Categories: all aviation Building a Biplane bicycle gadgets misc motorcycle theater
Commentary on the previous entry
The entry just before this one (chronologically, at least -- it's the next one down the page) is a letter I sent to Alex Edge of Motorcycle Daily. Part of the reason I'm so unhappy is that I've previously seen MD do good articles that take a very "normal person" point of view -- that is, they don't bow to the pro-motorcycle freaks, and they don't bow to the anti-motorcycle freaks.
To see them write up this loud exhaust system as if it were the best thing in the world is frustrating (as I'm sure you will get/have gotten from reading my email to them). I don't know MD's stand on EPA or loud pipes, but I expected better reporting from them. The token line about picking a different exhaust if you don't want to wake up your neighbors doesn't cut it.
I had long considered MD to be a source of sane motorcycle news. I don't suspect they're going to stop being that, but this is a step in the wrong direction. If I wanted articles about InSaNe Power Mods! I would be looking in the appropriate publication (and there are a lot of them).
So, I guess it's more of an "I expected better" letter than anything else. 'Cause, you know what? I expected better.
Posted at 11:17 permanent link category: /motorcycle
To: Alex Edge <alex@motorcycledaily.com>
Referring to:
http://www.motorcycledaily.com/07march07_zx14update2.htm
I'm glad you're enjoying the bike, but I have a gripe.
I know you've heard of the EPA and what they're doing, but for a quick refresher, take a look here:
I'm not offering an opinion either way on EPA's actions.
My complaint is that by selecting a self-proclaimed "loud" exhaust system to fit onto your long-term ZX-14, and then talking it up like it's the best thing since sliced bread, you're doing motorcycling a major disservice in two ways.
The first way is that you're feeding the "gotta make it louder/faster" frenzy which has been lately demonstrated in the ever-larger motorcycles pushed by manufacturers. It's also demonstrated by people swapping out stock mufflers and intakes for aftermarket "off-road use only" (which I'm *sure* yours says as well) equipment. I don't suspect that particular trend is growing, but it still demonstrates the popularity of this kind of selfish bigger-better-faster attitude.
For what it's worth, yes, I understand that people are buying the bigger/faster bikes (so the manufacturers are arguably meeting a market demand), but it's led to a dearth of reasonable-sized motorcycles, particularly for beginners. Doubtless this is mostly due to the small profit margins available on small bikes, but it's something of a crisis when the average beginner considers a CBR600 a good first bike. (This is a tangential issue, but I don't want you to think that I'm unaware of market pressures.)
The second part of the problem is that every car, pedestrian (and most importantly) non-motorcyclist you pass with your new (and widely publicized) loud exhaust system is another pissed off voter. Worse yet, they're a lawyer or politician, and your growling rumble generator interrupts their self-important cellphone call or something -- now they're pissed, and all they see is some guy on a motorcycle. They don't see you, they don't see ZX-14, they just see "motorcycle."
That happens enough times, and we get the superbike bill again. Seriously, do you think it won't pass this time? Our only real defense against anti-motorcycle legislation is to keep ourselves off the radar. It's very hard for motorcycles to make brownie points; it's very easy to gather negative points. Loud pipes and all the hooliganish behavior conjured by them (whether the rider actually being a hooligan, or onlookers just thinking he is) paint all motorcycles on the radar with a huge blip. This is not about personal freedoms, it's about everybody working together. In the same way I don't blast music on my stereo at midnight, I don't put loud pipes on my bikes. I could, but it would be really antisocial.
If you want your ZX-14 loud and fast, great. Put it on a trailer, strip off the street gear, and run it on the track. It'd be a fabulous track ride, if a bit porky in the corners. That's where the loud exhausts belong. Not on the street, pissing off voters who only notice a motorcycle when it makes itself noticeable.
I am a motorcyclist, myself. I've been riding since 1999, and if you're curious about me you can see all my different bikes on the link in my signature line, below. I would like to keep being a motorcyclist. I think that flaunting the EPA's laws, and flaunting public annoyance (whether statute or actual angry people) is a good way to stop me being able to ride a motorcycle when and where I want. Writing about it as if it's this fabulous thing is among the more negative contributions I've seen in a while. Please consider your words and actions more carefully next time.
--
Ian Johnston http://www.obairlann.net/~reaper/ reaper at obairlann dot net
Posted at 11:00 permanent link category: /motorcycle
Categories: all aviation Building a Biplane bicycle gadgets misc motorcycle theater