Serious Crackdown On Loud Motorbikes

[Jimmy in Bangkok]

Does this apply to alll bikes though?

It should just be for the stupid boys who soup their bikes up but i do hope the police are'nt going to try and fine Harley's etc.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Generally, Harley owners show no consideration to the rest of us. Anyway, why not buy a decent bike?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Ahh your forgeting one thing about the Harley MC most riders are actually living in the country side of Thailand and they double up the use of there bikes as farm machinery for the use of the village. You often see the converted Harley sitting there putting away pumping water to the fields, or towing the old Buffalow cart around to the market, yes sir the Harley tractor motorcyle is a great boon to village life and should be exempt from any form of tax, fines, laws etc. Of course the Bring back Buffalow appreciation club of Issan is trying its best to get them banned as it believes the more economical grass eating variety of Buffalow is the better way to go!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Nice lightening of the general mood

[Beachbunny]

The law is the law, if it breaks 95 its noisy and should be fined and made to be quiet!

I would rather lisen to a loud two stroke bike over a loud harley... i think the harley should be the first on the list of to-be-fined bikes.

You'd rather hear a two stroke than the low throaty rumble of a Harley???

Jealous, are we??

Bachbunny

[Boatabike]

The law is the law, if it breaks 95 its noisy and should be fined and made to be quiet!

I would rather lisen to a loud two stroke bike over a loud harley... i think the harley should be the first on the list of to-be-fined bikes.

You'd rather hear a two stroke than the low throaty rumble of a Harley???

Jealous, are we??

Bachbunny

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Why does it have to be jealous? I personally loved the sound of an old british twin, cast iron pots and head plus good solid exhausts produced an orgasmic sound especially through narrow shop lined streets where the sound could bounce about and come back at you from all angles, but a friend of mine was totally into his racing spec yamaha RD 400 his pleasure was listening to the frantic over reving enging of his 2 stroke darling. I might not agree with his choice but it was his choice not anything to do with jealousy in the slightest.

[ajahnlau]

My bikes &lt;deleted&gt; loud and i ain't changing it.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Nor do I want to change mine. Mines loud but not obnoxiously loud. If Thai motorists can't see me on the road because they're too busy yapping on the phone or looking at their dashboard tv or GPS, then I sure as heck want them to hear me.

Loud pipes don't just save the lives of the owners but other road users and pedestrians as well.

And there was me thinking of making my quiet-as-a-whisper Honda Transalp louder so Thai kids no longer run into my path. Never had anyone run out in front of me on the Harley.

So I apologise in advance to any kid that I run over causing a loss of life or limb because you didn't hear me, but your government that doesn't teach you to be spacialy aware wants to protect your hearing. The hearing that you're already losing due to loud stereos, tv, arcade games, tannoy systems of mobile food vendors and your government's election canvassers etc, etc.

Mines LOUD and love it. Agree with Gazza loi% LOUD mufflers save lives. They hear me before they see me and don't walk or pull into your lane. That's the facts and not worried about boys in brown. Yes over 40 and poom puey.

How cool do these guys think they are on a 100cc step thru?

[leisurely]

And will it be a successful as the ongoing 'put a helmet on you nutter' campaign that I see in our soi everyday?

[Artisan]

My bikes &lt;deleted&gt; loud and i ain't changing it.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Nor do I want to change mine. Mines loud but not obnoxiously loud. If Thai motorists can't see me on the road because they're too busy yapping on the phone or looking at their dashboard tv or GPS, then I sure as heck want them to hear me.

Loud pipes don't just save the lives of the owners but other road users and pedestrians as well.

And there was me thinking of making my quiet-as-a-whisper Honda Transalp louder so Thai kids no longer run into my path. Never had anyone run out in front of me on the Harley.

So I apologise in advance to any kid that I run over causing a loss of life or limb because you didn't hear me, but your government that doesn't teach you to be spacialy aware wants to protect your hearing. The hearing that you're already losing due to loud stereos, tv, arcade games, tannoy systems of mobile food vendors and your government's election canvassers etc, etc.

Mines LOUD and love it. Agree with Gazza loi% LOUD mufflers save lives. They hear me before they see me and don't walk or pull into your lane. That's the facts and not worried about boys in brown. Yes over 40 and poom puey.

How cool do these guys think they are on a 100cc step thru?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Well, doesn't that go towards proving my point? As I said, I consider this whole Harley culture is nothing but adolescent and selfish nonsense. Speed reduction is probably much more of a life saver than excessive noise.....and I'm sure that it never enters the heads of these guys riding 100 c.c "step thrus" that they have 'coolness', they use their bikes just to be mobile.....unlike the adolescent Harley riders who think that disturbing the peace is the epitomy of being cool.

[davethailand]

My bikes &lt;deleted&gt; loud and i ain't changing it.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Nor do I want to change mine. Mines loud but not obnoxiously loud. If Thai motorists can't see me on the road because they're too busy yapping on the phone or looking at their dashboard tv or GPS, then I sure as heck want them to hear me.

Loud pipes don't just save the lives of the owners but other road users and pedestrians as well.

And there was me thinking of making my quiet-as-a-whisper Honda Transalp louder so Thai kids no longer run into my path. Never had anyone run out in front of me on the Harley.

So I apologise in advance to any kid that I run over causing a loss of life or limb because you didn't hear me, but your government that doesn't teach you to be spacialy aware wants to protect your hearing. The hearing that you're already losing due to loud stereos, tv, arcade games, tannoy systems of mobile food vendors and your government's election canvassers etc, etc.

Mines LOUD and love it. Agree with Gazza loi% LOUD mufflers save lives. They hear me before they see me and don't walk or pull into your lane. That's the facts and not worried about boys in brown. Yes over 40 and poom puey.

How cool do these guys think they are on a 100cc step thru?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Well, doesn't that go towards proving my point? As I said, I consider this whole Harley culture is nothing but adolescent and selfish nonsense. Speed reduction is probably much more of a life saver than excessive noise.....and I'm sure that it never enters the heads of these guys riding 100 c.c "step thrus" that they have 'coolness', they use their bikes just to be mobile.....unlike the adolescent Harley riders who think that disturbing the peace is the epitomy of being cool.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

[toklong]

My bikes &lt;deleted&gt; loud and i ain't changing it.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Nor do I want to change mine. Mines loud but not obnoxiously loud. If Thai motorists can't see me on the road because they're too busy yapping on the phone or looking at their dashboard tv or GPS, then I sure as heck want them to hear me.

Loud pipes don't just save the lives of the owners but other road users and pedestrians as well.

And there was me thinking of making my quiet-as-a-whisper Honda Transalp louder so Thai kids no longer run into my path. Never had anyone run out in front of me on the Harley.

So I apologise in advance to any kid that I run over causing a loss of life or limb because you didn't hear me, but your government that doesn't teach you to be spacialy aware wants to protect your hearing. The hearing that you're already losing due to loud stereos, tv, arcade games, tannoy systems of mobile food vendors and your government's election canvassers etc, etc.

Mines LOUD and love it. Agree with Gazza loi% LOUD mufflers save lives. They hear me before they see me and don't walk or pull into your lane. That's the facts and not worried about boys in brown. Yes over 40 and poom puey.

How cool do these guys think they are on a 100cc step thru?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Well, doesn't that go towards proving my point? As I said, I consider this whole Harley culture is nothing but adolescent and selfish nonsense. Speed reduction is probably much more of a life saver than excessive noise.....and I'm sure that it never enters the heads of these guys riding 100 c.c "step thrus" that they have 'coolness', they use their bikes just to be mobile.....unlike the adolescent Harley riders who think that disturbing the peace is the epitomy of being cool.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Artisan, You definitively proved your point.....Unfortunately, your words of wisdom will fall on deaf ears.....

[ajahnlau]

My bikes &lt;deleted&gt; loud and i ain't changing it.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Nor do I want to change mine. Mines loud but not obnoxiously loud. If Thai motorists can't see me on the road because they're too busy yapping on the phone or looking at their dashboard tv or GPS, then I sure as heck want them to hear me.

Loud pipes don't just save the lives of the owners but other road users and pedestrians as well.

And there was me thinking of making my quiet-as-a-whisper Honda Transalp louder so Thai kids no longer run into my path. Never had anyone run out in front of me on the Harley.

So I apologise in advance to any kid that I run over causing a loss of life or limb because you didn't hear me, but your government that doesn't teach you to be spacialy aware wants to protect your hearing. The hearing that you're already losing due to loud stereos, tv, arcade games, tannoy systems of mobile food vendors and your government's election canvassers etc, etc.

Mines LOUD and love it. Agree with Gazza loi% LOUD mufflers save lives. They hear me before they see me and don't walk or pull into your lane. That's the facts and not worried about boys in brown. Yes over 40 and poom puey.

How cool do these guys think they are on a 100cc step thru?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Well, doesn't that go towards proving my point? As I said, I consider this whole Harley culture is nothing but adolescent and selfish nonsense. Speed reduction is probably much more of a life saver than excessive noise.....and I'm sure that it never enters the heads of these guys riding 100 c.c "step thrus" that they have 'coolness', they use their bikes just to be mobile.....unlike the adolescent Harley riders who think that disturbing the peace is the epitomy of being cool.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

These big words for us riders who like it loud sorta fall on deaf ears.

[RDN]

Deafened by your own ineffective silencers.

[ajahnlau]

What silencers? Huh? Let the force out!

[NedKelly]

At least it is being acknowledged that the silly little bikes with the painfully loud exhausts are a problem. They really are stupid things and I mean the whole bike not just the rider and exhaust....lol. But there is need to approach this in a more serious way.....maybe taxing the factories in a positive way to produce less noisy bikes. Just a few years ago there was a boom in this industry and now there needs to be a terrible slump if not a comlete collapse.

They can also get rid of the songthaews plying the sois before dawn with their bloody loudhailers roaring......

yeah yeah whinging whining farang......well up yours too buddy ! haha

[Artisan]

What silencers? Huh? Let the force out!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I suspect it’s like being reminded of one’s youth as one enters one’s decline; the temptation is high for those sad fiftysomethings who run out and buy Harley-Davidsons the instant they realise that they can no longer keep it up all night without the aid of scaffolding........and now for the one of the silliest pieces of inane gobbledegook that I have ever read....a statement from the Harley-Davidson Company no less;

"We make lousy motorcycles and great Harley-Davidsons and since we're in the Harley-Davidson business, and not the motorcycle business, that's exactly what we should be doing."

Might there be a connection between this mission statement from the company and the mentality of Harley riders?

[Gazza]

Might there be a connection between this mission statement from the company and the mentality of Harley riders?

   

If you're going to bash Harleys then get your facts straight. You also didn't provide a link as to where you got the quote from.

Try this. http://archive.salon.com/tech/feature/2003...e/index_np.html

"Back when he was the editor of Cycle magazine, Phil Schilling wrote what could have served as the Harley-Davidson Motor Co.'s official mission statement for much of its hundred-year existence.

"Harley-Davidson makes lousy motorcycles and great Harley-Davidsons," Schilling wrote. "And since they're in the Harley-Davidson business and not the motorcycle business that's exactly what they should be doing."

Not from the HD Co., but just a guy from a bike rag.

If you've got an obsession with Harley riders then go up to one and tell him exactly what you think of him. Go on, I dare you.

[The Gentleman Scamp]

It’s those bloody noisy penis extension exhausts that they put on their bikes, which cause such a headache. Can’t afford a proper bike? No problem, just make the cheap scooter as noisy as possible. They are actually becoming a problem here in London too, with kids riding around on their scooters with the Thai style ‘buzz’ exhaust pipes.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

How sad.

[ajahnlau]

What silencers? Huh? Let the force out!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I suspect it’s like being reminded of one’s youth as one enters one’s decline; the temptation is high for those sad fiftysomethings who run out and buy Harley-Davidsons the instant they realise that they can no longer keep it up all night without the aid of scaffolding........and now for the one of the silliest pieces of inane gobbledegook that I have ever read....a statement from the Harley-Davidson Company no less;

"We make lousy motorcycles and great Harley-Davidsons and since we're in the Harley-Davidson business, and not the motorcycle business, that's exactly what we should be doing."

Might there be a connection between this mission statement from the company and the mentality of Harley riders?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

If you're looking for someone that can keep it up all night maybe look at a Honda rider.

[george]

Noise sufferers sound the alarm

BANGKOK: -- The reason why some motorcyclists remove mufflers and other silencing equipment from their bikes is because they want to draw attention to themselves. This week they got their wish, but not in the way they had hoped. Police rounded up many of them in the start of a 90-day campaign to reduce unnecessary noise.

The campaign guidelines allow a maximum of 85 decibels for cars and 95db for motorcycles. This already allows motorbikes to be legally 10 times as loud as motor vehicles on the logarithmic scale and yet many still exceed this.

Discos and nightclubs are restricted to a peak maximum of 90db for dance music which most people would find more pleasant than the racket made by a high-revving motorbike, especially one with a yowling two-stroke engine.

As there are an estimated 2.5 million motorcycles on the streets of the capital, and noise pollution has become a huge problem in inner city areas, such as Yaowarat, the traffic police, Bangkok Metropolitan Administration and Pollution Control Department have made them a priority target in their battle to turn down Bangkok's volume.

Thirty-one checkpoints began operating on Wednesday and setting their sights on the 14% of motorcycles in the capital believed to be violating the 95db limit. Offenders face fines of 500 baht under the 1992 Land Traffic Act, and being banned from using their bikes for 30 days under the 1992 National Environment Act.

If they have not solved the problem in that time, they will be ordered off the road until they have complied with the regulations.

This is one of the more positive actions planned in the run-up to World Environment Day tomorrow. It is also one crackdown that is bound to be popular, especially if it becomes the springboard for other anti-noise campaigns. That is because the average noise level in Bangkok is about 80 decibels, which greatly exceeds the acceptable level of 70 decibels, a factor which explains why noise pollution problems last year topped the list of complaints filed by city residents with the BMA.

Not all motorcycles are noisy, nor are all owners irresponsible, so the blame must be shared and remedial action made wide-ranging in nature. As the director of the Urbanisation and Environment Programme at the Thai Environment Institute put it: ``Blatant noise represents aggression and can be viewed as another form of violence committed against other human beings.'' This puts the constant noise all around us in perspective and reminds us that we may gradually be going deaf without realising it. Apart from permanent hearing loss, Bangkok's daily din can cause lack of sleep, irritability, heartburn, indigestion, ulcers, high blood pressure, and possibly heart disease. In addition, noise-induced stress creates severe tension in daily living and contributes to mental illness.

The Pollution Control Department knows that noise pollution in Bangkok is getting more severe. For instance, in 2003, the average noise level on 24 city streets was close to 80db. In 2000, this high level was measured on only four major streets. Clearly municipal noise codes are needed to govern our daily lives but they will only be as effective as the people in charge of enforcing them. Past experience has provided few grounds for optimism. Construction sites all over the city contribute to the general racket. Pile drivers, unmuffled pneumatic drills and other high-rise irresponsibility disturb the peace at night and throughout the day.

Taming Bangkok's roar will not be easy. Those who hoped the soaring price of petrol and diesel fuel would cut back on the number of non-essential trips and have a natural calming effect have yet to see positive results. Charging fees to enter congested parts of the central business district, as has been done in Singapore, Stockholm, Oslo and London, would help and should be considered. It might not be politically expedient, but there are no simple solutions which are.

--Bangkok Post 2005-06-04