ROWDY YOUTHS

Dominion, Volume 28, Issue 87, 7 January 1935, Page 9

ROWDY YOUTHS

Motor-cyclists That Cause Trouble SKILFUL RIDERS QUIET Motor-cycle dealers interviewed, regarding the complaints of noise from motor-cycles iu the suburbs of Wellington which reached "The Dominion’’ recently expressed, the opinion that the modern machines as imported from England or America and as sold are beyond reproach and can be ridden with the utmost silence. However, it was pointed out that there are foolish youths who like to make the welkin ring and that the motor-cycle is a means for them to gratify that desire. It was asserted, moreover, that traffic inspectors were nut lacking in vigilance and that a noisy machine was a definite disadvantage to the rider who desired to complete his journey in the best time and without hindrance. All motor-cycles intended for use on the roads are now sold fitted with exhaust systems which are generally agreed to be “efficient,” as the regulations demand, and the current models do not sport the cut-outs which formerly allowed some of the gas to escape into the air without passing through the exhaust boxes aud which gaye rise to the slogan “Cut out the cutout.” The authorities in England and America, especially England, are exceedingly active in the suppression of traffic noise. British machines now predominate and are marketed in New Zealand in the same condition as in England, where they have to satisfy the authorities, but by the removal of the “fishtail” (a device which finally disperses the impulse of the gas as it issues from the pipe), the owner of a machine can change the tone and increase the volume of noise from the engine. Other details are easily altered, even to the entire removal of I lie maker’s exhaust system and its i eplacement with a mere pipe of large diameter which may muffle the engine cnly a little. It is the riders who have made such alterations to their machines whom the sellers of motorcycles blame for objectionable noises. Quiet Machine Fastest.

The real advantage of opening the exhaust is agreed by mechanics to be negligible in the case of a touring machine in use in a city. Sports machines for which the utmost powers of acceleration are important are usually raced without silencers, but the ordinary touring machine, such as is owned by the vast majority of motor-cyclists, gains nothing but dislike for its owner for the change.

The only explanation given by those in the trade for noisy machines is that they are the mounts of exuberant youths who like to make a noise for the sheer joy of hearing something indicative of power, without thought for others. “You owned a motor-bike when vou were younger?” asked one dealer. “Now, didn’t you like to pep her up? Ypu can’t deny it.” 'The riders assert that motor-cycles with noisy exhausts are very rare for tlie reason that inspectors are too vigilant for it to be otherwise. An uproar, far from being an acquisition, only attracts attention from quarters where it is not wanted by a motor-cyclist. A fast but quiet machine makes its way through a town quicker than a noisy one whose rider cannot open the throttle for fear of creating a noise and being stopped. Riders whose mounts are noisy have been warned even on highways in the country. Cavalcades Cause Noise.

One motor-cycle owner’s explanation of the noise which had been complained of at Oriental Bay was that sometimes several friends ride along together. One of the machines alone would not be noticed, but when five or six pass all together sufficient uproar is caused to arouse the anger of the residents. “The Dominion” was given a demonstration of how a motor-cycle could be quiet if handled -with skill but noisy if the rider wished to display a spirit of bravado. The owner of a 10-12 h.p. twin-cylinder American “police model” commenced to ride up a grade in a moderate manner, but with a flick of the wrist the thing under him became a hurtling, roaring monster which attracted all eyes as it shot through the traffic. >

Generally the riders think that the nutlioritles pay enough attention u them already and that the rowdy fellows will always be among the motorcycling fraternity, just as they are to be found in every group of human beings. The more experienced scorn the exhibitions of the younger members of their fraternity. City Council's Method. Mr. L. S. Drake, chief Wellington traffic inspector, regards motor-cycle traffic as one of the most difficult kinds to control. The regulations, he pointed out, dictate that engines must have an “efficient” silencer, but the meaning of the word “efficient” was open to question. Again, a motorcycle which seemed efficiently silenced amid the noise of a city street during Ihe daytime might be regarded as intolerable at the dead of night in a quiet suburb.

The city’s method of dealing with rowdy motor-cycles when the inspectors discover them is to order the owner to muffle the engine properly and submit it for inspection before a certain date. “Hundreds of them had been dealt with in this manner,” said Mr. Drake, “cutouts caving been welded up and in some cases fishtails welded on so that they could not be removed easily.”