Our rights are explained in this excellent (NOT!!) article
http://bikersofamerica.blogspot.com/2012/05/too-loud-laws-noise-laws-around-usa.html
It's all in there, here's my commentary
Who is “Everyone” and who is “we” and what does “Everyone” agree to stop "us" from doing?
“Self-evident truths” translated – "I just made this up and there is no way I am able to prove it but I am calling it self-evident so you can't argue it". And it sounds like something from our constitution, so if you argue with the statement itself, I can call you un-patriotic and tell you politely to get out of here where otherwise everyone agrees. Oh wait, we had “Everyone” before, what do they agree on?
Then comes a rant of impotent government and self-serving politicians. Maybe a few politicians are tying to sleep? How utterly self-serving of them. Or maybe they want to sit in their offices and actually do some work we which are paying them for. Disgusting, get a life, politicians.
“Conjuring problems out of thin air” - yes, the noise from a Harley without muffler going by my house at 2am while the rider is again and again “blipping” the throttle in well known Harley manner does indeed come from thin air, or at least travel through it in order to assault my ear drums – but I would not agree with the part that it is a conjured problem. It is a real problem, at least for me. I don't know about all other living creatures, but I need sleep. Sleep has been researched a lot. Sleep patterns have been identified – and the need to have those patterns uninterrupted, otherwise the people get sick, physically and mentally. Quickly, in fact.
About enforcing laws. Interesting point of view, as it's pretty much “self-evident” (hehe), that laws which are not enforced are useless. They are in fact harmful as they punish the honest and give an incentive to the dishonest because they now have a clear edge over the honest.
So – seriously, I can see how somebody might want to oppose or get rid of certain laws, but opposing the enforcement of existing laws makes no sense at all.
Example: I am against speed limits in general. However, when there are speed limits, they have to be enforced. Like on 580 around Livermore/Pleasanton. On my bike, I have two choices:
a) Go the posted 55 (plus a few extra “leeway”) and seriously risk getting hit from behind because EVERYBODY goes 80 there, so I would definitely get killed instantly.
b) Go 80 along with everybody else and risk getting a HUGE speeding ticket (way over + double ticket due to construction). Then I am a bad person with a record.
Makes that freeway pretty much unusable for bikes in my opinion.
Next example: Theft, murder. If not enforced, what would happen? What would stop anybody from using their AR-15 to blow away some guy because you want their stuff? What about rape? Hey, I didn't get lucky in a while and that chick over there looks really hot... Would it really be a good idea if the only reaction from society would be: Oh well...
I don't like rules and laws either, but the ones we do need, definitely need to be enforced.
Noise Pollution – one of those new problems that have been created as if by magic. In 2004 to be exact. Just like air pollution – also recently created as if by magic. And pollution of water, land. Created as if by magic? Err, no. That's human doing. That's us throwing away stuff, dumping crap and spewing into the atmosphere. That's us shitting onto our living room carpet and our dinner table. And yes, that's disturbing the peace and quiet through obnoxious noise.
Technical things, actually all things, including ourselves function due to a couple of principles, one of which is scientifically called “signal to noise ratio”. That's the quotient of “wanted/useful” divided by “unwanted/distracting”. It's easy to try: Put a little more of something “unwanted” in and the device or creature will get problems or stop functioning alltogether. Example: Coffee on your laptop, sugar in your tank, poison in your body, arrow in your neighbors cat. (Don't try this at home!)
Seriously – that's why modern technical stuff is often made in expensive “clean rooms” as even a little bit of dust will render it inoperable, in many cases (example semiconductors, my business) they simply would not work at all – seriously, not at all, not a single one of them.
Enter noise. Noise is actually a technical term and refers to any “unwanted/distracting” element as in above “signal to noise” ratio. Light entering your camera through a gap in the housing after you dropped it, would be considered noise. It reduces the contrast of your picture potentially all the way to no contrast at all, an all white picture. Astronomers know of “light pollution” over cities and “seeing conditions” (air fluctuations) which both show up as noise on their pictures reducing useful contrast and hence reduce usefulness of the picture. All of those are typically expressed in “db”. Other example are thermic noise on camera chips limiting useful sensitivity or in audio equipment being audible as “noise” - here typically so called white or pink noise, a kind of “hiss” - probably well known by everybody.
The unit “db” (Decibel) is actually not really a unit as in Volt, kilowatt, horsepower or inches because it's just a ratio of two numbers. Since useful ratios are necessarily quite large, db uses a logarithmic scale. That means that a small difference in db numbers actually means a big difference in reality. For example 83db is said to be twice as loud (or powerful) as 80db.
So, Ted Rueter “invented” Noise Pollution. Fine, even if – so what? Would that make it less true or less of a problem? Again, an entire neighborhood of people, potentially hundreds, waking up at 2am, many having difficulty getting back to sleep, some developing sleep deprivation, anger, problems at work or just frustration and lack of motivation – only because ONE person thinks it's his/her (well, fellow men, most likely his...) right to produce ANY level of sound whenever and wherever they please?
The article is playing with “us”, “we”, “him”, they at liberty. Just to try to sort this out: Is “Everyone” (as in 480 million US inhabitants) out to get “us” (a couple of ten-thousand-or-so Harley riders with loud exhausts) --- or is it only Ted Rueter? If it's only that one guy, then I don't think they have anything to worry about, neither H.D. Company nor the loud riders. If it's everybody, then maybe there is a point?? Which one is it, Bikers of America?
Just Ted or everybody? Talk to Daddy, who's out there to get you, huh?
Harley's statement. There are a lot of references to McCaslin's alleged statement but all links are dead, it would be great if somebody could point to a reliable source. All references agree that Harley took a stance along the lines: Guys, be reasonable, don't be obnoxious with your bikes, it reflects negatively on all of us which can't really be in anybody's interest. Whether they were afraid of a class action suit or just worried about losing business or actually have somewhat of a conscience – who cares. They made the statement and that's that. Maybe they are even trying to sell their own “aftermarket” exhausts which are “a little” louder but not obnoxious and take business away from real aftermarket producers of “roaring hell devil intimidator super pipe avenger screaming freedom” continue in your own words....
But the real evil here is the potential of a class action lawsuit due to some evil lawyers? (Inject … self-serving … anywhere you feel like it)
Funny, in this context, check this out:
http://www.opolaw.com/cases/harley-davidson-burn-lawsuit
Nooohhh – some bikers got their legs and jeans burned by “excessive heat” and they are consequently class-action-suing Harley for bad engineering. Surely, there are evil self-serving lawyers involved. Snicker.
Actually, think about this for a while – this is seriously hilarious, hysterical.
Victims of noise pollution speak out.
Sure, the real issue is not noise here, guys, it's your tattoos and your “unruly” hair. That's an easy way to more revenue for “overpaid cops”. And of course, now I get it, it suddenly all makes sense. It's not the noise – I wake up to the Harley at 2am not because of the noise, but because I have been alerted to this new issue, I've been downright brainwashed by a media frenzy whipped up by a political activism professor! Oh, I've been had again, damn... I am really getting old, started seeing and hearing things.
A few more “us” - but this time with explanation: “This time us means us”. Okay? Sure, that clears it up. If anybody had any doubts before, now – there you have it.
By the way – regarding the mean old overpaid cops out there ticketing the hell out of unruly haired peaceful citizens minding their own business: In my frenzy to find some precedence about cases of noise issues actually being enforced, all I found was: Unenforcible, cases thrown out in court due to lack of evidence, cheap fix-it tickets at best, where the culprits “slipped on” the factory exhaust, showed it at the office to ge the ticket cleared, “slipped on” the real thing again and bragged about it on the internet. I wonder if any of them ever actually had to pay any amount even on the order of a parking ticket.
Myrtle Beach, 83db noise limit. Yes, 83db is picked out of a hat. Just like 65mph. Other options under consideration for this one: Instead of 65mph - 300mph (my proposal), 7mph (Jodie Foster's). Sorry Jodie, just kidding, I greatly enjoy many of your movies. 65mph got picked as we all now. Luck of the draw.
Now come the “comparisons”: Telephone dial tone (??): 80db I don't know when is the last time the writer of the article has used a telephone (and measured the volume of the dial tone) but, err, speaking of pulling numbers out of hats. Subway train at 200 feet distance, 95db. In the tunnel? So, like 200 feet in front of it or behind, because next to it, in about 2 feet distance is the tunnel wall. They can't be talking about BART, because that's more like 9000db, no wait, the theoretic maximum volume is 195db or so. Anyways, fair enough, so Myrtle Beach requires motorcycles to be quieter than subway trains. Oh, and fighter jets for that matter. Luckily neither of the latter goes by my house in close proximity night by night. I wonder what a subway train would sound like when the engineer (do you still call them engineers in electric trains?) repeatedly “revved” it? Snicker. Like, when he's angrily waiting in a station for some granny to get in.
Now, here comes the pinnacle of this excellent article: Good ol' Ludwig van! No way, that's not fair! (Get it, A clockwork Orange, Ludovico, …) Come on guys, that's got to be the worst pink elephant anybody every claimed to have pulled out of a hat. You are not seriously claiming that Ode to Joy, or any musical piece for that matter is 125db, do you? If I ask you what the water temperature is? 65F? Or the color of a Harley Davidson bike? Err, chrome?
Seriously, did Ludwig van write in his notes: “This to be played with 125db!” (In Latin of course, or is that what “crescendo” actually means?)
In any case, even if it were so: The orchestra does not march by my window at 2am playing Ode to Joy, unfortunately I have to pay big bucks, go to a closed concert hall, wear a smoking, comb my unruly hair not to get ticketed and make sure I'm on time, as on the outside of the concert hall, I'll hear ----- ? Birds chirping, the wind in the trees, maybe the occasional subway train revving by or even a Harley that missed the tunnel, but for sure not a single note of the good ol' Ninth. Or fifth, or Isolde or whatever. Because that's solidly contained inside. That containment is necessary not so much to keep Ludwig in, but YOUR crap OUT – because after paying a hundred bucks per seat, the concert goers want to hear the Ninth in it's original form, and Ludwig did not compose revving V-twin's into the piece. What an oversight on his part, maybe he wasn't that hot of a composer afterall...
California (according to this article) uses 95db, mind you according to the math that's 16 times as “loud” as in Myrtle Beach (95db-83db=12db, 3db is double, thus four times double or two to the power of four equals 16). Sixteen schmixteen, who is to say what is 16 times louder? What's even twice as loud. Hard to say, but it's obviously a big difference. For reference, the opening aria in Mozarts “Figaro” is 113db which is the same difference to the Ode mentioned before, just so you you can compare notes. Just kidding.
Then the article complains about the cop using his discretion to ticket 60 bikers. So, what do you want – numbers, no numbers, hat-tricks, cops' discretion? Oh, you want none of it, I get it, basically the “free ride”. Sure, we all want that. So, why don't we all remove our mufflers, on Priuses, Corolla's, of course trucks, also - I'd say let's get those older jetliners from 30 years back, their screaming engines were just so much more fun. Also, let's stop the stupid jobs/economy hindering night-flight ban and while we're at it, offer flights from Oakland to San Francisco with the Concorde, that thing was a blast!! Plus, you definitely beat traffic across the bridge. And of course, with on-board internet and cell phone calling, you get to say “Guess where I'm calling from...”.
I personally want to see the hot rod Prius, though. Throttle blipping burnout donut, all on hybrid energy – strictly environmental.
Ok, we're down to “Loud pipes save lives”. Not going to get into that – yawn. There is a twist in this article though: It increases horsepower from 58 to 68, which is a big deal when you need to accelerate away from danger. Like when the light switches to green? It, in all honesty, though, does sound a little funny:
Here are the hardcore, eat-dust, all-american, bravest-of-the-brave, take-no-shit from anybody, "I wear no sissy gear", paying serious dollars for the “ultimate motorcycle”, heaviest thing around. They add as many chrome spikes ready to skewer them as the thing will take. Then they are worried about needing to make a lot of noise to alert the world that they are coming, and they are also REALLY worried that their 58 horsepower (seriously, 58??) is not enough to get them out of the constant, serious danger they are in. It's a fucking jungle out there, man! It's war! Without the ultimate armory we are helpless against all those Priuses!
Excuse me, sir, is it possible that you got ripped off? I didn't know they still made bikes that had 58 horsepower. Can you legally drive those on the freeway? Shouldn't you rather safely ride those in a safe mall parking lot? We put up some cones? I mean, hey, this is not a joke, don't try this at home, kids! How much did you pay for that thing? And then come the pipes, which of course require removal of the catalytic (all an invention of some leftist, liberal evil lawyer anyways, real men don't use catalytics) and then a good fattening up of the mixture as that new “free flow” exhaust unfortunately kills performance due to some crazy-ass physical effect nobody will ever understand and which is probably the invention of (ok, repetition).... Lambda 1 is for sissies! I know what I hear! I know what I smell!
By the way – seriously, this is not kidding: I rode north on 880 yesterday. At the 101 intersection, traffic was stopped. I was (of course) splitting as usual, so I got to the front. Red Harley dinged up on its side in the center lane, rider (no need to describe) sitting on the center divide talking to cops, big-tire/small-whatever lifted truck pulled over. Not commenting on what had happened as I obviously don't know, however, here's the score: Loud Pipes: 0 Splitting with Brain engaged: 1 (Lifted pickup, intersection, 3-2 lane merge – all good reasons not to barge through there while hoping for loud pipes to clear the way, even though he looked a little bit like Moses)
I still hope the guy is ok. Some safety gear would have been a good idea, though.
Oakland cops.
What can I say? He who makes the rules also bends them. If the story is actually true, I find it really stupid of the police to act like that. I think to shoot fast and deadly are not the most important qualifications for police officers. Also, as far as I know, as long as they are not in an active “hot” situation, with lights and sirens on, they have to stick to all traffic rules, just like everybody else. Yeah, right... Don't bother stopping at signs, using your signals, sticking to the speed limit, not making huge noise. You're special and the laws of physics don't apply in your case. Well, it could be the material, we've seen in Blues Brothers what cop engine, cop transmission and cop tires can do. Hit it!
By the way – what's with “exempt” license plates. No smog checks for police and other community vehicles? Not necessary? Not affordable? Hello?
How do I feel about those rules and regulations in place “for my safety” when the people in charge simply ignore them? Not so much about my safety afterall? Is the article actually correct in this aspect – it's all about the money? Or is there something wrong with the public's driving education, the officials are just so much better trained than the general public, that they can easily handle the extra challenge?
Or does it come to this:
Just don't get caught. Is that what our society is all about?
Is our society really all about taking as much as I can and giving nothing back?
All rights, no responsibilities?
Fuck everybody else!
Seriously??
