QUIET, PLEASE
Bill Uhl
Senior Instructor, OHV Training
contact him at: classes@OHVtraining.org
& Charlie Williams
I was up on the hill the other day, and ran into a friend of the magazine.
Billy Uhl, a leader in our sport. Billy was the top American finisher
at the 1973 ISDT, as well as a 9-year vet at 6-Days' competitions.
These days, Billy lives in a quiet mountain setting, from which he does
trail construction and maintenance; and his environment provides him
with time to think and study. Billy has watched our sport from behind
the scenes for many years; so if we are smart, we will listen when he
speaks.
When I ran into Billy, he was out doing trail work and I was out riding
for fun and looking for new subjects to write about. Billy had a subject
for me, NOISE & SOUND. He works on the trails up here in Idaho. He'll
ride his old bike up the hill, park it, and cut and dig trail all day
long. It's hard work, but great surroundings. (Billy loves his "office.")
He had heard me coming, and I have a quiet bike. It's a 250 two stroke
with a good silencer, so it's never revved up on the pipe. It's stealthy
quiet, yet he had heard me for the last couple of minutes.
We talked and visited. He had been to the ISDT/E Reunion and wanted
to tell me all about it. He had a good time and got to see a lot of old
friends. Many had read the article I had written a year ago, and they
were all envious of his job and location. I was mumbling along, and he
had to turn his head and say "Huh?" Billy can't hear well out of his
left ear. He blames it on years of chainsaw and bike use without earplugs.
Here is a guy who loves dirt bikes and riding, deaf in one ear, but
he still noticed the sound my reasonably quiet bike was making. We continued
our visit, and at one point he perked up like Radar on M*A*S*H, saying "Jet
plane. You can hear them for two and a half minutes."
"I never paid any attention."
"Exactly the point I'm heading for," replied Billy." You can hear a
plane for two and a half minutes, but people are used to them and don't
pay any attention to them. So they block them out, just like you've done."
I perked up with my new-found sound sensitivity. "Dirt bike, 4 stroke."
Billy checked his watch. The noise from an approaching bike died, but
then became louder as it made its way toward us.
As the rider came closer to our side of the small valley, I looked at
Billy with surprise because my new-found hearing had kicked in. The bike
we had been listening to was now within a couple of minutes of us, but
something strange seemed to have occurred during its journey. It appeared
to have given birth to two other bikes that we could now hear softly
purring. The entire journey across the valley had taken about ten minutes,
but we only heard one bike up until the last two minutes.
"This is exactly the point," Billy clarified. "Our sound is normally
not audible as far away or as long as that of the jet plane. Because,
traditionally, motorcyclists stay in the acceptable range of sound, their
sound is only audible for a short time. In this case, we heard one bike
a long way off -- a long time -- and the other two bikes only a short
time."
Three happy trail riders had now rolled up; one with a big-man exhaust.
None of us knew each other, but the noisy rider was all smiles. Billy
tactfully told the loud rider that we had been able to hear his bike
from the time he crested the ridge across the valley. The guy just shook
his head while saying something about the bike needing to breathe, so
he had opened up the silencer.
Now, I was puzzled and made a caustic comment. "Why do they call it
a silencer if it makes more noise?"
The guy explained that he needed the louder exhaust to get the most
power out of the 450, and my sarcasm again rode to the surface. I almost
asked, "So, why was one of your buddies ahead of you?" but I held it
in check and queried, "So who are you?"
"I'm Bob Nobody."
"Are you a famous racer? Have you ever won a big championship?"
"Well no."
"Are you in a big race right now?"
"No," he replied sheepishly.
"Then why do you need to disturb everything and everyone for a quarter
of a mile around just so you can trail ride?"
"Because I like the power." He was getting defensive now, but I was
filled with questions.
"Can you actually USE the power? Couldn't Larry Roseler kick your ass
on an 80cc bike? Haven't you noticed that one of your two buddies was
in front of you?"
Our conversation soon ended. Billy strapped his chain saw and pulaski
back on his dilapidated Kawasaki. I strapped on my helmet, and the five
of us took off. Not surprisingly, Billy rode away from me. Two turns
and he's gone. It's something about the quality of getting the power
to the ground, never spinning a tire; something about the quality of
picking good lines. Basically, the art of riding well.
The booming 4 stroke was right behind me, or so it seemed because the
noise seemed to be right on my shoulder. I made some good turns, and
soon it felt like I must be getting away from him even though it sounded
like he was still on my fender. The five of us rode a few miles before
Billy stopped again and unhooked his chainsaw to clear a fallen tree.
I rolled up and removed my helmet and started to help. Then the loud
bike showed up. We had made our point. It's not the bike or the power;
it's the rider. Bob Nobody and his two friends were shaking their heads
up and down, as they took off their helmets and helped clear the trail.
Bob had been transformed. "I get your point, fellas. I'll put the stock
quiet exhaust back on my bike. If a guy in hiking boots riding a tool
wagon can outride me, then maybe I don't need the little bit of extra
power the noisy exhaust might give me."
His friends were beaming smiles. We all laughed, and Billy put in a
shameless plug about his riding school and how he could get Bob up to
speed without all the extra noise. We laughed some more, then Bob and
his companions rode off. Billy and I listened to Bob's loud bike for
a long while. He was being light on the throttle now, trying to slip
away without making any more noise than he had to.
Our conversation turned to our surprise at discovering that there were
three bikes when we had only heard one. The difference a quiet pipe makes
is almost unbelievable.
We sat down on a log, overlooking the mountains of Idaho. You could
see for hundreds of miles in all directions. Huge pine trees and rocky
crags towered above us. Streams cut their way through valley floors filled
with the sharp, sweet smell of pine sap and rich dirt. Birds chirped
and chipmunks skittered about. Mountain lions and wolves live there too,
not to mention elk and deer and all the other friendly woodland creatures.
A 24-inch wide motorcycle trail snaked its way along, following old miners'
routes which had followed the traces of Indians who followed animal trails.
You get the picture? There is a tiny ribbon of trail zigzagging around.
Everyone is happy UNTIL someone puts a loud bike on it. All of a sudden,
noise can be heard for about a quarter of a mile to the north and south
-- a half-mile-wide corridor of unnecessary noise is created just so
one loud biker can use 24 inches of trail! (Note: Sound travels different
distances as terrain changes. We are using the worst case scenario; a
ridge trail.)
Billy said, "They keep coming after us. Sound will be the next issue."
"They who?" I jerked around and looked over my shoulder looking for bears, wolves,
or mountain lions.
"The Government is coming. They used the two-cycle engine excuse in
their last attack. When they outlawed two cycle engines, they thought
that would close us out or at least make it more difficult. The factories
started building better four stroke motors, and our sport struggles on."
"Yeah, and the sound a four stroke makes carries a lot differently than a two
stroke." I tried to stay in the conversation.
"Yes, the 4 stroke's sound carries differently. But, any more the snowmobile
guys are running straight expansion chambers and can be heard from a
mile away. That's a 2-mile corridor of noise. The snow and cold air seem
to carry and reflect the sound so much more. I love snowmobiling and
ride them all the time, but it is annoying to listen to them all day
while I'm at home trying to split some wood or patch the roof. It really
seems selfish to me -- or at least short-sighted."
"Hell, they have three cylinders -- 140 to 160 HP! How much more power
do they think they need?"
"They don't need more power. It's just like the bikes. It's not the
power; it's the rider and the ability to ride well."
"Talk about noise, how about those helicopters and small planes? They
create far more noise than even a loud 4-stroke bike."
"Yeah, they aggravate everyone for miles around. The worst thing is
that dirt bikes are lumped right in with them. To the general public,
any sound that is different from what they are used to is "bad." One
loud bike can turns them sour against all riders. Then, when loud snow
machines enter the scene, bitter feelings escalate. We know we are separate
from machines that create more noise, but the public and the government
lump all motorized recreation together. Some how we have to rally the
troops and police ourselves."
"If we don't do it, the government will, and I guarantee that we won't
like what they do to us. It's such a problem that we need to convince
the manufactures to stop selling loud exhaust systems. We have to get
them to sell us good, quiet systems. They make them -- 92 db or less,
all day long -- same amount of power; just quiet. We need to convince
them to stop selling the loud ones. Nobody needs the noise or the hearing
loss that emerges from it. People just don't realize that trails and
tracks are being closed to us because of what's called 'sound pollution.'
How many tracks have been shut down just because of the sound?"
"You know the Speedway guys have gone to quiet exhaust, and they have
a new track right in town. Back in Indianapolis, Speedway participants
share the parking lot with an exotic dance club, so how much noise are
they making? They share a parking lot then offer free admission to spectators,
so it's good for everybody!"
"Yeah, that is cool. I wonder how the Speedway guys got the quiet thing
started? Hearing loss, land closure, fatigue, these are just a few problems
with noise, how about just getting the evil eye when you are at the trailhead?
Sound could be the next battlefield. Did you know they are using money
from the Green Sticker program to buy decibel meters?
How stupid are we? Are we really going to finance our own demise? Uncle
Sam will shut us out. It's the only thing he knows how to do, so we absolutely
have to create an alternative scenario. If we don't address the sound
issue on our own, we will be committing recreational suicide." Billy
has given this lots of thought and energy, so we should listen and take
action.
I answered, "You know, I went to a desert race the other day. They started
in three rows, A, B, and C. The A row was pretty quiet. Most of the four
strokes had stock exhaust, and the two cycles didn't stand out as being
loud. The B row had a couple of loud bikes, but the C row was the noisiest
of all three! Most four strokes had big man exhausts on them, so what
we are up against is educating the beginners."
"Yep" agreed Billy. "Those who are not burdened with education need
to peek at the light."
I continued on, pretty much rewording what I had just said. It sounded
good last time; let's see if I can pass it off as genuine thoughts again. "The
expert riders understand that loud exhaust is not good. They know it
fatigues them, and the manufacturers understand noise is not good. Manufacturers
just build them because the educationally unencumbered buy them, thinking
they need the noise. The general public HATES the sound, and other riders
are also annoyed by it. Nobody craves hearing loss, and none of us want
more land closures."
Billy continued. "Even on 'closed course,' noise is a problem, if the
MX track is bothering neighbors a quarter of a mile away, the government
has no other choice than to shut the track down. We all need to get along
with our neighbors, and sound reaches way out of the fenced area."
"Yeah, they claim the loud pipes are just for closed courses, but they
sell them to anyone. The buyers then use them everywhere; not just on
closed courses. Just a few moments of noise can sour our potential supporters."
"A closed course?" said Billy. "If the sound travels like it does here
in the mountains, that makes the closed course a quarter mile radius
of angry neighbors. These neighbors don't care whether it is closed course
or trail riding. All they know is bikes create sound. They don't like
it, and they are going to act against us. Neighbors are going to call
the cops, the cops call a meeting, the public gets organized and comes
after us, and I don't blame them one bit." WE have a responsibility to
clean up our act.
I went on, " You know we had the noise issue going pretty good once
the two cycles became water cooled and good re-packable silencers became
practical. It's only been in the last few years, when the so-called racing
four stroke came back on the scene that noise become an issue again.
Most of the racing four strokes are fairly quiet from the factory. It's
the after-market people who are feeding this problem for motorcyclists
and riders of ATVs and snowmobiles. They are marketing to the ignorant.
How do we convince the after-market people to stop selling the loud ones
and focus on building good quiet ones? Don't they realize they can sell
more quiet than noisy machines and pipes? First off, for every noisy
exhaust they have sold, they need to sell a quiet one to replace it.
If they would just stop making them loud and sell a good quiet one, the
problem would solve itself in time. All the loud bikes would soon become
outdated and pushed to the barn."
Billy continued, "I'm afraid the ignorant will always want more noise.
They relate noise to speed, even though that is so wrong. To really ride
well, you need to be one with the bike. You need to feel the RPM, you
need to feel the ground through the tires and the pegs. If the bike is
deafening you, how can you feel these things?
Billy continued, "Even if we get FMF and the other major manufactures
to quit making loud pipes, ignorant companies will start building loud
pipes. We need to make sure everyone knows just how un-cool it is to
be noisy. Michael Lafferty's 450 racer is quiet, so why does Joe Schmoe
think more sound = more power. You know that 97 percent of us cannot
use all of the power that modern bikes produce anyway! If Michael doesn't
need it, why does the C class? Everyone needs to know just how uncool
they look when they are loud.
Billy's passion for riding and the trails was so evident. "We've really
got to make everyone conscious of this problem because it is threatening
all of our rights to ride. We need to change, and we need to change now.
If we don't, the government will continue to force change, and we all
hate that. One thing we can all do immediately is talk to riders with
loud bikes. We can also refuse to ride with those with loud bikes until
they make their bikes quiet. Some of the best riders in the U.S. are
already doing this."
I gathered my things and said my goodbyes. I told Billy I would write
a story for the magazine. Most of the readers I hang out with are already
on the quiet bus, so it's the uninformed that we absolutely must reach.
We have to counteract the propaganda that more noise = more power. You
are of a higher plane of consciousness, and we need your assistance in
educating those who are unconsciously creating offensive noise levels.
We need to start by enforcing noise restrictions at all of our races,
events, and outings.. Enduro guys do a pretty good job, but the Hare
Scrambles, MX, and family crowds could do better. The clubs need to change
their rules and stand by them. Riders want to ride, so they will have
to follow the rules, and they will buy quiet exhaust.
Manufactures want to sell. If we as riders and clubs demand quiet pipes,
they will produce them, so they can sell them. We can go after the licensing
organizations like the AMA, FIM, etc., and make them change their sound
rules. The noise issue is finally one where we can start at the bottom
and work our way up. If riders demand quiet, everyone above us will fall
in line.
When I got back to the trailer home, I did a little research on hearing
loss. It turns out the ear canal if filled with tiny hairs that change
the mechanical energy of incoming sound waves into nerve messages to
the brain. Too much loud noise, like a gun or explosion has the most
dangerous affect, but sustained noise like a bike or a chainsaw damages
these tiny hairs, causing permanent hearing loss. Ear plugs are not always
the cure because some sounds travel right through the skull and cause
damage. There is not enough research, but I'd bet a noisy 4 stroke bores
right through the skull. It does mine.
When I shared this article with Billy, the mountain man from Idaho made
one last comment. Apparently, Einstein once said, "Insanity is doing
the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.
Sound does not have to become loud, annoying noise." Billy has a passionate
plea, "Noise has to change to a sound level that is pleasant or acceptable,
so go forth and ride quietly."
My advice is, do something now! Write the manufactures, the after-market
people, and the race organizations. Demand quiet pipes, contact the clubs
and demand quiet races, repack your own silencer, and educate your friends
and family. Lead by example because our future depends on our making
a difference. Like Billy said, if we wait for the government to do it
for us, we will not like what they do. |
