[DeputyFife]

Published: September 10, 2008 05:30 am ShareThisPrintThis
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Police look to curb motorcycle noise with education
By Chris Cassidy
STAFF WRITER

SALEM - Police will attempt to muffle loud motorcycles without writing tickets this weekend.
Officers with sound meters will be at Salem High School Saturday afternoon to give motorcyclists a chance to have their bikes' noise levels measured.
Motorcyclists can show up at the front of the high school between 1 and 5 p.m. to have their bikes checked free. No citations will be issued for loud motorcycles, said Salem police Capt. Brian Gilligan.
After receiving a steady stream of noise complaints from neighbors, particularly about the booming rumble of motorcycle motors, police are hoping bikers will use the free check as a chance to fix their bikes and avoid a possible ticket down the road.
"The point of the day is education and non-enforcement," said Gilligan. "We want to encourage them to ride, but do it in a responsible fashion."
Bikers will also be given pamphlets outlining excessive noise levels and reasons to bring their motorcycles into compliance. The event will also give bikers a chance to talk to an officer about other motorcycle-safety issues.
Excessive motorcycle noise has been a constant source of neighborhood complaints, Gilligan said. Police hope that educating bikers will eliminate the need for a widespread crackdown.
"We'll base our enforcement response on the level of impact we had," said Gilligan.
The event has the backing of the Massachusetts Motorcycle Association and Boston Harley-Davidson.
"I find most of the riders are very receptive to this," said Dave Condon, a district manager with the Massachusetts Motorcycle Association. "It's going to be an educational day."

 

[Guest]

Anything is worth a try, but most of the bikers with loud pipe bought the pipes because they are loud. Many have brand new bikes, take off the brand new pipes and buy loud ones.

 

[Guest]

LOUD PIPES SAVE LIVES !

Then why, with one exception, has every serious motorcycle crash I've been to in the last 10 years been a Harley or Harley clone with straight pipes? The Gold Wings with the whisper-quiet mufflers never seem to be involved in crashes.

 

[dingbat]

People tend to see gold wings because of their Winnebago sized fairings and other body work. Don't underestimate visibility. I rode a bike for years with a dark maroon tank and side covers. I painted them yellow one year and suddenly realized that I had been virtualy invisible untill then. Most folks riding in blue jeans, black leather, and that really trendy black insert your motorcycle event or shop here t-shirt, on a naked bike, probably can't fathom the idea that someone wouldn't see them when they're looking just so damn cool.

 

[Guest]

On another note, the other bikes that I've scraped up off the road have been the crotch rockets where the operator has thought that s/he was Evil Kinevil

The one exception I had was a crotch rocket.....rider lost his leg after crashing on the Fore River Bridge. I'm still not sure what happened; we were able to punt the reconstruction to Weymouth PD.

I believe in coincidences, but I'm not buying the loud pipes save lives argument; I've seen way too many loud motorcycles reduced to scrap metal in crashes.