Bill Harlan, Journal staff | Posted: Friday, August 3, 2007 11:00 pm
|
Political controversy is a staple of the Sturgis motorcycle
rally - whether it's alleged price gouging, unpopular
parking restrictions, excessive noise near sacred Bear Butte or
whatever.
Bikes and politics make a happy confluence for me, a political
reporter who covers the rally, and this year, it took me less than
two hours to find it.
I ran into Lori and Dan Delih of Oakdale, Calif., at the rest
stop at Mule Creek Junction, just across the Wyoming line, at the
junction of U.S. Highway 18 and U.S. Highway 85.
I buttonholed them because they were riding a pair of nifty
looking Harley-Davidson Softails.
The Delihs had ridden all the way from Oakdale to stay with
friends in Hot Springs.
Dan, a retired real-estate broker, had just heard a
radio-news story about Denver's new motorcycle noise
ordinance, which went into effect in July.
The ordinance requires bikes made after 1982 to have stock
exhausts. The pipes can register no more than 80 decibels from 25
feet away.
Ticketed bikes must be fixed in two weeks, or it's a $500
fine.
Ouch.
Can you imagine such an ordinance in Sturgis? The phrase
"armed rebellion" comes to mind.
Needless to say, this new ordinance has resulted in a
blogospherical flame-out.
Mike Werner of "Bikes in the Fast Lane" says the ordinance is
unfair because even Denver police bikes don't meet the standard,
writes: "If you get caught, you get two weeks to fix the exhaust,
or pay $500.
Warren Fuller, taking a tougher stance in "Scooter rants and
raves" at
http://www.choppersrule.com/dsez/edsez19.htm
writes: "I'm not buying gas in Denver, I'm not buying food in
Denver, I'm not going to plays or movies in Denver, I'm not staying
at hotels in Denver, I'm not going to the People's Fair, Taste of
Denver or any of the other events in Denver."
The Delihs weren't planning to boycott Denver, or launch a
legal challenge, but Dan did wonder whether they could make it
through town without a noise ticket.
For now, they'll enjoy Sturgis from their relatively quiet
base of operations in Hot Springs. Dan even admitted they might not
actually ride their motorcycles into downtown Sturgis. "Crowds," he
said.
