Ducati Monster Forum

I guess it starts now... [bang] http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/local/san_francisco&id=6840340 (http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/local/san_francisco&id=6840340)

Excerpt from the link
"Police are only focusing on Fishermans Wharf and North Beach. They say it is a noise ordinance that has always been on the books, but now they are making it a priority.

"These motorcycles that we're targeting are the same motorcyles that are doing doughnuts in the middle of the street, driving down setting off car alarms, rattling windows... It's an offensive noise. It's offensive to elderly people, to young people... It's a problem for merchants," explained Police Sgt. Neil Swendsen.

Police will start cracking down on riders whose bikes do not sound like average motorcycles without muffler modifications. First, the motorcyclist will be issued a fix-it ticket, to change their bike back to the way it used to sound. If the owner does not comply another fine could be added.
When asked how officers will be able to gauge which bikes are modified they simply said they will know when they feel it.
"When it starts to rattle the fillings out of your teeth, you know the bike is too loud," said Sgt. Swendsen.
The enforcement will last through the summer. Based on residents and business owner responses, the ban could spread to other parts of the city.

[Just removed my duplicate topic.] It's a real crock, isn't it? I guess this means DQ can't ride through North Beach anymore. >:( And he so enjoyed setting off car alarms there... [evil] This latest enforcement will be totally based on cops' perceptions. I think the SFPD should be required to carry decibel meters and define an actual noise limit.

I know of at least one rider who got ticketed during Mods vs. Rockers today--for what I don't know. It would have been awfully difficult--but really amusing--for SFPD to try to ticket a few hundred riders in the Stockton tunnel. It was the largest gathering of aftermarket exhausts that I've seen in a long time! [moto]

"When asked how officers will be able to gauge which bikes are modified they simply said they will know when they feel it. "When it starts to rattle the fillings out of your teeth, you know the bike is too loud," said Sgt. Swendsen."


Being relatively new to California, I'm really surprised to hear that they're not required to use a decibel meter to determine if you've exceeded a specified db threshold before a ticket can be issued.

I did a google search but couldn't find a definitive answer .... does any one know?

Limit is 85 db. Stock is 85 db. Anything louder is not up to code. I guess that means no one on the board can ride warning-less in North Beach/the Wharf.

Given the location(s) of the crackdown I don't think it's us that they're worried about.  There are large groups of Harley riders who cruise up and down Embarcadero--they go down to Fisherman's Wharf and then come back to Pier 27--a local Harley bar on the Bay.  The noise they make really does rattle your teeth.  [laugh] Our Ducs are NO comparison--even as much as we'd like to think they might be.  No, they're not "legal" but I'd be shocked--and I mean SHOCKED--if any of us were to get a ticket for this new ordinance.   [coffee]

Reason #686 why i won't live in SF. Enjoy the crack down  :P

Umm, have you heard DQ's Arrow system lately? That's a citation waiting to happen. We were thinking of going to dinner in NB tomorrow night but now it's probably out of the question. Unless DQ can Jedi mind-trick a cop... [evil]

Yeah, I've heard it--he and I sat on the sidewalk and revved our engines one time. (His was louder.)  I've heard the Harley's too. (I work down there and my monitor rattles when the Hogs roll by.)  DQ's Db's aren't even in the same galaxy as these things.  Trust me.  I like motos--I even like Harleys--but these suckers are off-the-charts annoying and businesses on the strip and home-owners on the hill are complaining.  DQ would have to kill like 17 virgins on a pilgrimage while doing a wheelie naked and jerking off in front of a bunch of school kids in order to get more attention than the Harley's from the cops down there.   [laugh]    (Please give us warning when he's going to take on this challenge.  I want to have the red-hot poker ready to gouge out my eyes.)   [cheeky]

Thanks Mostrobelle  :-X

I am never going to get that image out of my head now  :-\

+1 

"Harley Davidson - The most effective way to turn gasoline into noise without the side effect of horsepower."

I was going to say that I would prefer that they keep it as Cops idea of loud than using a dB meter, than I'd be toast!  But setting off car alarms is a right of passage for Ducati owners, down with the Harley's  ;D

Ditto. :P

DB Killers    [roll]

theres no db killers for the arrow carby's  [evil]

I know some folks in the SFPD Traffic division.  Next time I talk to one of them, I'll get the scoop. 

I can  8)

Allllll stock  ;D

My thoughts exactly [thumbsup]

Do'nt ride like a squid!  [leo]

What ungodly thing have you got going on in your mind!  [laugh]

btw
DQ's S4R was louder than the D16 WITH race exhaust measured with a DB reader at La Ducati Day.
not saying it's the loudest, just really damn loud.

We'll soon fix that.

I live in North Beach, and I ride by the cops all of the time. I doubt any of us would have a problem as long as the riding is nice and easy. I know I can ride up Grant Street with cars a few feet away on either side, and I can either set off alarms or not. If you set off the alarms and generally ride around like a crazy hooligan, you get a ticket. If you ride like a nice civilized human being, you get a canoli.

I like the canoli idea. Way cheaper than a ticket.

North Beach is littered with Italian wannabes, so they wouldn't blow the whistle on a Duc would they? So what if a few of these wannabes wander over from a block away, including me when I'm there getting my chow fun.  [thumbsup]

The news showed the police in action this morning handing out tickets. Every bike they pulled over was a cruiser. Stating loud moto noise causes sleep disturbance, high blood pressure, increased heart rate, fatigue, and mood disruption. They failed to mention if this was for the rider or people in the vicinity.

 [laugh]  Where were they?  Did they say a street or did you recognize anything?

i think it was the embarcardero

scroll through the videos on the main page of the kron4.com website, "san francisco now enforcing motorcycle noise ordinance"

At one point the use a iphone app, guessing a "level", and a baton to show one rider his ape hangers were too high  [laugh]

Ha, I watched the vid.  Pretty funny.  Those guys are idiots.  And by "those guys", I mean the people who blame their high blood pressure on Harleys. 

That said, no more hyper-aggressive downshifts while riding around the City unless I'm in the Mission or sumptin'.  My pipes aren't Harley loud, but when I'm riding around like a moron with loud blips and redline-smackin' downshifts, it's basically a mating call for LEOS.

 mating with [leo], oiling baby seals...   Hmmm,  same old same old. [coffee]

0k, Just tell me when there's going to be the effing-loud-pipe-protest-parade.  [moto]

 [clap] [laugh] [laugh] [laugh] [laugh] [laugh]

... just upshift to the point where you're gonna stall and ride past... it won't be very loud.

what iPhone app? is this for noise db measuring? I'm curious how much louder than a jet engine my motor is.

I think it's the pressure wave of the audio frequency that hits the car to set an alarm off.

I saw this on the net... shows you how Left-leaning most of these people are... they've never even met a rider but I believe their hostility is directed towards the HD riders.

http://tribes.tribe.net/oaktown/thread/1bff3cef-7c10-4545-9cca-b5b0161b6bcb (http://tribes.tribe.net/oaktown/thread/1bff3cef-7c10-4545-9cca-b5b0161b6bcb)

There was a study done in Italy because this is a huge problem there. Bikes out number cars 10 to 1. Most are little scooters or 50CC mopeds with the mufflers hacked so they're loud as hell.

They figured that one moped with no muffler passing through Florence at 3AM woke up around 10,000 people.  [laugh]

The car alarm thing is a stupid indicator IMO because a tiny breeze or a kitten meowing will set some of them, off.
Then it's the car alarm making the noise.


Now for the 64million$ question:
Why aren't CAR ALARMS illegal then?   >:(

What a wonderful world that would be.

I tried out the iPhone app (dB measuring app).... appears that it's quite interesting b/c I checked out my own exhaust dB and also SloMotion's as well... very informative

So how loud?

They are, sort of.

Three complaints about your alarm within a certain period and they site you.

Mind you, by the time the cops show up, the alarm is off, so you have to be a particularly egregious offender to actually get a ticket.

do they even go off like they did when they first came out?

Cant remember the last time i heard a car alarm.

Fek-me they still do. The street down behind me houses a P lot where they seem to spawn.
I want to throw boulders at them when they go off at 3AM. >:(

Plus, I set them off 3 at a time in the city just riding around. I've got termi's but this SBK ain't that loud.