Canada - The sound of motorcycles

OFF THE WIRE
 northumberlandnews.com

To the editor:
It is curious to me that some groups are exempt from some laws.
Our home is along Walton Street in Port Hope, where'Scenic Lakeshore Drive', the'Apple Route', Hwy. 2, and the'best preserved 19th century streetscape in Ontario'all converge.
The law in question is the noise limit for motor vehicles, and the exempt groups are the sellers and operators of large displacement motorcycles. Since it seems to be the custom that every motorcycle club in Ontario must come past my house at least one weekend every summer, it is hard to ignore the noise.
If I drove a car or truck with no effective muffler I would expect to get a ticket, but for a bike, never. That they are allowed to be sold in apparent non-compliance with the law is most of the problem.
Before all you bikers get outraged, know that I do have a license to ride, and I have owned and operated motorcycles in years past. Quiet motorcycles exist, even large ones. I recognise that making oncoming drivers aware of your presence is a self-defence imperative for riders.
I will believe that is the legitimate objective of any biker I see with exhaust pipes pointed forward. Blasting noise out the back is not terribly effective.

D.J. Landwehr
Port Hope