Denver Councilman Rick Garcia "Hopefully They'll Go Someplace Else".
Choppers To Be ILLEGAL in Denver

Law will go into effect July 1st OUTLAWING ALL CUSTOM BIKES - STOCK EPA Stickers Required By Law - WATCH VIDEO

Actual Ordinance - Page 1 / Page 2

As unbelievable as it may seem, Denver now has one of the harshest noise ordinances in the country. Clearly aimed at bikers, this little piece of government bull was sponsored by the aspiring fascist Rick Garcia.

The law is pretty simple, it only takes up two pages – but what it does is effectively takes away the rights of ANY biker who happens upon the now-biker-unfriendly burg of Denver. Here’s a rough outline of the provisions (now, I’m no lawyer here, so read the thing yourself):

1) Your bike must register under 82 db from 25 feet.
2) The measurement can be taken at ANY condition – idle, rev up, rev down – apparently this is at the officer’s discretion. Yes, they can make you rev the bike until you fail the test.
3) It’s illegal to install any muffler on a motorcycle made after 1982 that doesn’t bear an EPA stamp of approval.
4) It’s illegal to operate a motorcycle made after 1982 with a muffler that doesn’t have an EPA stamp of approval.

Wait! I hear your blood boiling and questions coming out like “Where the hell do I get an EPA approved muffler for a 1986 bike?”, “What about the $700 bucks I just spent on my custom system?”, “Nobody can pass that noise test –my lawnmower is louder than that!”, “Did I fall asleep in Denver and wake up in Nazi Germany?” – well, thanks to your friend Rick Garcia, the answer to the last question is simple – yes, you did.

It’s not about noise folks – it’s about the cops being able to pull over any bike, at any time for suspicion of violating this new noise ordinance. And guess what, if you happen to have the EPA approved horse crap stamped into your muffler – you’ll be requested to rev your engine until you fail the test.

But don’t worry, the fine isn’t that bad: you’ve got two weeks to show up with “the problem” fixed or pay a measly $500 fine.

Look folks, this is the biggest slap in the face Denver bikers have ever had to endure. They’re taking away our right as law abiding citizens to ride a bike through Denver on a sunny day. To which I say “Screw ‘Em!” – that’s the last you’ll see of me (and my money) in the City of Denver. No more Children’s Hospital Toy run, no more benefits for fallen cops and firemen, no more NOTHIN’ …if this is the way we get treated, then the only thing we can do as bikers is to take our cash, our goodwill and our community support and go someplace else.

Actually, this is what what Denver’s new self-appointed guardian of Goodness seems to want, as he is quoted in all the newspapers as saying "Hopefully they will stay out of Denver," Garcia said about the motorcyclists with loud exhaust pipes. I guess Rick will go explain that to the kids at Children’s Hospital when they don’t get any Christmas presents.

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 because Rick Garcia and his crew of mis-informed do-gooders clearly didn’t think this one through. But I have – and I’m calling on all right-thinking bikers who read this to do the same thing. You don’t want us? We’re gone. BIKERS BOYCOTT DENVER!

It starts now, but who knows where it will end?

warren@choppersrule.com

UPDATE (Several months later): It has been brought to my attention that Boycotting Denver is a fairly stupid idea - in that the bad guys actually win. What can I say, I was pissed off and there ya go. Apparently great strides have been made behind the scenes and by using legal methods of persuasion. Clearly the smarter course - that's why these articles are opinions and should be taken as such. On the upper left at the top it says: "The opinions expressed in this editorial are 100% my own." - I'm not speaking as a representative of anything except this website. And we all know they let ANY idiot have a website these days, including me.