USA TODAY US Edition

‘Loud pipes save lives’ — but bother many

Wis. braces for noise as Harley celebratio­n nears

- Rick Barrett

MILWAUKEE – Robert Miranda’s motorcycle, nicknamed Loki, roars when he revs the engine.

To him, it’s a beautiful sound, part of the city’s motorcycle heritage that began 115 years ago with the founding of Harley-Davidson.

“This is where ‘thunder’ starts in America. … If it’s too loud for you, then it’s because you are not a Milwaukeea­n,” Miranda said.

But while the roar of a Harley is sweet music to many people who associate the big two-wheelers with rollicking good times, others consider it offensive. Loud motorcycle­s are controvers­ial across the nation, especially in cities that have rallies attracting thousands of bikers who spend a lot of money at those events.

Yielding to pressure from businesses and rally-goers, some cities have backed off enforcing noise ordinances, or even posting signs urging bikers to “throttle down” while in town.

Headed into summer — and HarleyDavi­dson’s 115th anniversar­y celebratio­n Labor Day weekend — it’s going to get loud as the sound of bikes echoes off buildings like a canyon wall.

Noise also becomes an issue as Har- ley seeks to expand its base of riders in an effort to reduce declining sales, blamed in part on aging Baby Boomers who are giving up their bikes for more peaceful pursuits.

A big Harley has a sound rating as high as 80 decibels, similar to a dishwasher or a garbage disposal. But any bike can be much louder if the owner replaces the stock muffler with an exhaust pipe meant to crank out more decibels.

Patty Yunk, who lives at the Knickerboc­ker Hotel condominiu­ms on Juneau Avenue in Milwaukee, said she’s leaving town for Harley’s anniversar­y party because the noise will be unbearable.

She says loud bikes have ruined some calm summer evenings at the condos located a couple of blocks from Lake Michigan.

“You end up shutting all of your windows,” Yunk said, but it still doesn’t block the noise. “When the bikes congregate in large groups, and they all take off at once, I think the trees start shaking.”

“When the bikes congregate in large groups, and they all take off at once, I think the trees start shaking.”

Patty Yunk of Milwaukee

Attracting attention

All Harleys sold in the U.S. are built to comply with federal noise regulation­s, according to the company that once tried to trademark the “potato-potato-potato” sound of its V-Twin engines.

“We love the sound of our V-Twins, and we know you can enjoy good sound quality and performanc­e without being excessive,” Harley-Davidson said in a statement.

Many motorcycli­sts are convinced, through their own experience, that a loud bike helps get the attention of a distracted or inattentiv­e driver.

“Loud pipes save lives,” Miranda said, adding that his Electra Glide was too quiet before he changed the muffler. “When they hear me coming, nobody is going to get in my way, and nobody is going to be surprised that I am there.”

Tom Bamberger, who lives in Milwaukee’s Walker’s Point neighborho­od, said he can hear loud bikes coming five blocks from his house.

At times, the noise from bikes and cars with booming stereos has been so bad he couldn’t hear his television.

“It’s literally an invasion into your house,” Bamberger said. Some are loud enough to violate state law, which says you aren’t allowed to modify a vehicle’s exhaust system to make it louder. But that law is seldom enforced. In Kewaunee County, in northeaste­rn Wisconsin, Sheriff Matt Joski says he’s cracking down on loud bikes.

“I was embarrasse­d to admit that we have not done enough in our enforcemen­t, and the time has come to bring these violations back into compliance,” Joski said.

Audiologis­ts say riding a loud bike can cause permanent hearing damage.

The combinatio­n of engine noise and wind is harmful, said Brian Fligor, president of Boston Audiology Consultant­s and a former assistant professor at Harvard Medical School.

A full day spent on a loud bike at highway speed would subject your ears to an “outrageous pounding,” Fligor said, akin to working 18 months in a moderately noisy factory without hearing protection.

It helps to wear a helmet with a face shield, said Melissa Heche, director of the New York Speech and Hearing clinic in New York.

Not a license to offend

Much of the noise stems from the wind and how fast someone rides, according to Heche.

Wearing earplugs isn’t a good idea because it would block the sound of surroundin­g traffic, putting the motorcycli­st at risk. But “active” ear protection is available that allows necessary sounds in while reducing harmful decibels.

Many motorcycli­sts say they want the choice of being able to crank up the engine sound when they feel like it and when they’re trying to get the attention of another motorist or an animal alongside the road.

“I like to give our furry friends a heads-up that I am coming,” Miranda said.

But it’s not a license to offend people, said Tony Sanfelipo, a Milwaukee biker.

“I have been riding 52 years, and those guys with really loud pipes annoy me. I don’t like it any more than anybody else does, and I certainly wouldn’t like it if I were sitting on my porch on a Sunday afternoon,” he said.

 ??  ?? “If it’s too loud for you, then it’s because you are not a Milwaukeea­n,” says Robert Miranda, 56, a Harley-Davidson owner.
“If it’s too loud for you, then it’s because you are not a Milwaukeea­n,” says Robert Miranda, 56, a Harley-Davidson owner.

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