Loud Motorcycles upsetting Maine's serenity? (Bethel: sale, inspection, to live)

[Irishtom29]

Loud bikes are just so selfish. Like I said before, some fellas need to move past the baseball card in the spokes stage of life.

[Maineah]

Originally Posted by Georgie713

Here, here Clownshoes I am with you.

007... As to good riding skills, well I've been riding 20years so I think I have a little experience there, and as to safety.. NC has a helmet law so I have to wear one.

Maineah...love my Corbin Ostrich seat. I have a softtail deluxe, couldn't get a tiny pix of it.

Ostrich is my favorite seat material. I wonder if they make one for the Bonneville??

[ClownShoes]

Originally Posted by Maineah

What part of ILLEGAL are you having a hard time with???

Augusta
To stroll down the street playing a violin is against the law.

Biddeford
It is illegal to gamble at the airport.



No person may roller skate on a sidewalk.



Ellsworth
If any part of the sign ordinances of the city are more stringent than federal laws, even though they may be in conflict with them, they will prevail.



Freeport
Mercury thermometers may not be sold in the city.



It is illegal to expectorate from any second-story window.

South Berwick
It is illegal to park in front of Dunkin Donuts.



Waterboro
Dog leashes may not be over eight feet in length.



Wells
Deer may not be fed.



Advertisements may not be placed in cemeteries.


Shotguns are required to be taken to church in the event of a Native American attack.


You may not step out of a plane in flight.

After January 14th you will be charged a fine for having your Christmas decorations still up.

[shadowfax1997]

Originally Posted by ClownShoes

Well I can tell you this. My bike is a 1990 Harley Electra Glide Classic. I have straight pipes, and it is loud. The electra glide is a big bike, and EVERY DAY I ride, someone nearly hits me. Once I even had a family in a station wagon pass me on the shoulder and try to force me into oncoming traffic.

I'm the guy in the right lane doing the speed limit, with both tires on the ground.

I'm not wizzing up the highway doing over 100, or doing a wheelie down the street. Why own a Harley? Why not?

There are 2 classes or bikers. Those who ride just to enjoy the scenery and have a good time, and those morons who cause people to hate bikers.

I've been riding a bike for a little over 37 years, and nothing annoys me more than some dope on a rice rocket doing triple digits down the road a passing between cars in traffic.

So apparently loud pipes don't help if someone is almost hitting you every time you ride. Perhaps it is the motorcycle driver that is getting in the way of the cages? Ever notice which riders seem to be going the slowest? Usually the HD's riding two abreast just cruising along 10 under the speedlimit.

I have over 100K miles and 11 years of riding, and have only had one close call. Defensive driving is much safer than loud pipes.

[Nor'Eastah]

Originally Posted by ClownShoes

Ok, ok.. loud pipes irritate you, deal with it.

Been readin' here while you boyz fight over bikers and pipes.

Could this be one reason why Mainers sometimes don't like folks from away?

[forest beekeeper]

Our eldest son is home for a bit. He has driven motorcycles as his primary vehicle from the time he was 18 until he turned 23. He has a CDL. He has been a professional OTR truck driver for the past two years. After telling him about this thread his comment is that a loud moving building is still invisible to a portion of the driving population.

18 wheel trucks are loud, and big, and carry lots of lights; and still many folks will pull out in front of them everyday of the week.

Many folks will lane-drift into the side of trucks.

Many folks will illegal lane-change into a truck's trailer.

There exists no quantity of loudness that will stop people from driving their cars into trucks.

There exists no quantity of size that will make a truck big enough to be seen.

There exists no quantity of lighting that will make a truck universally seen either.

If a truck can not pull it off, by using size, lights, and noise; then it is a losing proposition for a bike to do it.

[Irishtom29]

Beekeeper your argument is Jesuitical. Well done.

[AlisonL]

Originally Posted by Irishtom29

Loud bikes are just so selfish. Like I said before, some fellas need to move past the baseball card in the spokes stage of life.

I'd much rather hear the sound of a loud Harley than the thumping of a too loud obnxious bass from a "wannabe punk" kid's car stero.

[Labamba]

Originally Posted by Lincolnian

The police have little recourse these days in enforcing noise ordinances for this type of auditory assault as most won't pull over the violator unless they have a portable decibel meter and can prove that the sound was associated with that vehicle.

The days of "cut it out" or we're going to give you a ticket are gone in most places and people feel empowered to do whatever they want without fear of consequences.

I don't think it has to be too complicated.

1. Create a noise ordinance if your town doesn't have one.

2. Obtain a decibel meter for use in 1 police cruiser. It wouldn't be that much different in a sense from the radar guns used for speed detection.

3. Start cleaning the streets.

[Kracer]

If you are living in a location where the barage of loud sound is relatively constant, like along rt 95, it would be annoying. If you don't, the transient sound of a loud HD passing by can be perceived as a thrill. Typically the 'public' ends up paying millions to erect sound barriers for nearby homes.

What surprises me is the discussion of noise so far did not drift off to include other more annoying sounds like unmuffled dirt bikes, ATVs, snowmobiles and personal watercraft which when run on adjoing properties really ruins the quality of life.

Live by an interstate and expect to be annoyed by tire noise as well as loud exhaust.

Think about it, would you be annoyed by a loud chainsaw which may be exceeding the decibels of a bike. Maybe not because it would be justified as work. Same noise different source one is annoying the other not.

As for laws, what we have is a practice of discretionary power vs blind justice. This is a very dangerous situation in the respect that enforcement of law becomes subjective and prejudicial.

All the goofy feel good laws passed to enhance the political reputation of a legistator up for re-election further compounds the discretionary enforcement. Careful what laws you ask for, you may be guilty someday because somebody doesn't like the cut of your jib.