Here's one part of spring that isn't music to the ears |
 |
I've got no issue with Harleys (that would be like opposing apple pie). But about those decibels …
Published March 30th, 2017
By John Freivalds
I love warm weather and the arrival of spring. But unwelcome visitors are the hundreds of Harley Davidson motorcycles that start noisily plying around Lake Minnetonka. Honda and BMW motorcycles don’t attract the type of riders who want to make as much noise as possible.
A Harley with straight pipes (no muffler) gives off 100 decibels, the same as a car horn at three feet, according to Purdue University. By comparison, an idling car emits 35-45 decibels and in the low 70s at freeway speeds; a Harley out of the factory is 80 decibels. But remember the decibel system is logarithmic. A difference of 10 decibels represents a sound level 10 times as loud.
Bruce Murphy, writing in Urban Milwaukee, notes that for Harley riders, loudness is part of the rebellious thrill of being an outlaw on the road — it’s audio graffiti. As the website The Aging Rebel notes, those modified pipes are an act of righteous opposition to the “noise nuts and dastardly bean counters whose noise and pollution abatement goals are mandated by self righteous and distant bureaucracy.”
Yet the Harley Davidson website shows thin, well-dressed, clean-shaven young millennials on their Harleys. But the Harley “straight piper” we mostly see in Minnesota is portly, tattooed and 51 years of age (the “average,” according to Ad Age).
But in the American “Easy Rider” tradition you can only enjoy the open road on a Harley. And Harleys have their own pilgrimage Mecca, the annual get-together in Sturgis, S.D. (some 600 miles from here). It attracts 500,000 Harleys from around the country. I have been there and it is really an exercise in debauchery and something Harley bikers try to do every year.
Not surprisingly, the highest per capita ownership of Harleys is in South Dakota; Wisconsin is fourth and Minnesota, ninth. And who is dead last? — Washington, D.C.
I don’t have an issue with Harley Davidsons. To be against that company would be to oppose motherhood and apple pie. It’s American, even though all its computer work has been outsourced to India.
Rather, almost every Harley owner customizes with aftermarket straight pipes — i.e., they remove Harley’s muffler to get even a louder sound. An ad from an aftermarket seller of straight pipes explains: “a motorcycle will never sound right without the right exhaust. Here at our shop you will find a great selection of pipes. These pipes are loud.”
Harley’s president laments that the noise is creating a backlash. He cites “a fourfold increase in negative media coverage during the last decade, bans on motorcycles in some communities, efforts to curtail motorcycle events (mini Sturgis’) and anti-tamper legislation.”
So how to quiet excessive Harley noise? Every community already has noise-control ordinances. These were enacted to prevent big semis from “jake braking,” using their engine to slow down. But the noise limits could be applied to motorcycles cruising around Lake Minnetonka or on West River Parkway.
The Facebook website “I hate Harley” warns: “do not approach or attempt to reason with motorcycle riders. When possible take down the license number and call the police.”
In New York, loud motorcycles are subject to a $400 fee. In carefree Arizona, engine noise in excess of 80 decibels brings fines of up to $750. In Chicago it can be $500. So why aren’t cops in Minneapolis enforcing noise laws? They say that they are too busy but there is a bit of hypocrisy involved.
If drivers played earsplitting rap music in their cars in Orono where I live, they would be stopped. But insofar as straight pipe Harley bikers are concerned, it’s let “bikers be bikers.”
John Freivalds lives in Orono.
Here is what the People are saying!!
blazer38 Mar. 31, 17
6:48 PM
Many years ago when I was in college studying psychology there was an article in Time Magazine about how motorcycles were an extension of one's masculinity
CWA Mar. 31, 17
3:30 PM
It's "look at me on my Harley pretending to be a tough guy" that's why they are so loud. Most of these "tough guys" are rich white collar workers trying to be bad.
Mickdog95 Mar. 31, 17
3:28 PM
The solution is to start pulling them over, Drive by any bar, they are parked out front, If you watch where there going, it's to the next bar, most of these guys are drunk, The spring flood run is dangerous, almost everyone of them is plastered, on there way back to the metro, and yes I have a motor cycle, (not a harley) I wont' ride near these guys.
jigsawplayer Mar. 31, 17
3:07 PM
Did anyone else notice that many of the comments refer to the "high end" locales in the metro area? I live on one of these areas and I know just how these people look down on those who don't come up to their "high standards". Sorry to tell them this but a Harley is not cheap, the rider is not the gang member they think (probably a lawyer, doctor or banker) and the rider probably doesn't "look down their nose" at others as these "better than you" writers do. Go to PD Pappy's or Lord Flectcher's some day and actually talk to the rider, Someday you might achieve as much as they have.
mhindin Apr. 1, 17
8:16 AM
Jigsaw, I don't care what they ride or earn. They impose their noise on others as a form of bullying. I wish they would draw more official attention and noise enforcement. A smart person can be free to do most anything if he/she doesn't draw attention to himself/herself.
trudge Mar. 31, 17
2:56 PM
Include the straight pipes on pickup trucks in this discussion too.
trudge Mar. 31, 17
2:53 PM
Why should I have to listen to their loud pipes? They startle the crap out of me. Maybe I'll go right in front of the loud-pipe biker's house (not on their property) and crank out opera music at 100 decibels. Let's see how they like that.
hughwatson Mar. 31, 17
2:18 PM
Harleys have ruined Excelsior in the summer time which now, apparently, includes March. We "experienced" the first inconsiderate riders just a few days ago. Can you imagine enjoying a lovely meal outside at one of our Water Street restaurants when a pack barrels through town? The sound reverberates amongst the buildings, practically stopping your heart. And at the intersection near Maynard's the revving of engines at all hours -- but especially after closing -- makes an outdoor conversation or sleeping with the windows open out of the question. The laws say they cannot make this much noise, but no one in South Minnetonka ever challenges them. Am I angry about this? You bet! I thank John Freibalds for writing this.
jernsmn Mar. 31, 17
2:08 PM
Loud pipes save lives
mhindin Apr. 1, 17
8:21 AM
"Alternate facts" 70 % of the noise Is behind the cycle. If you wanted to "save lives" the pipes would be pointed forward. Sober defensive driving, helmets and lights save lives.
arizonated Mar. 31, 17
12:13 PM
I ride a big Harley with stock pipes, and my neighbors tell me I have less noise than the Corvette next door. Harley riders: turn down your sound.
mspshadow Mar. 31, 17
10:11 AM
"It’s American, even though all its computer work has been outsourced to India."...Actually, and average of about 40% of HD motorcycles are outsourced to Germany, Italy, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, and Mexico. Even Harley has now abandoned its "Made in America" tag line.
mspshadow Mar. 31, 17
10:10 AM
As a motorcyclist, it annoys me too.
mspshadow Mar. 31, 17
10:03 AM
"It’s American, even though all its computer work has been outsourced to India."...Actually, and about 40% of HD motorcycles, depending on the model, are outsourced to Germany, Italy, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, and Mexico. Even Harley has now officially abandoned it's "Made in America" tag line.
Tinye67 Mar. 31, 17
9:08 AM
Harley Riders have ruined Stillwater in the summer. They'll open up their pipes right next to families and kids in strollers as they anxiously await arriving at PD Pappy's for their first of 13-14 beers for the day.
jmgalt Mar. 31, 17
9:04 AM
The laws are on the books, people want them enforced - who do police not make this a priority? Maybe if people were more vocal to their respective city councils, they would make this more of a priority.
gutshot Mar. 31, 17
7:34 AM
Harleys riders need to make noise as that's all they have - it's a cheap substitute for power, torque and reliability and don't worry about their defense - they don't read!!
arizonated Mar. 31, 17
12:16 PM
@gutshot Hmmm: many Harley riders are considerate; I am
stplooklistn Mar. 31, 17
5:33 AM
And lots of people hate the high pitched whine of jet skis which are not a means of transportation. Do something about those on Lake Minnetonka
holstj Mar. 31, 17
11:07 AM
@stplooklistn unsure how that's related to this letter.
willysand Mar. 31, 17
2:01 AM
Why not just require mufflers?
marketer Mar. 31, 17
7:07 AM
@willysand They do! But the adolescents take them off so that they can pollute the air around the lakes and parks. It must be some kind of audio, hormonal territorial marking.
mspshadow Mar. 31, 17
9:57 AM
@marketer Not just adolescents. I know many mature adults who have removed them.
holstj Mar. 31, 17
11:07 AM
@mspshadow @marketer adolescents wasn't a reference to chronological age.
MSP218 Mar. 30, 17
6:46 PM
Many cops own Harley's, similar demographic.
rlundl02 Mar. 30, 17
6:24 PM
I know two guys, in their 60s who had bad motorcycle accidents. I'll take my Volkswagen
marketer Mar. 30, 17
5:58 PM
Here comes the ‘loud pipes saves lives’ propaganda. They’ve been using that silly deflection since the 50’s. The riders who use them only do it to pretend like they’re 8th grade boys again. Have you ever noticed, when you see a group riding, that they all have earplugs in? The racket is OK for you, but not for them.
arspartz Mar. 30, 17
5:56 PM
I would take a Harley any day over the 4-wheelers that drive around constantly (illegally)
mspshadow Mar. 31, 17
9:58 AM
@arspartz I would take a Honda or Yamaha (already have) any day over a Harley. They're MUCH more reliable.