The DU Lounge
Related: Culture Forums, Support ForumsDo you ride a motorcycle and go out of your way to make it loud?
Modifying the exhaust system? Revving the engine for no good reason other than making more noise?
If so, you're an asshole.
That is all.
arcane1
(38,613 posts)orleans
(34,073 posts)NYC_SKP
(68,644 posts)Some of these already exist but simply aren't enforced.
It seems to be a matter of community standards, where my new house is people don't litter or leave their carts in the parking lot.
And they pick up their dog poop and they say hello.
But there is still the occasional biker on a loud bike or a big truck.
Tobin S.
(10,418 posts)In other words, if you can hear them well, you are more likely to be aware of them and not run them over. I don't know if there have been any studies conducted on the matter to show if that is true or not.
What I can say for sure is that you will never find me on a motorcycle. In my time as a trucker, I've seen some horrific accidents involving motorcycles. If you crash on the highway on one of those things, you are probably going to die.
Silent3
(15,270 posts)...safety is not their highest priority.
When they slow down, wear bright colors instead of black leather, and wear their helmets... maybe then I'll buy the noise/safety thing.
That's the excuse, anyway. I think a lot of them do it because they think it's badass.
Hoyt
(54,770 posts)while your windows are down on a beautiful day is just another jerk.
edgineered
(2,101 posts)I see more difference in the individuals who ride them than I do in the very low number of different motorcycles.
There are some bikers who will always say how bad the cars are. These are the ones that get some friendly safety advice from me. Its usually telling them they know the cars are bigger and don't always see them, but you are the one who knows this. I won't go on with it, but do also want to say something about a neighbor I had.
My neighbor would call the sheriff's to complain about the ice cream truck. Someone upthread reminded me of that when he mentioned that big ice cream truck that disturbed his very own piece of the planet.
In_The_Wind
(72,300 posts)Silent3
(15,270 posts)sharp_stick
(14,400 posts)Jamaal510
(10,893 posts)has a noisy motorcycle, and it used to annoy the Hell out of me especially when I'm taking afternoon naps. I always hated how he parked in the same exact spot outside my apartment. After a while, though, I got used to it and I try to ignore the noise.
Kaleva
(36,351 posts)I like being an asshole but don't have the money for a motorcycle so I do what I can with what I got.
csziggy
(34,137 posts)edgineered
(2,101 posts)or should that be, neigh, I want one, eh?
Silent3
(15,270 posts)...to tell her she doesn't need all the trouble and expense of keeping a horse any more.
steve2470
(37,457 posts)At least twice a year, I dreaded bike weeks. Super loud motorcycles you could hear for blocks. I pity the people who bought houses near those roads. I'd rather live in the woods than (permanently) near one of those highways.
LiberalElite
(14,691 posts)she stayed indoors for all of bike week. (She was retired.) My friend HATED motorcycles and the way the operators drove between cars instead of staying in a lane.
steve2470
(37,457 posts)Bike Weeks are like an invading army, truly. The loud pipes herald the black-clad throngs. I was so f****** glad when they finally left town, for a while. Now I live far from there, and I'm very glad of it.
raven mad
(4,940 posts)instead of being rude, could you not have made it two questions? My bike isn't loud - it could be, but it's not. I'm considerate of my neighbors.
Many towns have noise ordinances; if you have a problem with noise, check and see - sometimes all it takes is a quick LEO visit.
My biggest objection is to the assholes that pull up in the drive at 3 a.m. with their car stereos cranked to the max and the bass so loud it feels like an earthquake.
Silent3
(15,270 posts)...is with someone who answers yes to both parts of the questions.
I suppose someone might not ride, but might help make other people's bikes louder... and that would make someone an asshole with only one "yes"
edgineered
(2,101 posts)Would you also think that a vet treating a pit bull, if you don't like pit bulls, is an asshole also?
How about those who teach their kids how to play cards if you are against gambling?
Someone bringing their bike to my shop might think I was an asshole if I told him that I don't like his choice of tires. I could end up pretty a very hungry asshole.
I do understand where you are coming from though. Some bikers, and I am saying some, not all, make bad decisions and deliberately annoy people with thinks like loud pipes. But to call someone like me an asshole because I make a living working on motorcycles is wrong (and I don't think that was your intent either - just saying...)
Silent3
(15,270 posts)The analogy isn't a good one. I have sympathy for animals. I don't have sympathy for motorcycles, as if a motorcycle were suffering and it's only way to find relief were to be someone helping it be louder.
Card games also aren't a good analogy, as the can, and often are, played without any money changing hands.
Making a motorcycle louder is making it louder, which does precious little other than make the motorcycle more obnoxious than it otherwise has to be, with only a very weak case that can possibly be made for slightly increasing performance.
another reason I don't like fundies as friends or neighbors.
JVS
(61,935 posts)Silent3
(15,270 posts)VRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM... LOOK AT ME!!!! LOOK AT WHAT A KEWL BIKER DUDE I AM!!!!!!!
...noise that I'm talking about is way, way, WAY beyond anything necessary or helpful for safety. Until such noise makers are also wearing their helmets and safety orange instead of black leather, I'm calling BS on noise-for-safety rationalizations.
JVS
(61,935 posts)sound the only way to gain their attention them, your call of bs is crap.
Silent3
(15,270 posts)...going on around them, then why choose only the most obnoxious supposed "safety" measure, not bothering with others measures, and take that one selective measure to a level well above and beyond anything needed to send a clear "I am here" signal?
Taitertots
(7,745 posts)I've yet to see anyone produce anything tying bike noise with increased safety.
liberal N proud
(60,346 posts)The only place that I hear them is when I am sitting in my living room or on the patio out back of my house.
I never hear a loud motorcycle when sitting in my car with the windows closed and the radio on.
I totally agree with your assessment!
JVS
(61,935 posts)That's why cyclists need to be even louder.
liberal N proud
(60,346 posts)Then no one will hear them!
Inkfreak
(1,695 posts)A bit noisy for my tastes. But I get that folks like em. I was in Myrtle Beach during bike week once. That was LOUD!!
Silent3
(15,270 posts)...for "bike week", at specific gatherings, or for when they are a good way away from annoying other people, that's fine with me.