is very hard for states to regulate. We do not have a lobby effort, industry does. So it goes on.

I do not think the annoying teen, who cannot vote, or the 1% er, (Convicted Felon) should have a say, but the vast majority of riders would agree with you.

It is a social parenting issue, some things are not allowed.

Problem is, 545 people run this country, and they each get over a million a year in "campaign donations."

$545,000,000 is pocket change to industry. A single tax law can be worth billions.

They play us against each other, and and are laughing at us.