Passions rev up in debate over loud motorcycles

[Ron in Regina]

Perhaps a compromise on this issue would be solved with a bit of ingenuity.

A compressed air horn on a bike with fairly quiet mufflers. The air can (instead
of a compressor) could be located darn near anywhere on a bike, with a nice
chrome mounting sleeve, with an air-line run up front to the horn. Maybe a
nice braided metal line even. Mount it out back like a small NOS can even.

The fact that I could find the above picture shows that I'm not the first person to
think of this...

The bike would be quiet(-ish) at almost any RPM...but it wouldn't have the little
beep-beep horns like they currently have. Once the bike was put back together,
it would be doubtful that someone who didn't know what they where looking at
would even see the thing.

 

[karrie]

I'd be fine with louder horns on bikes.

 

[Ron in Regina]

I'd be fine with louder horns on bikes.

A Motorcycle with a Yacht Horn appeals to me too. It really-really appeals to
me! I wish I'd thought of this back when I still had a bike to try this out with...
...Oh well.

 

[wulfie68]

...at the speed at which some of those carbon monoxide commandos ride, all a helmet does is preserves an identifiable head after the crash.

Safety?
-classic bikes touring without an illuminated headlamp...
-idiots who pass in the half-lane between traffic...
-a passenger knitting...

This was just today on an hour-and-a-half tour to Naughton and back

At highway/freeway speeds, a biker is hamburger without a wrapper if anything happens, but at residential speeds, a helmet and leathers can buy some protection.

People who don't want to make sure all their equipment is functional or that want to indulge in stupidity, well, there are SOME laws to deal with some of the issues but its largely Darwinistic.

As for the louder horns, I'm all for them: a far better solution than non-stop noise pollution.

 

[Stretch]

just on a sidenote.... people are complaining about the new hybrids being too quiet, an apparent danger for the hearing impaired

 

[lone wolf]

To bad a set of Nathan M5s wouldn't fit without looking re-ea-lly stupid....

 

[karrie]

just on a sidenote.... people are complaining about the new hybrids being too quiet, an apparent danger for the hearing impaired

That's why NO ONE should rely solely on what they can hear when stepping out, etc. As bicycles get more prevalent, stepping out into the street without looking is dangerous enough, let alone when facing a hybrid.

 

[lone wolf]

The funny thing about people is there is always something else to blame.

 

[Ron in Regina]

At highway/freeway speeds, a biker is hamburger without a wrapper if anything happens, but at residential speeds, a helmet and leathers can buy some protection.

People who don't want to make sure all their equipment is functional or that want to indulge in stupidity, well, there are SOME laws to deal with some of the issues but its largely Darwinistic.

As for the louder horns, I'm all for them: a far better solution than non-stop noise pollution.

I've gone down at somewhere between 60-70mph, geared up, and came out
black & blue (and filthy), but without a scratch. Worst was the blow to my ego
when I pulled my back picking up my bike, as I was about 3&1/2hrs away from
what was home at that time.

I was on some windy-twisty in the Qu'appelle valley between the #6 & Craven
in Saskatchewan years ago, and came over a rise on a blind left curve to
discover that the road was missing.

It was an Easter Weekend, and the Road Crew that must have been working on
that piece of pavement (switching it back to gravel) had left several inches of
loose gravel that I discovered at the top of that rise as I was dropping over it.
I was focusing on the road, and must have missed any signs if there where any.
I didn't go back to check. Oh well...

I held onto the bike after I pulled it over, so it wouldn't start flipping and eventually
run me over, as I slid along behind it. When it was all done but the cry'n, & I was
down to about 15-20mph....I pushed away from the bike which only flipped once
after that.

I crawled over and shut it down as it was still running, and then cracked my Helmet,
blew some of the dirt out'a my nose, and lit a smoke. There was about a city
block of dust hanging in the air above that valley road. Me, my bike (paint & chrome),
everything....was all the same color of dust. Even with a fully enclosed full face helmet,
my ears & nose where packed full of dirt and dust. It was everywhere...

A farmer came along within a few minutes, and asked if the bike was OK. Then asked
if I was OK too. I picked up the bike, but had lost enought acid out'a the battery as the
bike was on its side that it didn't want to start. A quick boost and I was on my way
again. Life lesson in there somewhere, I guess. That block or more of dust was still
hanging in the air.

I burned through (on my right butt cheek) a pair of military surplus foul weather pants,
and a pair of those ugly Pace-Setter sweat pants (this was a while ago...), and the
pocket of my jeans underneath them (It was the Easter Weekend, & pretty cold out
still), and also burned through (friction) a significant portion of my wallet that was in
that back pocket. Glass 1/2 full & silver lining sort'a thing...my long underwear where
just fine still. I ended up with a bruise on that butt cheek, that was bigger than that
butt cheek though.

Not a cut. Not a scratch....but later that night I discovered that I was black & blue from
the back of my knees to my shoulders. Still about 2hrs from home, I ended up hitting
an torrential spring thunderstorm. Cold...wet...dirty...that turned into a long day.

 

[talloola]

I hate those loud bikes, I think it should be against the law. Our vehicles have to have mufflers,
and if we don't, we will get a ticket, same should be with them.

We see the big 'touring' bikes all the time, with soft sounds, they all should be like that.

 

[Ron in Regina]

That's why NO ONE should rely solely on what they can hear when stepping out, etc. As bicycles get more prevalent, stepping out into the street without looking is dangerous enough, let alone when facing a hybrid.

Try this scenario.

The E-Bikes (small wheels & governed when sold to 32km/h max) with silent electric
motors (the only real sound are the tires on the pavement) passing you from behind
on the sidewalks without warning....are the ones that freak me out. They do have
horns, but I've yet to hear one use it.

Even an old hockey card held into the spokes with a clothespin would give others a
heads up that they where coming....'cuz I don't know what one of these thing weighs:

....but that mass times 30km/h clipping someone from behind on a sidewalk isn't
something I'd wish upon anyone. The above is legally a bicycle, and due to its wheel
size....legally they're allowed to operate on the sidewalks where as most bicycles
aren't. Here, anyway. Trippy, eh?

 

[#juan]

I've gone down at somewhere between 60-70mph, geared up, and came out
black & blue (and filthy), but without a scratch. Worst was the blow to my ego
when I pulled my back picking up my bike, as I was about 3&1/2hrs away from
what was home at that time.

I was on some windy-twisty in the Qu'appelle valley between the #6 & Craven
in Saskatchewan years ago, and came over a rise on a blind left curve to
discover that the road was missing.

It was an Easter Weekend, and the Road Crew that must have been working on
that piece of pavement (switching it back to gravel) had left several inches of
loose gravel that I discovered at the top of that rise as I was dropping over it.
I was focusing on the road, and must have missed any signs if there where any.
I didn't go back to check. Oh well...

I held onto the bike after I pulled it over, so it wouldn't start flipping and eventually
run me over, as I slid along behind it. When it was all done but the cry'n, & I was
down to about 15-20mph....I pushed away from the bike which only flipped once
after that.

I crawled over and shut it down as it was still running, and then cracked my Helmet,
blew some of the dirt out'a my nose, and lit a smoke. There was about a city
block of dust hanging in the air above that valley road. Me, my bike (paint & chrome),
everything....was all the same color of dust. Even with a fully enclosed full face helmet,
my ears & nose where packed full of dirt and dust. It was everywhere...

A farmer came along within a few minutes, and asked if the bike was OK. Then asked
if I was OK too. I picked up the bike, but had lost enought acid out'a the battery as the
bike was on its side that it didn't want to start. A quick boost and I was on my way
again. Life lesson in there somewhere, I guess. That block or more of dust was still
hanging in the air.

I burned through (on my right butt cheek) a pair of military surplus foul weather pants,
and a pair of those ugly Pace-Setter sweat pants (this was a while ago...), and the
pocket of my jeans underneath them (It was the Easter Weekend, & pretty cold out
still), and also burned through (friction) a significant portion of my wallet that was in
that back pocket. Glass 1/2 full & silver lining sort'a thing...my long underwear where
just fine still. I ended up with a bruise on that butt cheek, that was bigger than that
butt cheek though.

Not a cut. Not a scratch....but later that night I discovered that I was black & blue from
the back of my knees to my shoulders. Still about 2hrs from home, I ended up hitting
an torrential spring thunderstorm. Cold...wet...dirty...that turned into a long day.

Most Harley drivers missed one important step:

 

[Ron in Regina]

Most Harley drivers missed one important step:

I was on a Honda. A Harley is waaay to rich for my pocketbook. At that
point...I'd been riding for about 5yrs & had thousands of hours on various
bikes. I just screwed up.

Without that previous experience, I'd most likely have killed myself.

 

[lone wolf]

Most Harley drivers missed one important step:

That coming from a guy who flew jets....

 

[Stretch]

a quick questiom, when you do a shoulder check, as required by law, how far do you travel at 100kph without seeing whats going on in front of you?

 

[karrie]

shoulder checking is currently in debate as safe practice.

 

[#juan]

a quick questiom, when you do a shoulder check, as required by law, how far do you travel at 100kph without seeing whats going on in front of you?

A quick shoulder check takes about a third of a second. In that time you travel less than three one hundredths of a KM. If you are watching your road properly, you can find a place where you can afford to take a third of a second to find out if the lane you're crossing into is free of traffic.

 

[Praxius]

In regards to those complaining that people on their bikes are somehow "Invisible" to people in vehicles.... I honestly don't get that claim.... nor do I get the idea that people should ride motorbikes first before being able to drive a car.

I see people on their bikes just as well as I see anybody in their car, truck, SUV, tractor, transport truck, scooter, bicycle, roadkill, deer at the side of the road, street/highway signs, lines on the road, bear, moose, raccoon, porcupine, and so on..... people on motorbikes are not somehow invisible on the roads unless they're tailing your car directly in your blind spot for an extended period of time, in which case is the biker's own stupidity and also in which case, the driver of the car should be checking their blind spot.

The whole complaint about hybrids being so quiet that they're a danger is also a wasted argument. If someone is hard of hearing, then they're not going to hear a regular car very well either and should use their eyes...... if someone is blind, then use their ears..... and regardless of the argument of quiet Hybrids, they make plenty of noise as last I checked, tires on the road still make plenty of noise..... we're not using hover cars just yet.

And using Hybrids being too quiet as an excuse for bikes being extremely loud doesn't make any sense either...... let's say for argument sake that they are too quiet..... does that mean motorbikes should somehow be allowed to be three times as loud as a typical car that's also louder then a hybrid?

No.

And my position is the same for ninjas and crotch rocket racing bikes..... they're just as bad, if not worse then choppers and Harleys and sound like over grown hornets on crack.

Over Grown Hornets on Crack...... or Over Grown Ass Flatulence.... take your pick, either way, they're both really annoying and completely unnecessary.

Drive properly, keep your eyes open on the road and pay attention (both on bikes and cars) and there shouldn't be a problem in regards to safety.

 

[talloola]

the arguement that bikes need the noise to be safe from others is very weak, and just an attempt to
keep the noise, to make their air headed 'statement of power' on a bike.

eg. I mentioned this before, I was standing not far from the entrance to c. tire, and a biker was sitting
on his bike outside of the entrance, revving it very loudly, it was annoying, and I glanced his way, and
he saw my glance, he then put it in gear, came my way, and passed me with the noise as loud as he could
possibly get it, 'for my benefit'. He was an adult, at least physically. What does that tell us.
If he had no way of projecting that noise in any direction he chose, would he even own a bike at all,
as that little display seemed to 'make his day', don't think his name was Clint.

My reaction to 'what' he did was nothing other than dealing with the noise crashing around inside my head,
because he was long gone.

 

[karrie]

As hubby said... the people who argue that bikes should be loud so that 'they can be seen', aren't wanting to be seen for safety sake, they're just peacocking.