Cyclerides.com Weekly Update
3/12/03

Greetings Riders,
 
What is the easiest job in the world right now? If you guessed the Valley area Chamber of Commerce you might be right. The weather has been absolutely perfect for riding, walking, driving with your head out of the window or whatever you want to do. If you haven't dusted off that motorcycle yet, now is the time to give it a try.
 
Last Saturday Mrs. Cyclerides and I took advantage of the great weather by taking the 30 mile ride out to Carefree to do some testing with the DB meters for the new noise ordinance being introduced into Carefree. I have never been in serious trouble with the law, but I have been stopped for what seems to be more than my fair share of times. So it was a little bit of a different experience going to meet with 5 police officers on purpose, knowing that there was no ticket waiting for me. The 3 mile ride on Tom Darlington (Scottsdale Rd.) from Carefree Highway North to Cave Creek Rd through the Boulders is one of the prettiest stretches of road in the Valley. But being concerned with the impact of this ordinance on motorcycle riding through this area, my thoughts that day were not of the beauty of the area, but where the MCSO (Sheriff) might set up the microphones to check decibel readings of passing traffic. It is amazing how a person's mind can be distracted by something as small as this and actually rob you of the beauty of a given experience. But it seems to work that way with a lot of things in life if you let it. It would be sad to ride through this beautiful area everytime and have to worry about that. So I wanted to prove that those concerns were unwarranted.
 
We finally found the group set up about 1/2 mile East of Tom Darlington on Cave Creek Rd. As we drove up we saw 2 Sheriff cars with microphones mounted about 2 feet above the roof of the cars, (click here to see one) TV cameras and 5 officers. I was hoping that I wasn't riding into some sting operation and going to be featured on America's Stupidest Criminals or something. But that was not the case. They welcomed us and started with some explanation about how the system works. The lead trainer was Chief Alan Muma from Jerome. He told me that they had only written 82 tickets for noise in the last 2 years in Jerome. And most of those could have been avoided if the rider was not trying to make noise. I know some of you have other stories about your own experiences in Jerome, but that is the official word. I found Chief Muma to be very informative and pro motorcyclist. He has been riding for years and put over 30,000 miles on his own motorcycle last year.
 
He explained that the key to keeping under the mandated level of 85 DB was simply in how you ride the bike. "You should keep the motor in a higher gear with the least amount of RPM's possible to maintain your speed and you will have no problem with the meter". He also said that "it is a very small percentage of riders out there that cause the problems. Those are the ones that want to show how loud their pipes are, burnout or just generally make noise on purpose". I claimed to have no knowledge about those types of riders and said that I would take his word for it. He said "that if you just ride your motorcycle responsibly, it will not be a problem". Still skeptical that my bike, equipped with a 107 engine and a thunderheader would pass the test, I put it on the road to see what it would do. The area we were in is 25 mph, similar to a lot of the other areas in town. 

Tests 

First test was 25 mph in first gear at about 4000 rpm. Survey Said: 91 DB. Failed!
Second test was 25 mph in second gear at about 3000 rpm. Survey said: 83 DB. Passed!
Third test was 25 mph in third gear at 2000 rpm. Survey said: 74 DB. Passed Easily!
Final test was a first and second gear all out burnout. Survey said: 110 DB. FAILED Miserably!

Click Here For Video Of The Tests and an interview with Chief Muma.
 
As you can see, the first and last test were unreasonable ways to normally ride your motorcycle. These were just done for benchmark purposes. The last test was pretty interesting though. Probably the only time I could do a burnout in front of 5 police officers and not get a ticket. I also did a test with a Bourget with short straight pipes. Probably the loudest motorcycles around. It also made it through the test registering 81 DB. There were also several groups of motorcycles that came riding by while we were there and they were all in the mid 70's on the DB meter. It didn't matter if there was one or 5, it still only registered in the mid 70's.
 
What is my spin on this? I found out what I wanted to know. Is it unreasonable? After being somewhat skeptical as to the motive behind this from the Town of Carefree, I'll admit, I was pleasantly surprised. Chief Muma was right. It IS all about how you operate the motorcycle. You can see in the video tests the difference a gear up can make. If you want it to make noise it surely can. If you want it to be quiet within the legal limits, it can also. The limits of 85 DB appear to very reasonable and attainable without even trying, if you just operate the motorcycle normally. There was an older gentleman that drove in as we were finishing up that appeared to be an official of the city. He asked me what I thought about the tests and I said that I thought that it was something that we could live with. He said "that their motive was not to write tickets, but to have a method in force to keep the noise down, that's all we want." I hope he is right.
 
I know there are a few of you out there that think all police are out to get you. Some of you might be right. But generally speaking, the paranoia in the motorcycle community seems to run wild. I have not personally experienced anything like that at all. In fact, I have actually gotten preferential treatment because I was on a motorcycle. I know, police are just like motorcyclists, there are a few bad apples there too that will try to push the envelope. In the case with this noise ordinance, the MCSO is told by the town of Carefree what to enforce. They have been told to enforce the noise ordinance, that is what they are going to do. All you have to do is ride through those 4 miles responsibly and with respect for the community and I don't see any problems. If you don't, you will get a ticket. The same needs to be done in Cave Creek also, so that they don't have to resort to enforcement. We will soon find out if I am right or wrong. Let me know your experiences with this matter as we move forward.
 
Remember!...High Gears, Low RPM's at the speed limit. You should be fine.
 
Channel 15, the ABC affiliate here in town was on site as we were doing these tests. They did a lot of filming of the tests, the DB Meters in action and interviews with Chief Muma and myself.
This will be shown on the Channel 15 News at 10:00PM on Thursday night.
 

Wednesday Night 

The Wild Hare Wednesday Bike Night. All of you that used to go to Chuy's, this is your new place on the East side of town. This is a new bike night for the East side of town at a really nice location. Stop by and take a look, you will be impressed. It is called The Wild Hare located at 4910 W. Ray Rd. That is the NE Corner of Ray Rd. and Rural Rd. This is a really nice place with a very large outdoor patio. The inside has just been remodeled to double the seating along with adding a DJ, pool tables and games. The Wild Hare has a broad menu including 20 different appetizers, salads, wings, 17 different sandwiches, chicken, filet mignon, burgers and desserts including strawberry cheese cake. There will be food and drink specials that will run during bike night from 6 PM till close. This will all start on Wednesday, August 14th. I will have an information page on the event calendar that will give you all the details. Stop by and take a look, I'm sure you will like what you see. Info: 480-897-6200. 

Thursday Night 

Jetz Americana Thursday Bike Night. This bike night is growing fast. Great bike parking right outside the patio that is now lighted. Stop by this week and see for yourself. Jetz is a Very Nice Restaurant located in North Scottsdale 1 block South of Shea on Scottsdale Rd. behind the California Pizza Kitchen. They have a beautiful interior with flat screen TV's to watch your favorite teams or a large bar to lounge at with your friends. Jetz also has a large patio with an outdoor bar right next to where you will be parking your bikes. Happy hour is 4-7pm with 1/2 price drinks and $4.95 appetizer menu. From 7:00PM till close there will be BURGER & BEER $7.95 (½ lb of Certified Angus Beef and a domestic pint or bottle), DOMESTIC BOTTLES $3, JACK DANIELS $4. Bike night is all night till close. This is one nice place to go for dinner or hang out on the patio and watch the bikes roll by. Stop by and take a look. You will be impressed. Bikes are always welcome. Take a look at Jetz Saturday food and drink specials and the Sunday Brunch and the Bloody Mary bar with over 75 items. Click here to see the pictures of where you will be going and all of the information.
 
Casey Jones Grill Bike Night in Phoenix on Thursday nights. The evening riding weather is perfect, Casey Jones will be packed as it always is from here on. You can always count on lots of bikes here. Ride in for what I call the Best Cheesesteak Sandwich in town. This thing melts in your mouth. They have 3 new pool tables, darts and foosball. Located in the Mervyns Shopping Center on the SE corner of 43rd Ave. and Thunderbird Rd. Casey Jones is a great place for a bike night featuring a large outdoor seating and over 150 people inside. And for those of you that want to watch a sporting event they have 50 TV's scattered throughout the restaurant connected to satellite to get any game you can think of. They have a full menu for lunch, dinner and a Happy Hour from 11:00AM - 7:00PM and a reverse happy hour from 10:00PM - 12:00 Midnight. $1.75 domestic drafts. There are always a lot of bikes showing up for bike night at Casey Jones Thursday night. Join them for open mic night on Wednesdays. Sunday.
 
The Bike Night At The Billet Bar. There is no better place to watch all the Bikes ride down Scottsdale road than from The Billet Bar Patio. The Billet is ALWAYS packed with bikes on Bike Night. The new bars front and rear provide spacious seating, fresh air atmosphere, perfect temperature and courteous staff. The food is amazing and always the latest in cold libations await. You can sit at the back bar and watch your favorite TV on any of the seven big inch televisions. Keep an eye on your prized possession (your motorcycle) on the monitors. Play pool, listen to the latest music and socialize. The front patio seats over 75 people and is perfect for people watching on Scottsdale Rd. The Billet Bar is located right next to Easyriders on 3752 N. Scottsdale Rd. Check it out this Thursday night and all weekend long. Info: at 480-941-1876.
Billet Bar Specials: Monday, Stoli Citrone $1.50. Tuesday, Bacardi Silver $1.50. Wednesday, SKYY Blue $1.50. Thursday, Mike's Hard Lemonade, $1.50. One Week Only. Paradise Bar Now Open Wednesday Through Sunday.   

Friday Night