As background, you should know that I have had a motorcycle license for over 50 years. My current motorcycle is a Honda. It is a whisper quiet and has a pollution-reducing catalytic converter in its stock muffler.
The next time you hear an obnoxious, loud motorcycle, look closely (that is what the rider wants anyway) and you will most likely see a middle-aged man dressed in his black leather weekend warrior costume, complete with leather chaps like the biker in the Village People. He will almost certainly be wearing a tiny, unsafe beanie-style helmet (thereby disproving the claim that he has safety concerns).
Under that beanie he most likely wears a pirate-style bandana, which nicely covers his bald spot. Chances are high he never had a motorcycle in his youth, but now that he has one for this mid-life crisis, he wants to be very sure that everyone notices.
Making a motorcycle loud is not cheap but he wants attention so he has spent several hundred dollars just to make noise. I ask you as a concerned and caring individual to join me in taking pity on this thunderingly obnoxious cry for help. We must ask law enforcement to give these poor souls all the attention they crave. Purchase a machine to measure noise and use it to enforce noise regulations. The revenue from the fines will more than offset the cost of the equipment.
This can be a win-win solution for all parties. The police will bring in increased revenue, the owner of the loud motorcycle will get the attention he craves, and the Kootenays will be quieter and more peaceful for residents and tourists alike.
Will Evans, Nelson
