A joke, right? Bikers ride fast because it’s exciting. I know I did.
On newer models with effective Blind Spot Monitoring, a motorcycle will trigger an alert, as will a pedestrian or a bicyclist.
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Back about 30-years ago, I was very much into racing Radio Control cars, 1/12 scale road circuit, 1/10 scale dirt/oval, and 1/8 scale gas. Only the 1/8 scale had the sounds of racing, those engines were running on nitromethane.
The 1/12 and 1/10 scale were all electric and honestly, it sounded like we were racing electric drills… Even back then, there were add-on modules that simulated the sounds of gas engines; from revving the engine to the squeal of the brakes…
I had one of the modules that I used when I ran for fun and not in organized competition as they used either the on-board battery that powered the main motor or you could carry a small battery pack (added weight…).
Here is a link to one of those modules in case you are interested…
So, why would anyone think that electric motorcycles would not already have this available today?
They do exist and there are various types, there are systems that lets the neighbors know you are headed out and that also have vibration modules that simulate the feel of the an engine running while you are stopped at a light…
And there are very discrete systems that only plays the sound effects into speakers in your helmet…
I do not know if any simulate the shifting of gears…
Federal law requires EVs and plug-in hybrids to have an electronic noise-emitting device (essentially a small speaker) to warn blind people, so that they don’t walk into the path of a silent vehicle. They even have two different levels of noise: When you place your vehicle in reverse, the noise is louder than when it is in drive, presumably because the speaker is in the front and pedestrians in the back of the vehicle might not be able to hear it at “normal” volume.
Anyway… I am quite sure that an e-bike from a legitimate manufacturer (not someone who cobbles something together in his back yard) would be required to have the same sort of device.
This is not what you are referring to as a sound emitting device to inform blind folks of the vehicles approach, but it was the first thing that came up when I googled it… I does not help the pedestrian but it sure boosts the ego of the driver
Edited, I originally mistyped “it sure boosts the ego…” and it came out “he”… This is not just a male issue,
And this is probably not what the Feds intended either…
But here is what the Feds did do…
There!
I fixed it for you.
Not required, most riders do not wear a helmet, loud speaker guys near guarantee no helmet.
In my neck of the woods, they are referred to as Organ Donors.
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Thank you for pointing that out, I mistyped the word “the” and it came out “he”. I never intended it to refer to the issue being just a male oriented problem. Males are most often identified with this issue since there are so many more male riders…
And perhaps, your correction is actually more accurate…
I live in Virginia and helmets are mandatory. I pay more attention to Harley riders so this is my “slanted, even skewed” perception…
Motorcycles with stereos blasting are almost always the big touring bikes with the large front cowling with the stereo system. These bikes still have the factory exhaust, and these riders also seem to wear full face helmets. Which might help to explain their need to crank up the stereo…
The riders who most often choose to wear coconut helmets seem to gravitate to lighter and sportier bikes like sportsters, low-riders, softails, etc… They all seem to be running straight pipes and they also hate the stereo blasting as much as the rest of us…
So, no Black bikers have loud Harleys? Or any other race?
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I am going to try to keep from putting my foot in my mouth. However, I do not believe it is a “race” thing, not Black, not White, not any folks of color. As I wrote earlier, I believe it is the Big Touring Harleys and other touring Bikes (like the Honda Goldwing Indian Roadmaster, Kawasaki Vulcan Voyager, Yamaha Star Venture, BMW Grand America, and others; but these are the biggies…
I do not see many young folk spending in the vicinity of $25,000 to over $30,000 for a motorcycle. It takes someone with an established profession to spend this type of cash. That kind of leaves all those of Generation “Z” out,
That means (from my observation anyway…) that those who are the most annoying stereo blasters are the Millennials who are 30 to 42, Gen X who are 43 to 59, and us Boomers 60 plus…
And from the demographics of my area, about 70% White, 15% African American or Black, 7% Hispanic, and other…
I hang out at the various Harley dealerships and have visited the other dealerships if for no other reason to stay up to date, get a free cup of coffee, and make a “pit stop”… And all races are represented in the clientele.
But the one thing that remains the same is the age of the riders… not necessarily the race.
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I was just going by the headline, "
White bikers on loud harleys now make more noise than boom boom cars that rattle car parts"
Clickbait…
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Clickbait? Shirley you jest. " Clickbait typically refers to the practice of writing sensationalized or misleading headlines in order to attract clicks on a piece of content . It often relies on exaggerating claims or leaving out key information in order to encourage traffic." Yeah I have so much to gain, sure it is anecdotal evidence. Apology accepted.
This is hilarious. Take a run out to South Dakota during the biker rally sometime. Or you can look at it on YouTube. You can do a statistical analysis on the bikers characteristics. We were driving through the black hills a few years ago during the time of the rally, and a biker took a fall on loose gravel. I stopped to see if he was ok, but my wife said don’t stop don’t stop. I stopped anyway and said most of these guys are lawyers, doctors, chemists, or high priced machinists. Who else could afford them? Plus 90% (a guess) are helpful good guys with their wives of some years. Then there are a few who trailer their bikes behind $80,000 suvs, and just ride the bikes in town. Actually I think there might be some good advice on finance talking to them in addition to bike info. People will stereotype though.
1:00 am? You are in bed then? Oh oh, I’m making people mad today.
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Oh oh, I’m making people mad today.
Not making me mad I had the same experiance in the eary 2000’s the only difference was I riding on 18 wheels.
White bikers on loud Harleys?
Well yeah but my town has brown bikers on loud 4-bangers that are arguably worse.
And the shrieking turbo-diesel pickups are almost painful.