Noise is getting the better of us!

[Kiwi Graham]

Pressure is coming to bare for event organisers to manage noise.

Factors that add to this noise level can include a low cloud base, rain and structure.

If we don’t manage the noise we may not be granted a licence to run the event again and worse still the circuit could loose its resource consent for meetings.
95 decibels is the limit imposed by the powers that be and the onus is on the event organiser to ‘police’ it.
This does not only apply to bikes, cars are under the gun too.

AMCC has had to ‘ping’ a few peeps at both Pukekohe and Hampton Downs.
Pukekohe have had to ‘ping’ both cars and bikes on their open practise days.
All events have to monitor and record noise levels with calibrated noise meters.

You get a warning and an opportunity to modify the exhaust to reduce the noise but a second ‘pinging’ is your last time out on the track that day. To reduce the noise a simple (removable) thin plate inserted in the back of the muffler with hole in (of course) can bring even the loudest machine to within the 95db range. Each circuit has a designated area for noise meter recording and more often than not nowadays will have to take recordings and act upon them.

Pukekohe are under the spot light following complaints from neighbours and as a result will be subjected to independent, permanent and monitored noise meters being installed outside of the circuit.

I am firmly in the camp that says don’t move near a race circuit and complain about the noise (aka western springs et-al) but the reality is we are only going to shoot ourselves in the foot if we don’t respond positively and simply put ensure we are under the 95db limit.

I’d hate to loose the facilities we have because of a few decibels so please be mindful of where the Steward/CoC is coming from if you get the hand on the shoulder asking for you to quieten down a bit.

[Taz]

Good it's about time people realised that power doesn't have to equal noise. Bring on electric bikes I say.

[Mental Trousers]

... I am firmly in the camp that says don’t move near a race circuit and complain about the noise (aka western springs et-al) ...

People like that need an enema with a fire hose.

Be interesting to find out exactly how loud my bike is.

[jellywrestler]

does this include SUZUKI21 from KB's farts?

[wharfy]

"Who won the world drivers championship in 1975 ?"
Lauda









"Who won the world drivers championship in 1975 ?"
Lauda !









"Who won the world drivers championship in 1975 ?"
Lauda !!









"no need to shout!"
deaf prick :facepalm:

[RobGassit]

When we all go electric they won't have anything to moan about! :facepalm:

[jellywrestler]

When we all go electric they won't have anything to moan about! :facepalm:

except the osh hazard when people leave the pits still plugged in and trip everyone up!

[gatch]

I'm off to pukekohe this afternoon with 2 bikes that have no silencers whatsoever. The norton has reverse cone megas and the douglas just has open pipes. It will be interesting seeing if the steward starts with the noise policing at the classics festival. Just about every single bike there will get the finger waved at them.

I'd like to wave something at the neighbours..

Yes, it is my dick.

[lukemillar]

How do you measure the 95db figure? I know from the UK, it varies i.e decibel meter must be 15 meters from the bike and the reading is taken at 6k rpm or something along those lines to determine a pass or a fail. Would be good to know!

[Kiwi Graham]

How do you measure the 95db figure? I know from the UK, it varies i.e decibel meter must be 15 meters from the bike and the reading is taken at 6k rpm or something along those lines to determine a pass or a fail. Would be good to know!
A pre determined part of the circuit is allocated for noise testing.
This area is set back from the surface of the circuit but with an unhindered ‘view’ of the circuit. With the least amount of structure surrounding that area, so not to influence the reading.

For instance at Pukekohe it is just after the kink on the back straight, the wise (on test or track days) have been known to ‘role off’ slightly here ;).

At HD it is on the outside of turn 7 (real turn 3) along side the rear pit entrance.

Regarding the measurement it’s a simple case of reading the numbers the meter spits out, if you’re under your ok if you’re over your not.

A reading is rejected if two or more bikes are closely together.

[Taz]

I'd like to wave something at the neighbours..

Yes, it is my dick.

Do they have a magnifying glass?? :rolleyes:

[RobGassit]

Do they have a magnifying glass?? :rolleyes:

He passes out binnoculars.:facepalm:

[Maido]

How do you measure the 95db figure? I know from the UK, it varies i.e decibel meter must be 15 meters from the bike and the reading is taken at 6k rpm or something along those lines to determine a pass or a fail. Would be good to know!

I was watching the superbikes at Timaru and noticed the sound guy there measuring db's. He was setup outside of turn 8 (the left after the hairpin), he was on the grass where the spectators were sitting ( a good 15 meters). It was quite interesting to see what bikes were making what noise. I really through that the beemers would be loudest, but I think Strouds Gixxer was from memory. They were all around 89-96 db from memory. I only watched for about 2 mins though.

[SWERVE]

I live directly inline from Ruapuna when a Norwester wind blows..... probebly a good 20km.
I can hear the track when wind is in right direction............. only things that make enough noise to hear are V8s at the speedway or F5000 or similar at classic meets....................... so just ban the cars i say.
ChCh city council had right idea....... development around Ruapuna was getting to many complaints about track & quarry.... so they bought all houses along a section of Hesketts Rd............ currently un-occupied too. I would happlily rent one (cheap rate cos of the noise....of course)

The subject of noise always gets attention near race tracks generally by people who moved there after the circuit was built too. Donington in the UK has one of the lowest db limits........... but all the complainers live under the flight path of largest frieght airport in UK. Brands hatch too....and its next to one of busiest motorways the M20 which carries most of the cross channel traffic day & night.

Then take Hockenhiem in Germany.... all traffic has to drive through a heavily built up residential area to access circuit which is also on edge of Autobahn.... first time i went there i thought the signposts had been altered after having to negotiate residents parked cars on both side of street. Bet the Germans dont let nearby residents complain...... visit from the gestapo would be pending.

My granmother was the chief cook at Snetterton circuit and her house was only 800m from the startline....... my ideal house would be the derelict one in the middle of Cadwell Park infield.

Bloody greenies!

[Souther flags]

The sound level check point at Ruapuna is taken at Pothole . The left hander just past flag point 2. The highest reading at the Gp meeting was 94.3 decebels. It was from one of the 600 class bikes. Please don't ask which one .

[Maido]

which one? :laugh:

[Biggles08]

The sound level check point at Ruapuna is taken at Pothole . The left hander just past flag point 2. The highest reading at the Gp meeting was 94.3 decebels. It was from one of the 600 class bikes. Please don't ask which one .


ahem...:sweatdrop

:innocent:

[FJRider]

I'd like to wave something at the neighbours..

Yes, it is my dick.

Short wave .... Classic .... :innocent:

[Kiwi Graham]

I'm off to pukekohe this afternoon with 2 bikes that have no silencers whatsoever. The norton has reverse cone megas and the douglas just has open pipes. It will be interesting seeing if the steward starts with the noise policing at the classics festival. Just about every single bike there will get the finger waved at them.

I'd like to wave something at the neighbours..

Yes, it is my dick.

The reality of this is setting in and was realised last weekend at the Classic Festival held at Pukekohe.

Auckland city council were in attendance following a huge amount of pressure from the neighbours. In addition Pukekohe Park also carried out its own noise testing.

One third of the entries had problems.

120 were black flagged!!!

Any Machine over 100dBA was excluded from the meeting on the spot……37 had to pack up and go!!!!

Any machine over 96dBA had one opportunity to reduce the dBA of their machine……80 were over this threshold.

As an aside……..(on a different) day a train recorded 98 dBA

We as racers, track day junkies and open practise day attendees need to take serious heed at the direction this is heading, this obviously applies to cars as well as bikes.

The organisers of events are going to have to police the noise issue vehemently otherwise circuits are going to loose their resource consent. A meeting could be stopped mid flow on the word of a council appointed noise control officer!!!!

If Puke looses motor sport it also looses the horse racing (one subsidises the other), if they go that a massive lose to the community of Pukekohe!

Clearly the focus is on Pukekohe at the moment but it is spreading far and wide, it only takes one complainant to open this can of worms. This will happen to a track near you and sooner rather than later.
Traditionally race circuits have been built out in the country side away from neighbours that may complain for obvious reasons. The trouble is more and more people are moving out to the countryside some within ‘earshot’ of our circuits but don’t share our passion. It’s these people that make more noise than we ever can; the trouble is the law is on their side and they know it.

[sharky]

The reality of this is setting in and was realised last weekend at the Classic Festival held at Pukekohe.

Auckland city council were in attendance following a huge amount of pressure from the neighbours. In addition Pukekohe Park also carried out its own noise testing.

One third of the entries had problems.

120 were black flagged!!!

Any Machine over 100dBA was excluded from the meeting on the spot……37 had to pack up and go!!!!

Any machine over 96dBA had one opportunity to reduce the dBA of their machine……80 were over this threshold.

As an aside……..(on a different) day a train recorded 98 dBA

We as racers, track day junkies and open practise day attendees need to take serious heed at the direction this is heading, this obviously applies to cars as well as bikes.

The organisers of events are going to have to police the noise issue vehemently otherwise circuits are going to loose their resource consent. A meeting could be stopped mid flow on the word of a council appointed noise control officer!!!!

If Puke looses motor sport it also looses the horse racing (one subsidises the other), if they go that a massive lose to the community of Pukekohe!

Clearly the focus is on Pukekohe at the moment but it is spreading far and wide, it only takes one complainant to open this can of worms. This will happen to a track near you and sooner rather than later.
Traditionally race circuits have been built out in the country side away from neighbours that may complain for obvious reasons. The trouble is more and more people are moving out to the countryside some within ‘earshot’ of our circuits but don’t share our passion. It’s these people that make more noise than we ever can; the trouble is the law is on their side and they know it.

Bloody hell, was there anyone left to race!

How much further away from the city can we get????

At least I know I am OK - Greg told me to make more noise as my bike is too quiet. :laugh:

[Voltaire]

They were monitoring on the weekend at Puke, they put a list up of the over 97 Db and said to sort it, there were even some over 100 Db. On the Sunday briefing one rider whose son went around the track picked up lots of wire wool and fibreglass, an assortment of bolts and even a muffler ( very dangerous).....mind you I passed a battery on Sunday :shit:
Puke is now in Auckland and there is real pressure to contain the noise, the Steward of the meet said that if it can be lowered to less than 95DB race days could be numbered.
They said you were going to get one chance to sort it then off the track....not sure if this happened.
My observation was noise does not equal power....
No point complaining ( and there was a lot of that) that is what you get when you move near a track, it won't wash with the Council.

[Paul in NZ]

Part of the problem being that lots of the people that now live there derive no gain from having the track there as they work in town etc so if it goes they don't care. Locals that sell things because of the track are few so its an issue.

Loosing maybe the best internationally recognised motorsport event in NZ is just crazy!

[OnCam]

Im more than sure at 95db the angry neighbours are still going to hear the bloody things, it is a level that wont block out by shutting the window, yes it must be annoying but the noise is still going to be there regardless.

[trustme]

Some of the bikes out there were pharkin load. Straight through pipes with a real crack to them. We were told we could moan & complain all we like but we either quieten the noisy bikes or park em from now on. People will adapt, we have no choice
Does seem to be some variation in recordings, Graeme Cole was muttering that one of Nicks bikes had been fine on Friday & Sat but was too loud on Sunday, as he said that is kind of hard to get your head around

[RobGassit]

If the Council is taking the noise readings and using only that information as evidence for enforcement, we should have our own tests taken at the same time and place to keep them honest. Sounds like they can provide any evidence they feel like, and I'll bet if their are variations, their methodology may well be flawed. Perhaps we need to stand up to this evidence and challenge it's accuracy before they use this thin end of a wedge to Phuck us all over. I'll bet we can match any of their expert opinions with counter opinions from equally qualified people. I'll also bet there are loopholes in their powers to stop competitors without right of appeal or due process.

[jellywrestler]

How much further away from the city can we get????


There's a Warehouse right over the fence, they don't build in the wop wops now do they?

[jellywrestler]

If the Council is taking the noise readings and using only that information as evidence for enforcement, we should have our own tests taken at the same time and place to keep them honest. Sounds like they can provide any evidence they feel like, and I'll bet if their are variations, their methodology may well be flawed. Perhaps we need to stand up to this evidence and challenge it's accuracy before they use this thin end of a wedge to Phuck us all over. I'll bet we can match any of their expert opinions with counter opinions from equally qualified people. I'll also bet there are loopholes in their powers to stop competitors without right of appeal or due process.
They did produce a calibration cert for their machine and had an MNZ rep with them who should've kept them honest.
see Gatch's post further up, turning up to a metropolitan racetrack with straight pipes is really going to make any noise police unlikely to offer any sort of leniency really and there were loads of bikes there much the same.
The Brooklands Can was developed in the 1920's cause in some places things were getting noisy, NINETY YEARS later some people still haven't got it in their heads that it's an issue it seems...

[Voltaire]

If the Council is taking the noise readings and using only that information as evidence for enforcement, we should have our own tests taken at the same time and place to keep them honest. Sounds like they can provide any evidence they feel like, and I'll bet if their are variations, their methodology may well be flawed. Perhaps we need to stand up to this evidence and challenge it's accuracy before they use this thin end of a wedge to Phuck us all over. I'll bet we can match any of their expert opinions with counter opinions from equally qualified people. I'll also bet there are loopholes in their powers to stop competitors without right of appeal or due process.

I suppose you could pay Noise Control Services to come out for a second opinion. We used them battling the Council for chillers that were over 55 DB at the boundary. It was mentioned that they had a calibration cert. It was also mentioned that it was hard to do bikes in a group or pairs...
The equipment can often be influenced by buildings but thats not an issue at a track. My bike passed and there is nothing inside the muffler apart from a flat disc with holes drilled in it.....my mate said it was very quiet as I passed the stands....
I'm sure it can be overcome...but there may be some power losses on the older bikes..<_<

[RDjase]

If the Council is taking the noise readings and using only that information as evidence for enforcement, we should have our own tests taken at the same time and place to keep them honest. Sounds like they can provide any evidence they feel like, and I'll bet if their are variations, their methodology may well be flawed. Perhaps we need to stand up to this evidence and challenge it's accuracy before they use this thin end of a wedge to Phuck us all over. I'll bet we can match any of their expert opinions with counter opinions from equally qualified people. I'll also bet there are loopholes in their powers to stop competitors without right of appeal or due process.

http://www.stylesgroup.co.nz/

[gatch]

They did produce a calibration cert for their machine and had an MNZ rep with them who should've kept them honest.
see Gatch's post further up, turning up to a metropolitan racetrack with straight pipes is really going to make any noise police unlikely to offer any sort of leniency really and there were loads of bikes there much the same.
The Brooklands Can was developed in the 1920's cause in some places things were getting noisy, NINETY YEARS later some people still haven't got it in their heads that it's an issue it seems...

The odd part of it all is the inconsistency of it all. Friday morning practice told us we were ok. In the afternoon we were 3 dB over with no changes.

Saturday morning practice we were 2 dB over, again with no changes. After sticking half a chicken coup, a dozen pot scrubbers and tying it all up with about 5 meters of lockwire on each pipe, were 94.8dB.

And our bike with straight pipes was 92dB..

It was a bit ratshit to see so many people sitting out races, but they were unable to adapt.. Bugger.

[Kickaha]

The odd part of it all is the inconsistency of it all. Friday morning practice told us we were ok. In the afternoon we were 3 dB over with no changes.

Saturday morning practice we were 2 dB over, again with no changes. After sticking half a chicken coup, a dozen pot scrubbers and tying it all up with about 5 meters of lockwire on each pipe, were 94.8dB.

And our bike with straight pipes was 92dB..

It was a bit ratshit to see so many people sitting out races, but they were unable to adapt.. Bugger.

Was there a change in the weather or level of cloud cover?

[Mental Trousers]

Was there a change in the weather or level of cloud cover?

Weather conditions can have quite a major affect on sound levels.

For instance wind causes refraction of sound waves so that people downwind will have sound bent down towards them, meaning they hear it louder than they normally would. While people upwind hear less noise because the sound waves are bent upwards by the wind gradient.

Similar thing with hot days - refraction due to the heat gradients causes sound to bend upwards, away from listeners. So hot afternoons are quieter but evening (when the gradient reverses) are louder.

Humidity as well.

Thing is, the further away you are the greater the affect so sound measurement near the track shouldn't be affected by weather conditions unless the change is very significant.

Having an independent crowd sitting beside the Council's guy taking their own measurements sounds like a good idea to me.

[Voltaire]

I suppose I could ring up Neil Savory at Noise Control Services and ask how much to come to do it. Maybe the 'test' day would be a good time. The problem is that as you say its that there are so many external variables like cloud, temp, wind etc.
Maybe the Council might like to attend and give certs out for a pass.....yeah right...then the onus would be on them.

[gatch]

Was there a change in the weather or level of cloud cover?

Not so significant for me too notice. It was cloudy and humid all weekend.

[RobGassit]

I agree some of the bikes are really loud, and there are lot's of easy ways to quieten them without power loss. A simple tailpipe bend away from the test or towards the ground would be the most basic. But Graham Harris or Mr Mckintosh would have half a dozen easy fixes. What I don't like is the sledgehammer way it's been handled and the lack of consistency.If they want to play hard ball, then we should at least keep them honest. No reading is valid with 2 bikes being read at the same time for instance. Sending people home who have waited all year for this event and who passed sound checks on friday is not the Kiwi way! If we let this slide,,what's next?

[p.dath]

I can't help but feel this is the end of anything serious happening at Pukekohe. It's a shame we missed the proposed plan change last march, otherwise we could have made a lot of submissions opposing it.

Anyway, this is the original proposal that was adopted:
http://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/EN/BuildingPropertyConsents/DistrictRegionalPlans/franklindistrictplan/franklindistrictplanchangeindex/Pages/proposedplanchange32.aspx
And this is the overall district plan that it was incorporated into:
http://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/EN/BuildingPropertyConsents/DistrictRegionalPlans/franklindistrictplan/Pages/franklindistrictplan.aspx

I don't like the change at all. It's not just the noise, but they have gone so far as to put limits on the types of racing. For example, the drifters are only allowed to race a maximum of 6 times a year. Weather you support the noise limit or not - should the council really be starting to create regulations saying what kind of racing is allowed? No.


I can't help but feel someone from the Counties horse racing club has made it onto one of the local council boards and put this forward. :(

[p.dath]

How do you measure the 95db figure? I know from the UK, it varies i.e decibel meter must be 15 meters from the bike and the reading is taken at 6k rpm or something along those lines to determine a pass or a fail. Would be good to know!

Reading the regulations, it says the sound is to be measured 30m from the track at a right angle to it.

[Billy]

I agree some of the bikes are really loud, and there are lot's of easy ways to quieten them without power loss. A simple tailpipe bend away from the test or towards the ground would be the most basic. But Graham Harris or Mr Mckintosh would have half a dozen easy fixes. What I don't like is the sledgehammer way it's been handled and the lack of consistency.If they want to play hard ball, then we should at least keep them honest. No reading is valid with 2 bikes being read at the same time for instance. Sending people home who have waited all year for this event and who passed sound checks on friday is not the Kiwi way! If we let this slide,,what's next?

Problem is,If you try to play hardball with them,Then they'll do what they did to manfeild back in the early nineties,Station an officer at the gate and the minute he gets a reading over 85db then they have the power to shut the meeting down

[jellywrestler]

For example, the drifters are only allowed to race a maximum of 6 times a year. Weather you support the noise limit or not - should the council really be starting to create regulations saying what kind of racing is allowed? (
really? the problem with drift cars is they make two types of noise, engine noise and tyre noise chuck in the crowd yeehaaing as as soon as a pubescent teen sees smoke they've got to yelp and screech then you've got another noise to contend with that's quite different to other race vechiles
Worse than this though is the smoke that drifts from the track, who wants to go shopping and come out to a heavy pall of rubber smoke?

[Grumph]

Problem is,If you try to play hardball with them,Then they'll do what they did to manfeild back in the early nineties,Station an officer at the gate and the minute he gets a reading over 85db then they have the power to shut the meeting down

True - and it happened at Levels a few years back when the locals started getting stroppy. Only time I've ever seen a track PA taken off because it was too loud at the boundary....
Timaru is slowly fighting back to where it was pre restrictions - mainly thanks to the strong lobbying of the Timaru business association who saw a massive drop in accomodation profits.
Obviously this isn't going to happen at puke as the local business community seems to be changing to a dormitory suburb of Akl.

From down here in the south I got the impression that this was one of the reasons Hampton Downs went ahead....the motorsports community could see the Franklin racing club pulling the pin on Puke in the near future....true ?

[budda]

Every MNZ member Club was issued an approved Noise Meter SEVERAL YEARS ago, for all the above reasons ....... suggest all racers ask their own Club to not only bring the meter to the next meeting, but USE the thing - odds are the reading will not be identical to the Councils, but will still give a good indication as to whether the bike is close enough to the limit to warrant a bit of attention in the attenuation department. Forewarned IS fore-armed ..............
Your average used lawnmower runs pretty close to the limit, my EX would be black-flagged if/WHEN she arced up too !!!!!!!!!!

[p.dath]

really? the problem with drift cars is they make two types of noise, engine noise and tyre noise chuck in the crowd yeehaaing as as soon as a pubescent teen sees smoke they've got to yelp and screech then you've got another noise to contend with that's quite different to other race vechiles
Worse than this though is the smoke that drifts from the track, who wants to go shopping and come out to a heavy pall of rubber smoke?

There aren't any shops around the track to go shopping at ... That's the whole point, the track isn't near anything.

[p.dath]

I just had an interesting idea.

I was just reading the RMA guide that says what powers the coucils have to make enforcements:
http://www.mfe.govt.nz/publications/rma/everyday/enforcement/

It says:

Under the RMA, regional and district councils have to monitor activities, and respond to complaints about those activities that people feel are negatively affecting the environment.

According to the RMA act, the envinroment is:
http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1991/0069/latest/DLM230272.html#DLM230272

environment includes—
(a) ecosystems and their constituent parts, including people and communities; and
(b) all natural and physical resources; and
(c) amenity values; and
(d) the social, economic, aesthetic, and cultural conditions which affect the matters stated in paragraphs (a) to (c) or which are affected by those matters


amenity values means those natural or physical qualities and characteristics of an area that contribute to people's appreciation of its pleasantness, aesthetic coherence, and cultural and recreational attributes

Then I had an interesting 180 degree idea. What about if I made a complaint about the residents use of their properties around the track, in the same way that they made a complaint about the use of the track?

I feel the residents are negatively affecting the racing environment (specifically part (b) of the definition above) at the track by failing to take adequate consideration of the environment they were moving into when they purchased their properties, and then disturbed and interfered with that existing environment by bringing pressure on the council to change the existing environment to suit their needs without consideration for those already enjoying that existing environmental.

The council would then have a duty to monitor weather the racing environment was indeed being interfered with by the local residents. I think a request to protect the said environment (aka the track) could reasonably be considered for inclusion in the district plan.

[jellywrestler]

my EX would be black-flagged if/WHEN she arced up too !!!!!!!!!!From what everyones' told me it would've been Black Flag Flyspray wouldn't it Budda?

[jellywrestler]

There aren't any shops around the track to go shopping at ... That's the whole point, the track isn't near anything.
maybe you should go there one day, they're just metres away down Wrightson way, don't think they're removable or inflatable





http://maps.google.co.nz/maps?hl=en&cp=8&gs_id=u&xhr=t&q=pukekohe&gs_upl=&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&biw=1280&bih=899&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=0x6d12aa8f2533337b:0x500ef6143a2fae0,Pukekoh e&gl=nz&ei=8EAzT8WROOOWiQee7vSlAg&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=image&resnum=2&sqi=2&ved=0CD0Q8gEwAQ

[p.dath]

maybe you should go there one day, they're just metres away down Wrightson way, don't think they're removable or inflatable...

I go to the Pukekohe race track about half a dozen times a year. I did notice them doing that development. Still, they did choose to build them near the track on their own free will ...

How about if I bought the house next to yours, that you'd been at for many decades, and then complained that the colour of the paint on your house was impacting the visual environment of the area and hurting my eyes and then I asked the council to commence monitoring your use of your house and to kick you out, with no notice, any time that visual pollution became too difficult for my eyes to deal with?

Just saying ...

[Mental Trousers]

Best thing to do?? Start building walls. Really tall ones.

[budda]

From what everyones' told me it would've been Black Flag Flyspray wouldn't it Budda?

Couldnt POSSIBLY comment !!!!!!!!!!!!!! Bloodclots on bottomhole not fully formed as of yet !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[grantnz]

As we have found out at Roy's Hill kart track with the buckets, it seems the MNZ 95 db limit is irrelevant when it comes to complying with the consent or local authority limits. 70 db at the boundry on a Sat morning, then 40 db Sat pm and all day Sunday for a rural property. So if you start the chainsaw and a cow just happens to fart at the same time, you are screwed.

[PirateJafa]

Best thing to do?? Start building walls. Really tall ones.

Not a terrible idea at all. A couple of layers of even those thin trees the farmers use (particularly around Tauranga etc) as windbreaks might do a world of good!

[Grumph]

Trees work by diffusing the sound - walls don't work unless you can put a roof on too, as they reflect sound upward to bounce off cloud layers...

Really, the few times I've been to the Classic Festival, I've been amazed at the liberties taken with the noise regs - it was going to catch up with them eventually.
Pull your heads out of the sand - as Budda has said, all clubs got a noise meter - learn how to use it.

I've had a talk with a customer of mine who was racing there - and had no problems with noise.....Because everything I build for classic or post classic racing is effectively silenced. He tells me everyone was warned and should have been prepared for what happened.

[Billy]

Trees work by diffusing the sound - walls don't work unless you can put a roof on too, as they reflect sound upward to bounce off cloud layers...

Really, the few times I've been to the Classic Festival, I've been amazed at the liberties taken with the noise regs - it was going to catch up with them eventually.
Pull your heads out of the sand - as Budda has said, all clubs got a noise meter - learn how to use it.

I've had a talk with a customer of mine who was racing there - and had no problems with noise.....Because everything I build for classic or post classic racing is effectively silenced. He tells me everyone was warned and should have been prepared for what happened.

Bingo!!! Had the same problems at Manfeild earlier on,Problem is,The competitors were more interested in arguing the point and blaming everybody and anybody else for the problems than they were in doing anything about rectifying the problem at their end

[Kiwi Graham]

Common sense has to prevail here guys, do something about the noise your bike makes now.

It is not only the classics or post classics (although they are the worst offenders) full blown superbikes and some 600’s have been pinged at club rounds (we use our noise meter at every event we organise).

Blaming others isn’t going to fix ‘your’ problem!

Just imagine turning up to the next club round at Puke or the 4th round of the Nationals at Hampton Downs in touch with the leader board and having to sit it out and watch it all go away because you didn’t stick to the dBA limit and modify a noisy exhaust, stink aye!

[budda]

As we have found out at Roy's Hill kart track with the buckets, it seems the MNZ 95 db limit is irrelevant when it comes to complying with the consent or local authority limits. 70 db at the boundry on a Sat morning, then 40 db Sat pm and all day Sunday for a rural property. So if you start the chainsaw and a cow just happens to fart at the same time, you are screwed.

The 95db is not an arbitrary number that MNZ plucked out of thin air - it is a decibel limit already in place at the purpose-built permanent racetracks that our Clubs use for racing. Noise is one of the major factors we are seen as anti-social, given that a lot of our competing is done at the weekends, when "most" folks are at home relaxing after a week in their particular salt-mine. Thank goodness REAL racing isnt as annoying as the high guard variant !!!!!!!

This battle has been looming for more than a few years, and within MNZ is quite a lot of experience dealing with noise objections from foreign life-stylers etc, who move into earshot of a track and expect pre-existing users to respect the tranquility they think they bought, maybe even were SOLD by unscrupulous land agents with an agenda the same shape as their wallet .........

This problem is VERY REAL, ITS HERE NOW, and we ALL have a vested interest in ensuring it doesnt get worse

[grantnz]

Every MNZ member Club was issued an approved Noise Meter SEVERAL YEARS ago, for all the above reasons ....... suggest all racers ask their own Club to not only bring the meter to the next meeting, but USE the thing - odds are the reading will not be identical to the Councils, but will still give a good indication as to whether the bike is close enough to the limit to warrant a bit of attention in the attenuation department. Forewarned IS fore-armed ..............
Your average used lawnmower runs pretty close to the limit, my EX would be black-flagged if/WHEN she arced up too !!!!!!!!!!http://www.motorcyclingnz.co.nz/download/NOISE%20TESTING%20INSTRUCTIONS.pdf

The MNZ link to show how to conduct a noise test. This is for a single bike. So those talking about reference points at different tracks for taking readings, are they measuring a group of bikes during a race, or single bikes at set revs.
I agree that noise levels need to come down, but there needs to be some consistency and science applied.

[jellywrestler]

http://www.motorcyclingnz.co.nz/download/NOISE%20TESTING%20INSTRUCTIONS.pdf

The MNZ link to show how to conduct a noise test. This is for a single bike. So those talking about reference points at different tracks for taking readings, are they measuring a group of bikes during a race, or single bikes at set revs.
I agree that noise levels need to come down, but there needs to be some consistency and science applied.

I beleive there was an MNZ rep with the noise tester while readings were taken.
It's not rocket science when you see bikes with open straight pipes and many others with simple reverse megaphones, we're not in the 1950's now.