Most motorcyclists, and would-be motorcyclists, consider the sound of a Harley to be music to the ears. Don Jensen of Bisbee is an exception — he refers to their throaty rumble as "infernal racket."
"I've ridden cycles since 1966, and I like a little noise from a bike," he said. "But current levels are ridiculous."
Eric Huff, manager of Harley-Davidson-Buell of Tucson Inc., said today's Harleys are not louder — in fact, he said they come out of the factory quieter than those of years past.
The blame for the "infernal racket," Huff said, should be placed on the operator, not the motorcycle — those who have modified the bike's exhaust system, or who don't shift gears and keep the engine revved up while traveling through Bisbee.
Sgt. Tim Beam, a detective sergeant with the Tucson Police Department's traffic investigations unit, said officers routinely stop vehicles to ensure they comply with state law that requires all vehicles to be equipped with a muffler in good working order.
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Owners of vehicles that are too loud are cited, but if the owner fixes the problem — usually, by installing a muffler — the $142 fine will be suspended, Beam said.
The law leaves it to the officer to determine whether the vehicle is too loud, he said — it doesn't set a decibel level, for example.
But, Beam said, "You know it when you hear it — when they accelerate and it hurts your ears."
Pedestrian safety workshop
Pima County will host a two-day regional workshop on pedestrian safety next week that will feature a couple of nationally recognized experts from the Pacific Northwest.
Matt Zoll, the county's Bicycle and Pedestrian Program manager, says he has only a few more seats available for the Pedestrian Safety Action Plan Workshop, to be held Jan. 12-13 at the Pima Association of Governments Fifth-Floor Conference Room, 177 N. Church Ave.
To find out more, call Zoll at 740-6403.
RoadQ
QUESTION: Tom Workman wonders why several storm sewer drains on South Kolb Road, between East Valencia and East Irvington roads on the city's Southeast Side, are covered by sandbags.
ANSWER: Rene Bonn, a street maintenance supervisor with the city Transportation Department, said the sandbags are intended to keep runoff from entering that part of the storm-sewer system while crews repair some grates deep underground that keep debris from getting into pumps. The sandbags will be removed "in the near future," after the grates are repaired, Bonn said.
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