So, according to the dolts at C.A.L.M (Citizens Against Loud Motorcycles) bikers only participate in charitable events to gain public favor allowing them to circumvent the law. I came across this baseless drivel completely by accident and wouldn't give it much thought except for the fact that they are using a link to CycleFish to show how the vast conspiracy operates. Check out the link and feel free to email them with your thoughts.

www.calmusa.org/index.htm type="_moz" />

That is quite possibly the most ignorant thing that I have ever read. WOW! Apparently, we have nothing better to do than dream up these BS Charity events, that benefit thousands, just so we can get the nod from law enforcement??? And for sure, I wanna claim loud pipes save lives, because that's just a total fabrication. And I like to lie??? You know, it's one thing, for someone to have a legitimate beef, and to bring it to the table with an open mind and legitimate information, to back them up with. But it's a whole different tomato, when someone is spouting "FACT" that is purely fiction. And I also, don't like having my integrity questioned. I don't like being judged, and I don't want to judge anyone else. But if they want to make serious "claims", they shouldn't just "google" some statistics, and then weave their own "take" into the picture.   Cause I'm a serious "art critic", and I have a pen, too!!!

Ride Free
Tweek

Gotta agree with Tweek on this B.S. !!!!!

We all know that statement is a bunch of BS, so I'm not bothered too much by an ignorant person making a totally outlandish statement.  Really, look at the site and the statements...  I too doubt this is even a real organization and nothing more than a rant. 

I don't believe it's an Axe to grind with CycleFish, and more that they used CF as an example of where to find these rides because we do have the most complete and most popular event calendar on the internet.  Hell, I should thank them for letting people know that CycleFish is THE place to find charity motorcycle events... that would really piss them off!

Or better yet... Their email is on their page, why not ask them how many charity events their organization of "good people" sponsored this year !

Oh, wait... I'm part of a conspiracy??? I didn't know. I must have missed that memo. And here I thought I was just having the time of my life riding my bike...

RoflmaoI have to agree with Lucky,it could be more beneficial for Cyclefish than the CALMS crowd are even aware of !!!

Debate is good,when its fair and unbiased.When its slanted with phony statistics,obvious allusions to the general character of a group,it almost becomes a sort of insane rant.Loud pipe do save lives I have seen this effect at work on munerous rides,too many people are lost in their blackberrys,Iphone's,etc etc..to pay much attention to traffic around them.Yes I am big enough to agree some pipes are way too loud,those really bad sounding bikers usually realize after running with uncapped pipes just how annoying they get after abt 100 miles

Why cant we just agree to disagree sometimes,and leave well enuff alone?? I firmly believe its an agenda driven by a wishy washy media,which wont tackle the real issues of our day,its so much easier to pick out the popular target like bikers n loud pipes,the smokers who foul their air,(cause its their air of course) and any other group that they happen to attack like wolves on a rabbit.

So my CALM friends who may be reading this post,I invite you to debate with any of us the merits of your idea's, I am sure you will find many of us more than willing to discuss the finer points of riding with loud pipes,and the meaning of liberty in a "free" country !!!

Stay Safe n Enjoy the Ride my Cyclefish friends!!!

This one is my favorite: "They hide behind all these charity runs (Poker Runs, http://www.cyclefish.com/browse_events.php) to create an image
of caring and community involvement. The real reason is to gain political and community support to look the other way
when it comes to illegal pipes, no- helmets and additional safety gear. Around our area all they do is go from bar to bar!"

Where in this set of sentences is there one piece of scientific evidence based on fact? That is pure opinion... I wonder who is following these bikers from bar to bar -- they must be bar hopping. Maybe they're just mad because they can't get a ride. Lol

Man if those selfish little sick kids only knew that these bikers put on that Santa suit, bought all those toys, spend hours strapiing them on the bike and decorating their bikes, and then got up at 6am to join hundreds of others to ride to the hospital just because they're part of a conspiracy to break the law...

And look at our Santa for our local toy run, after 20 years of leading the Toy Run he had the nerve to come back for 10 more years after his stroke just to play the sympathy card so we can ride with loud pipes!

(I'm sure everyone realizes it, but just in case - I was being sarcastic)

Problem is there's a lot of idiots that ride scoots. They put straight pipes on and hit it hard in residential areas around people....because they think people care that their bike is loud....and they figure it makes them kind of cool. Its annoying as hell and there-in lies the problem. I like the sound of a V-twin as much as the next guy but I let my riding ability speak, not my loud pipes, at least not in populated areas anyway.

Thanx,

jb

This was on a news site a few months ago. Some gal couldn't use her city council seat to trump state law so she's gone on a campaign. All she's done is to take a page from the Federal Government's  remarks about 1% clubs. Government in UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand are ll singing the same song.

 Ok maby I over did it a bit but I sent them this.

Wow, somebody really has an axe to grind when it comes to motorcycles and riders. They are all over the place on their statements too. Must only be in the 5 or 6 states listed I guess. Have to agree, statements made, but backed up with exactly ZERO facts or data presented. Almost want to laugh and ignore, but then these are the twisted ideas that always seem to pickup steam and end up snowballing, ya know???

I gotta say I don't hold it against them for starting their organization. We all have the right in this great country to assemble for or against any cause we believe in. Hell I've protested and taken up cause for or against things that even some of my closest friends and family were on the other side of.

What I do take strong objection to is that last statement about bikers hiding behind charity events to sway public opinion. Hell bikers are some of the most generous people out there, whether toward their fellow bikers or those in need. If this sways public opinion to "like us" then its probably because we are doing good, not hiding behind it. I can't think of ANY other group in society, including churches and help organizations that have more organized events to help others who are less fortunate!

So let them take up their cause and state their point (at least any factual points) and we as bikers will continue to state our side through all of the great motorcycle rights organizations out there. Which brings up another point... there ARE groups out there assembling to take away the rights of all riders, hopefully you - yeah you - support one or more of your local motorcycle rights organizations so our voice is heard just as loud... oops did I say loud.

Again I do not think they in anyway named CycleFish responsible or put us in the middle, I just think they listed the site that had the most charity events listed, and I'm damn proud of that.

I started to read the C A L M trash and then had to rush to the toilet so I wouldn't dump my breakfast on the floor!!

There may be an element of truth to the charge that riding & hunting organizations, unlike Christian institutions, do their good works in public to affect how the public perceives them.

If that is true one must ask - HOW CAN WE INCREASE THE SCOPE OF THE CONSPIRACY?
Wouldn't it be terrible, simply terrible, if there were more charity & more good works done in public and we all looked at our neighbors with more understanding
If they honestly think the conspiracy is effective suggest they start one of their own. - Not sure what it would look like - Maybe dozens of people in moccasins quietly going door-to-door collecting boxes of pasta, canned goods making too much noise, for the soup kitchen - They might be able to change the perception that they are a bunch of uptight dorks

p.s.: For the record wish you would save your unmuffled shorty pipes for the highway. - They don't make you go faster & they won't save your life

Any given Saturday I would love to have some quiet relaxation on my deck. I live in a subdivision with neighbors on all sides. All have riding lawnmowers for their small patch of property, all use weed whackers and loud air blowers for their errant blades of grass. Hours and hours and hours on end of auditory assault. I pick up my book and frosty beverage and hop on my bike. At the most, even if I sit and crack my pipes for a few minutes, I have not even come close to the racket I must endure.

Pull up to a stop light? I am respectful, I don't crack my pipes and blast my noise.... I sit at idle until it is time for me to go. Plenty of times, the car next to me will roll up their window. That is fine, I do it when a bike or loud vehicle is next to me, and the I roll it back down when the noise is past. But still, it is at most a few minutes.

Most of my friends are respectful with their pipes, but we also know that they can save a life. That is a purpose. CALM claims that lawnmowers serve a purpose. I think they could be made quieter, but I don't start a website criticizing every one of my neighbors who have to maintain their lawns at airplane decibels.

My $.02

Wow they are like PETA instead of wantimg to fine people for swatting a mosquito they want to fine bikers for loud pipes. Being a traffic officer for most of my carrer i can tell that most of the statistics i saw were completely false. One of the most entertainimg rant i saw was complaint of not enforcing existing noise violation which is a weak charge at best then complaining about people not wearing helmets when they are not required by law. Mabe they will join forces a coalition if you will of all the folks out there who r fed up with double bladed windshield wiperblades and the dangerous gang that have blinding chrome on there mud flaps this has got to stop. Your sarcastic conspirator in arms Percy

Come to find out when I emailed them it was sent back to me as non existing email address. So I dont know if they have an email address any more.

I agree with Percy.Well how about airplanes I belive they might need quieter engines.Or the new super white halogen head lights. Another case of crainial rectal inversion.

Seems like wild rantings...absolutely nothing on google or snopes that I could find. HUH.

I don't have a great deal to say about these idiots. It's something that's been pervasive in all my years "in the wind" and public relations officer of ABATE. The one thing that strikes me about all special interests groups (SIGs) is that their ultimate message, sooner or later, becomes politically charged. Many SIGs form Politcal Action Committees(PAC funds) and have lobbyists in Washington, enticing politicians with $$$$ to see things their way. Most ABATE organizations as well as other motorcycle rights organizations lobby (and pay) politicians to curry favor.

The above is disgusting to me. Even as the PR guy for ABATE I despised the idea of PAC funds. I'd rather smack a bastard in the face so he sees things my way than to pay him off. But $$$ has always talked the loudest in politics; not facts. Why? Besides the obvious, "facts" are not subjective. They can be minipulated according to the position taken. One SIG may say that head injuries are the "most common injury". And they'll have the backing of the medical profession; not because it's "a fact" but because of what they've seen on the operating table. Certainly one can accept that doctors see some nasty stuff. But in turn, insurance companies use the medical professions "opinion" as the basis for fighting "Freedom of Choice" in the helmet debate. On the other side, ABATE will argue that the "most common injuries" are lower arms, wrists, thighs, and knees. (I can explain that opinion if you like). But ABATE can't address the helmet issue using their logic (opinion). It remains a "head trauma" battle. So, we too "pay people off".

SIGs may have sponsors that we don't see (doctors, insurance, lawyers, etc.). Even The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has done some "illegal" grassroots lobbying, spending federal $$'s to influence Congress and/or public opinion; attempting to procure Federal $$'s to enact helmet laws in all states, manipulating crash statistics or filing incomplete reports. One such report said, " In nearly three-fourths of the two-vehicle motorcycle crashes involving passenger vehicles, the role of the motorcycle was recorded as the striking vehicle". They go on to say, " Additionally, factors including alcohol impairment, invalid license, and speeding were more attributed to motorcycle riders". The conclusion is that we are all inclusive of those things and all accidents are our fault. It's what they want you to read, to believe. The truth is, passenger vehicles turn left in front of motorcyclist and blow stop lights and stop signs, thereby causing the mc to be the "striking vehicle". I can't dispute the "additional factors" being more attributed to motorcycle riders. But I can tell you that the numbers are not calculated with correct comparative ratios...apples to apples as it were.

At the risk of pissing people off; these attacks on motorcyclists, freedom of choice, higher insurance premiums, BAC limits, etc. are the result of left wing, socialist do-gooders who want to coddle people, take power away from the people, decide how we should vote, tell us what is right and wrong, where to worship, how to worship, where to shop, what to buy, etc. Am I paranoid? Perhaps I am but I don't think so; and isn't ironic that despite their objective view points, the worth-less so-called news channels like CNN and Fox have exposed so much obuse of power and waste of federal $$$'s?

I'm not an ABATE member anymore. The politics of ABATE, bowing down to the dishonesty inherent in PAC fund lobbying is just something I could no longer be apart off. As a friend from the United Kingdom once said to me, "Poke 'em in the eye"!!!!


Ironically  "Peace"

Amazing, really amazing....despite criticism and complaining are inherent in our society, I think the person whoever wrote that piece would have a different take on her own views if say, (she hit a biker on road b/c she didn't see him). Granted if she perhaps, would of 'heard' him/her....then maybe she would of avoided the accident....
But IMO, this complaint is as old as there have been motorized vehicles...so I don't give it any 'weight' whatsoever...
ok, said my piece,....now I'm going out for a cruise ..it's a balmy 60deg in NOLA.....

Buddydog,

I would be willing to bet that if the person who wrote that drivel were to, let's say, accidently run a red light and hit a motorcycle, the first thing out of their mouth would be a complete fabrication blaming the motorcyclist. Followed by baseless accusations regarding the relationship between the motorcyclist and any LEO who did not immediately take her word as gospel.

Then again, maybe I'm wrong.