Mallory Park and the 1000 bikes festival

Message

lazarus · #31 Post by **lazarus** » Sat Mar 09, 2013 8:35 pm

Maybe I'm not interested in classic bike racing ( or classic car racing for that matter) but ask yourself how many of the population in general are afficianados like you. The answer is very few. Even modern vehicle racing is a minority sport.

So think a bit further, if you want your classic bike racing hobby to continue, then maybe you should do whatever you can to make it less annoying to the general public and in particular those living nearby who might be affected by it. Doesnt matter whether they moved into their house last week or last century, they still have a vote.

Sure it might be irritating but you arent going to get anywhere by digging your heels in and being inflexible. Which would you prefer - quieter racing or no racing? Thats your long term choice however much you might moan about it.

And dont try and shoot the messenger just because you dont like the message

Aladinsaneuk · #32 Post by **Aladinsaneuk** » Sat Mar 09, 2013 9:11 pm

/scousers accent

Calm down calm down

Seriously - we can all agree to differ - and in this specific case, the noise is a part of the event

Now, those who fit after market exhausts do it for a variety of reasons - me, I fitted my renegades, because I could - I like the rumble and ark, and the performance - they are not as loud as some pipes I have had, but...

Do I piss the locals off or be a twat in built up areas? No - and those Who do.... Well, they would be just the same on roller skates

STiGLiTZ · #33 Post by **STiGLiTZ** » Sat Mar 09, 2013 10:09 pm

....oh that's right pick on us rollerskaters!

Aladinsaneuk · #34 Post by **Aladinsaneuk** » Sat Mar 09, 2013 10:53 pm

damn right

hobbits look up to people on roller skates

D-Rider · #35 Post by **D-Rider** » Sat Mar 09, 2013 10:54 pm

Well, Rollers at Mallory is certainly a noise that should have been abated:

Throughout the Sixties and Seventies, the circuit hosted almost every major British car and bike championship. Famously the Bay City Rollers tartan army played a concert during a BBC-organised 'Fun Day' on 18 May 1975, on a stage specifically constructed in the middle of the lake.[1]

#36 Post by **mangocrazy** » Sat Mar 09, 2013 11:26 pm

lazarus wrote:Maybe I'm not interested in classic bike racing ( or classic car racing for that matter) but ask yourself how many of the population in general are afficianados like you. The answer is very few. Even modern vehicle racing is a minority sport.

I've never tried to make out that classic bike racing (or bike racing for that matter) is a mainstream sport. It's been a minority interest as long as I've been following it. So nothing has changed in that respect.

lazarus wrote:So think a bit further, if you want your classic bike racing hobby to continue, then maybe you should do whatever you can to make it less annoying to the general public and in particular those living nearby who might be affected by it. Doesnt matter whether they moved into their house last week or last century, they still have a vote.

That situation has existed for as long as I've been alive. Nothing has changed recently in that respect.

lazarus wrote:Sure it might be irritating but you arent going to get anywhere by digging your heels in and being inflexible. Which would you prefer - quieter racing or no racing? Thats your long term choice however much you might moan about it.

No, that's your view of how the situation will or may play out. The choice you're offering is a simple binary option - yes/no. Real life is a lot more complex and subtle than that, in case you hadn't noticed. And the person who is doing the moaning about exhaust noise is not me...

lazarus wrote:And dont try and shoot the messenger just because you dont like the message

When the message is spurious and opinionated, it might be time to look at who is not just bearing the message but formulating it as well.

lazarus · #37 Post by **lazarus** » Sun Mar 10, 2013 9:06 pm

Mango - I give up! If you are so determined not to consider how the majority non biker population might see exhaust noise, and how this might affect the future of our race tracks, then nothing I can say will influence your views.

MartDude · #38 Post by **MartDude** » Sun Mar 10, 2013 9:15 pm

If you don't like the noise, don't choose to live close to a race track. Mallory's been operating since the mid 1950's - longer, I'd hazard a guess, than the complainants have lived there.

#39 Post by **mangocrazy** » Sun Mar 10, 2013 9:57 pm

lazarus wrote:Mango - I give up! If you are so determined not to consider how the majority non biker population might see exhaust noise, and how this might affect the future of our race tracks, then nothing I can say will influence your views.

You have an opinion, which you are convinced is correct. I beg to disagree. End of.

D-Rider · #40 Post by **D-Rider** » Sun Mar 10, 2013 11:24 pm

lazarus wrote:Mango - I give up! If you are so determined not to consider how the majority non biker population might see exhaust noise, and how this might affect the future of our race tracks, then nothing I can say will influence your views.

"Might" being the operative word.
The thing is, the wider population will have a variety of views and establishing what might be their consensus has not been achieved.
In respect of Mallory park, it appears that objections come from only a minority of the local population and that there is a significant number of residents that support the continuation of motor sport at the circuit.
Also, I believe that people do not lump all motorcycle noise together. Loud 2-stroke whine or screaming i-4s revving away may offend some but many of the same people will love the same level of noise from a low-reving single or twin.

As for classic machines racing or parading, the sound is an essential part of the experience.
I mean, come on, a highly silenced Honda 250/6 ..... really?
Or non-standard muting of the ultra-rare, lovingly restored Mercedes and Auto Union Silver Arrows cars I watched at Goodwood earlier in the year - oh, and of course the Spitfires and Hurricanes flying overhead at the very same time would have needed silencing too (oh why didn't they think of making them quieter when they built them) .....

I realise there are others that feel the way that you do - I expect Segway to chip in to support at any moment - but other views do exist and they also exist in the wider population that don't all hate the noise of classic racing bikes.

lazarus · #41 Post by **lazarus** » Mon Mar 11, 2013 3:18 pm

Got to agree with almost all you said D Rider. The only point I was ever trying to make was that we bike riders dont help ourselves when we chose, as many do, to fit noisy non standard exhausts usually for no better reason than the individual concerned likes the noisier sound of the exhaust. It annoys other people unnecessarily.

We only need to think of what happened to trail riding to see what the antis can do.