Starting to Limit the Rumble & Roar-5/30 Meeting

[jdb]

"You might consider re-wording that phrase."

Busted.

There I was, riding high on that victorious wave of a Nod and failed to pause and contemplate just how easy that phrase came to me and now - shot with my own gun.

I am actually embarrassed at what I over-looked.

Not a first, but sudden remorse sucks. jdb

[Conan71]

quote:Originally posted by daddys little squirt

quote:Originally posted by Conan71

Originally posted by jdb
[br  But I still believe the rights of a majority of citizens supercedes those of a smaller minority.  

You might consider re-wording that phrase. The rights of a minority are exactly equal to those of a majority. Rights are rights. The majority, however, may exert more pressure on government to obtain rights that match their interests.

Otherwise a majority may decide that they intend to hang loud bikers and their rights would supercede those of the minority.

There are so many more important issues than this one that deserve attention. As a former hippie, disco king, tennis player and parent I can recognize some of what JB must be feeling. Each of those movements suffered from attemts to villify its participants. If you simply loved free thinking, dancing, tennis or children, you still got swept up with the negatives related to the actions of wannabe participants.

The defensiveness that true bike lovers display is the reaction to the negatives that the public attaches to any popular movement. At first they humor it, then they embrace it, then they turn against it.

BTW, I had some lovely Thrush mufflers on my Chevy that irritated the hell out of folks for years. But I loved the throaty sound. Now they would be tame.

No, no need to re-word it.  Ordinances are usually written to the benefit of a greater majority (or to the benefit of greedy politicians []).  The ordinances are pretty clear on sound and required mechanical equipment and for good reason.

I don't see being a loud biker as being much different than allowing your dog to constantly crap on your neighbor's lawn when you've got perfectly good grass in your own yard.  

Someone can choose to keep the RPM's down if they have open pipes and it's not much louder than a muffled bike.  Many of the louder ones I see and hear are jerk-off rubbies racing from stoplight to stoplight with OCC look-alike choppers with street sweepers.  

Bikers can police their own behavior and that would keep cops from sticking broom handles up exhaust pipes.  You can ride an un-corked bike as quiet as you want, or as loud as you want.

Message is: don't be a moron with what you are riding and no one will give two sh!ts whether or not you have "functioning" mufflers.  I have the same advice for people with $5000 car stereos and Toyotas with buzz-bomb mufflers.

[TheArtist]

quote:Originally posted by recyclemichael

I can see people getting upset about loud noises in the normally peaceful neighborhoods. I get upset at much less things than this...

(I think it is the Atkins diet...everybody on it is cranky...next time I seem upset, offer me a bagel).

But do we really want to send a message out that Tulsa is a motorcycle unfriendly town? I don't ride and don't go to the two big Harley stores in town, but they must be very important to the local economy. They are always crowded there with visitor money generating some serious sales tax income from these bikers.

The guy on Memorial even has a packed restaurant to go with his souvenir business... oh yeah, they also sell very expensive bikes.

No I certainly wouldn't want people to think Tulsa was a motorcycle unfriendly town.  I have actually been thinking of getting one to scoot around town in, just don't know what kind would be best yet.  Most motorcycles are not as loud as the ones that stop a conversation when they go by or rattle your windows. Those are the minority.  Its that minority within the bikeriding community, I would guess less than 10%, that are super loud that are the really annoying ones.

I have been paying attention to the "sound levels" of different motorcycles as I drive around lately.  During lunch on an errand today I drove by 4 motorcycles.  None of them were very loud at all. The one that was the loudest you couldnt hear until it was about a car lenght away, so definitely no help on the awareness front.  I hate to imagine how loud a bike would have to be to be heard across an intersection or a block away in order for someone to be made aware of them if they didn't see them.

It seems to only be a few biker enthusiast types that have the loud pipes.  They don't really use their bikes as transportation to and from work, running errands, etc.  but are being "bikers" with all the appropriate costume and culture, not the average guy on a motorcycle.

I would say that more people should consider riding motorcycles, vespas and bicycles, like they do in Europe. They are more energy effecient, environmentally friendly, and don't have to be super loud.

[pmcalk]

Did anyone attend the meeting?  I heard that it was very well attended (over 50 or so), with many complaints of the noise, but that very little was offered in the way of a solution or compromise.

I appreciate the desire to maintain Tulsa as biker friendly, but surely there can be some middle ground.  I know people who just moved here from Manhattan, and bought a house near Brookside.  They are about to put their house back up for sale because they cannot stand the noise.  Obviously, they know urban noise.  This isn't just a few motorcycles buzzing by--its being blasted out of your sleep at 3 am by bikes as loud as planes.  I don't know the solution--you don't want to blame all bikers for a few obnoxious ones, but people do have a right not to have their peace disturbed.

[Rico]

Originally posted by pmcalk.
"Did anyone attend the meeting? I heard that it was very well attended (over 50 or so), with many complaints of the noise, but that very little was offered in the way of a solution or compromise."

^
Damn that sounds a lot like the meeting regarding the sound abatement program offered by Cinnebar..

Still hasn't been fixed has it...?
[}:)]

[Conan71]

quote:Originally posted by pmcalk

Did anyone attend the meeting?  I heard that it was very well attended (over 50 or so), with many complaints of the noise, but that very little was offered in the way of a solution or compromise.

I appreciate the desire to maintain Tulsa as biker friendly, but surely there can be some middle ground.  I know people who just moved here from Manhattan, and bought a house near Brookside.  They are about to put their house back up for sale because they cannot stand the noise.  Obviously, they know urban noise.  This isn't just a few motorcycles buzzing by--its being blasted out of your sleep at 3 am by bikes as loud as planes.  I don't know the solution--you don't want to blame all bikers for a few obnoxious ones, but people do have a right not to have their peace disturbed.

Again, simple solution.  If people would ride more neighbor-friendly in the middle of the night, no one would care if they have mufflers or not.  

I seriously doubt any of the "obnoxious" bikers would appreciate it if I pulled into their driveway at 7am while they are sleeping off their partying from the night before and I laid on the horn of my truck for 15-30 seconds, or backed my bike in the driveway and laid into the throttle.

Noise-sensitive neighbors (and possibly the horse racing lobby had something to do with it [] ) did get auto racing booted from the nicest dirt track venue of it's kind anywhere up to that point in history- Expo Square.  Activist neighbors can make things happen.

Funny retribution story, then I'll turn the floor back to someone else:

A friend of mine used to live on Union between 41st & 51st.  There's a series of smaller rental properties to the north of his old house.  He had a problem with a neighbor in the rental next to his house who would stay up, party and carry on till 2:30am or so on weeknights.  He was finally sick of it.

He had an old, crapped-out lawn mower in his garage.  One morning before work, he fired up the lawn mower at 6:30am and ran it up and down his chat gravel driveway which separated the two properties for 15 minutes.  They got the message, problem solved. [}:)]

[dbacks fan]

I am not opposed to guys with modified exhaust or open pipes on their bikes, I have a modified exhaust on my own car. I understand the idea of cracking it open going under overpasses, I'm guilty of it myself. The only thing that I ask is have a little respect for the area you are in. The photo is from the back yard of one of my wifes clients in Carefree AZ. (She has her own dog walking and pet sitting business) About a 1/4 mile west of this house (the photo is looking west) is a Street named Tom Darlington. It is the continuation of Scottsdale Road going north into Carefree. You can hear the open pipe bikes going over the speed limit from a half mile south all the way going north from this spot. And this area is not all retirees as was mentioned earlier. I just ask people to use common sense, I do not wish to critisize people for their tuning or dressing their bike or car because of the noise. One of my neighbors has a kit Cobra that he built and he has the courtesy to respect the nieghborhood when driving it.

[Conan71]

Always loved the town name of "Carefree".

I'd never seen the Phoenix area and had never driven out to Az. until last November.  I can understand your attraction to the area.

Whenever I talk to my father-in-law (lives in S'dale) during the summer, he will be griping about how hot it is.  I'll say: "yeah but it's dry heat."  To which he says: "Dry heat my donkey!  It's still hot!" [}:)]

[dbacks fan]

quote:Originally posted by Conan71

Always loved the town name of "Carefree".

I'd never seen the Phoenix area and had never driven out to Az. until last November.  I can understand your attraction to the area.

Whenever I talk to my father-in-law (lives in S'dale) during the summer, he will be griping about how hot it is.  I'll say: "yeah but it's dry heat."  To which he says: "Dry heat my donkey!  It's still hot!" [}:)]

Yeah, I don't care what the temp is, once it gets above 108, it's damn hot! They're predicting that this summer we may break the all time record of 122. I hope that I'm in California at the beach that day.

But the other 8months of the year it's some of the best weather, which explains the huge number of motorcycle enthusiest that we get from all over the world. A couple of years ago, my wife and I were coming back from Vegas to visit her brother and his family, we came across a couple of nice dresser Harleys with liscence plates from Holland. There was a news story a couple of days later about them, they were doing a lap around the US on their bikes.

[patric]

...So the story going around now is that TPD recently invited media for a photo-op of them giving tickets along Brookside.
Two dudes and a chick cited for loud pipes apparently told one of the photographers they were   engineers for a "major" oil refinery and that you had to clear security and sign a waiver to photograph them.

Dude, that only works on company property and not flashing your babe around Brookside.

Kids these days :-)

[Conan71]

quote:Originally posted by patric

...So the story going around now is that TPD recently invited media for a photo-op of them giving tickets along Brookside.
Two dudes and a chick cited for loud pipes apparently told one of the photographers they were   engineers for a "major" oil refinery and that you had to clear security and sign a waiver to photograph them.

Dude, that only works on company property and not flashing your babe around Brookside.

Kids these days :-)

Carries about as much weight as me saying "But I'm a "City Father" on Tulsa Now. []

[cannon_fodder]

Since we revived this thread...

I very much enjoy some noisy vehicles:  the rattle of a VW, the purr of an old Charger, or the rumble of a Harley.  However, the WEEEEEEEEEEEE of a Honda with an over side muffler, the deafening roar of a straight pipe, or the puff puff clank of a muffler hole are not only too load, but also unimpressive.  For the lover of god, loader does not mean better.  I know your Honda only sports a 125 hp and that your motorcycle packs 1100cc.  Good or you.

Why would it be enjoyable to ride on a bike with straight pipes anyway?  If it hurts my ears when you drive by, I would think the "joy" of riding would give way.

[Wilbur]

quote:  ...So the story going around now is that TPD recently invited media for a photo-op of them giving tickets along Brookside.

The media calls on a nearly-daily basis looking for story ideas.  Loud mufflers just happen to be the most current.  Watch for another one (maybe red light runners) on Wednesday.

Police are working around Brookside and Cherry Street on the weekend evenings targeting those ear-piercing mufflers.

[CoffeeBean]

Whistler Tips

[Conan71]

I see a couple of our own TN members were mentioned in the Tulsa World story on the Brookside Assn. meeting regarding the MC issue this morning.