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BlackHole

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Everything posted by BlackHole

  1. As of yesterday it's all over, all stations in Nelson full up all grades. Well, except the Shell station because it's shut down, dug up and getting new tanks. So if we are all full of gas in the back of beyond I'm sure everyone else is also...
  2. I can be a real idiot, more so now that I ride a DukeR, but the north shore (3A) and the Crawford Bay to Creston routes are some of the best rides in the country. And used to be 80kph (50mph) for the length. It was fun at that speed, even spirited riding (safe but using the strength of the bike) was 100 kph (60mph) which wouldn't get you a second glance from the heat unless it was a pimply-faced newby graduated from being a frustrated theatre usher (and I have had my run-ins with those). Now these roads are mostly 60 kph (40 mph) which is mind-numbing slow and exacerbated by the self-appointed civilian highway guardians which seem to abound in this part of the world, doing 50 -55 kph and staring in their rearview the whole time. Usually wearing some kind of hat... beware the hat on an oldster or a pants-dropping youngster. So I used to be content riding at the limit or maybe 20% above. Now I can ride my bicycle on the downhill stretches faster that many of the cagers and it drives me to pass them at warp speed because I can. Anywhere and anytime. Further, if I'm going to be nailed for exceeding, because it's just slower than dying now NOT to exceed, I'm at least going to get my money's worth. I ride most of it any day at the same speed that I have for years but NOW I get nailed and get impounded. And do I have to spell out that many who are impounded find that when collecting their ride there's extensive damage? Point of this rant is that killing flies with a sledge hammer can backfire. Most of the folks I ride with here are not extreme (and are old like me) but do not like the nonsense and draconian beat-down. And we now ride MORE aggressively that we ever did. Arsey-Empee and proof-readers? High hopes from a group who taser a guy (4 times) to death for brandishing a desk stapler or shoot a 22 YO kid in the back of the head for mouthing off when confronted about having a can of beer at a hockey game.
  3. This RCMP press release was in the local news today: Big fines for excessive speed – RCMP warning April 18, 2016 TMTVNews.com The West Kootenay Traffic Services/Nelson IRSU have seen an increase in our excessive speed on the roadway. In the last week we have stopped and seized 13 vehicles for 7 days for exceeding the posted speed limit by 40 km/hr. If you are travelling in excess of 40 km/hr you can be charged for excessive speed with a fine of $368.00 and points or if more then 60 km/hr $483.00 plus points. On top of the fine your car will be seized for 7 days, costing you storage and a tow bill. With the nice weather comes fast driving but we are warning the public to obey the speed laws. We are out there watching and no tolerance will be allowed for excessive speed. Now I agree with what Funkie said earlier: if you behave you won't have any problem. But this is worth paying attention to for a few reasons not the least of which is that they are getting serious on the zero tolerance. Ride like I do and get impounded. But also ride reasonably like most of us do, maybe a little over the limit, ride the pace, and still get busted because they are writing up anyone for anything over. This is early days and who knows how it plays out over the next 2 months until the Hootenanny. Most likely, as in the past, they'll back off after a couple of weeks. Anyway, just remember to check on the situation before we all convene.
  4. And I'm not picking an argument... err.. debate but I'm not getting what you're saying. First off, the issue from the point of view of the folks that are initiating it (the M/C noise petition) is that too many motorcycles make too much noise. They're not engaging discussion in arcane, technical arguments about how or why, they just want the noise to stop. This is not particular to the Kootenay, it has been played out in many, many jurisdictions across North America over the last 20 years. And gone nowhere, not been solved in any way anywhere. If it had you can bet that the solution would have been adopted like wildfire spreading. You are correct, Randy, in that the largest. most obvious target of their ire is the Harley and the aforementioned trend-humping fashion lemmings perched there upon. That is likely because most of the petitioners can't even spell Ducati let alone identify what it is. Further, I would challenge you to find more that one in a hundred bikes where physical surgery has been done to the OEM exhaust. The Harleys in question as well as pretty much anything else are wearing aftermarket exhausts, not hack-saw modified pipes as we used to do in the 60's. And also, my exhausts are modified in the name of performance, not noise. In fact I've repacked my TBR twice to keep the noise down. I do realize that the do-rag, big-twin crowd adheres to a different paradigm. This (modification vs replacement) is important because the BC statutes address physical modification of the OEM exhaust but NOT replacement. There is nothing that prevents one from buying and installing an aftermarket exhaust and there is nothing that establishes noise levels for those. You can't buy an OEM exhaust from even Honda for a 30+ year-old motorcycle so you must go aftermarket. And the law recognizes and does not prevent this. Logically, I might say. Lastly, the particular statute you reference is pretty short and vague so here it is: 7A.01 No person shall start, drive, turn or stop any motor vehicle, or accelerate the vehicle engine while the vehicle is stationary, in a manner which causes any loud and unnecessary noise in or from the engine, exhaust system or the braking system, or from the contact of the tires with the roadway. This is clearly written to address the behaviour of the operator with respect to squealing tires, burning out and revving the crap out of the engine for no reason. It does NOT prohibit the driving of a vehicle in a safe and sedate manner complying with all posted speed laws whether that vehicle is equipped with any modification, exhaust or otherwise, that may or may not meet other statutes. Any cop can write up a violation for any reason but if one writes you up for having a noisy exhaust while you're not contravening any other traffic laws and cites this statute then this will be tossed in the first 30 seconds in court. And I do have some experience here. Regardless of all the forgoing, as I alluded to previously no one is going to have any issues with noise in the near, medium or long term future. What's salient is that the cops have perhaps taken heed of the complainants and are stepping up general enforcement of the non-ambiguous traffic laws. Wouldn't be the first time, it's been a while so we've gotten pretty relaxed around here. it's looking like this summer a little extra attention to the posted speeds is going to be beneficial. And I'm sure that many have never done otherwise and therefore have nothing to adjust for. Me, I'm an idiot and my new goal in life is to not have to buy a front tire before I die. Forks seals yes. rubber, no.
  5. Just a reiteration of local "news". Meaningless whining from ignorant folks who want simple solutions to their incidental discomfort. Like I said the noise issue will not be addressed or solved in our lifetime. The whiners are just adding more useless noise, none have actually proposed a useful, workable solution. I actually agree that there is a problem with trend-humping, leather-chapped fashion lemmings that know little about actually being able to ride a motorcycle but that's beside the point. Further, I've always surreptitiously cringed when starting up my full TBR race VFR or even my Racefit slip-on SDR. Until I hear one of the shotgun equipped, dew-rag brethren firing up his/her potato-potato lump. I think both my bikes pass the 83 dB limit but then they'll find something else to complain about... like how I ride around these days on one wheel. Pantywaists the lot of them.
  6. They've started weeks ago but it takes a while. Even after the sweeping there's still enough residue to make for some sliding. Really takes a few good rain events to finish the job and it looks like that might be coming along with a return to more seasonal (cooler) weather in the next few weeks.
  7. Perfect riding weather of late, still a lot of sand/crap on the roads. The noise controversy is more noise than the noise that the controversy purports to address. Pretty funny and typical Kootenay: don't confuse anyone with the facts because their minds are made up and the laws of physics don't apply here. There are, in fact, no enforceable noise laws currently on the books for BC. The brain trust that wrote the statute years ago failed to include how to measure the limit (83dB for M/C or something like that), omitting such trivial details as RPM for the stated limit, distance and angle of measurement, etc. That's why the law has never been enforced and cannot be enforced at this time. A complete re-write of the law is required and not likely to happen as the guvamint recognizes a lose-lose situation when they see one so they mumble vague promises to clarify and discuss and then waits for it to go away. However... on a ride lately I may have witnessed a side effect: although there is no way to crack down on noise the Arsey-Empee may be looking to get at us by cracking down on something they can enforce: speed. on a recent ride from Nelson to Kaslo with my buddy, both on our SuperDukes (he rode mine and that was it, he bought one. Do not ride a SD) we were... very naughty. Also saw more occifers in 2 hours than I usually see in a week. We passed a group of cars just out of Ainsworth and there was a taxi therein. Pretty sure he called the cops about us because just short of Kaslo a fellow coming at us in a older dk blue Nissan Frontier who is forever my friend if I can find him is flashing us frantically. We throw out the anchors and he slows, as we pass he yells "roadblock". We pulled a u-turn and headed back immediately. Passed 2 more Arsey-Empees on the way back, they gave us the huge stare but we were, serendipitously, in the middle of a bunch of cages and impossible for them to stop and turn on that road without causing major danger. We lucked out especially after the first cop on the return because after him we let loose again and were very lucky to be slowed when we ran into the second. So I will keep you all in the loop, it is possible that there may be an increase in speed enforcement that requires some adjustment in behaviour. The cops and their bosses may have realized that noise laws are bogus even if properly written and enforceable because they're not something that follows out of province/country riders home. Speeding/racing/stunting violations most certainly do: near as I know all of North America now has reciprocal violation arrangements. Thanks to the power of IT.
  8. Just figured out and signed up and paid. Looking forward to it. In fact despite the excellent snow thus far and the 18 days of skiing I have in I keep going out to the garage before bed and looking at the bikes... can't wait for riding season to return... And it's certainly about the people, not the bikes. I may just park the BlackHole in front of the Inn for symbolism, I will likely be riding the SDR.
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