With news that a children’s charity ride is leaving town due to loud pipe laws, the good folks of Edmonton, Alberta are in an uproar.
Edmonton was one of the first Canadian cities to start fighting motorcycle noise, starting with a new bylaw and enforcement program in 2010. The city had trouble making some of last year’s charges stick in court, but that hasn’t deterred them from gearing up to fight noisy bikes again this year.
Now, any move like this usually produces hot-tempered debate, with people passionate about their stands on both sides of the issue. But in Edmonton, the controversy is especially fierce after news that the Jessie’s Chair-ity Motorcycle Scavenger Hunt and Poker Run, an annual biker support ride for the Stollery Children’s Hospital, is running outside the city.
Organizer Roxie Malone-Richards says the move comes after the ride saw a big drop in numbers last year – too many bikers were afraid of noise tickets, so they stayed home, she says. This year, the ride will head to nearby Gibbons, Fort Saskatchewan, and Bon Accord, instead of cruising through Edmonton itself.
The Edmonton Sun’s online news site has exploded with reader comments after this announcement. You should take a look at the online controversy – with the growing number of Canadian cities passing loud pipe laws, in a few weeks or months, you could be seeing the same story in your hometown newspaper.
Roxie, if my math is right your bike is infinitely loud!
I love all the B.S. So a bunch of attention starved bikers who wear near useless helmets and wearing the hi visibility black leather jackets riding bikes so low to the ground they can barely turn around in a parking lot want loud pipes for “safety” … sure.
And the thought that you could have a charity ride and be reasonably quiet is unthinkable of course! 🙂
I don’t buy into the “loud pipes save lives” nonsense.
I have more respect for the folks who don’t hide behind this lame argument and simply say “screw you, it’s my bike and I want it loud”.
To them I would suggest they find a compromise that most people could live with; and this is where the really bad apples are messing it up for everyone.
And yeah, it’s the really bad apples who are screaming the loudest “loud pipes save lives”…what a crock of shit.
i dont have a penis and my bike is plenty loud…..leave the stereotype in the 60’s and move on.
“…too many bikers were afraid of noise tickets, so they stayed home…..”
Big facking deal. Maybe these idiots will start to realize that LOUD PIPES PISS PEOPLE OFF. The argument that they save lives, make more power are all crap and they (idiots) know it. You had fun but, you’ve pissed off everyone and now, the party is over.
Remember…the louder the pipes…The smaller the penis!