Ordinance may annoy riders but isn't expected to hurt sales

Gargi Chakrabarty, Rocky Mountain News

Published June 6, 2007 at midnight

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More than 25 customers called Mile High Harley-Davidson Tuesday morning, and most of them were unhappy.

They wanted to know whether Denver police would pull them over and give them a $500 ticket for violating the city's new motorcyle noise ordinance if they didn't have mufflers with a federal stamp of approval.

The Denver City Council on Monday passed an ordinance that goes into effect July 1 to require those mufflers.

"Customers are annoyed," said Harry Sherrell, the Aurora dealership's sales manager and finance director. "We got feedback from tons of customers today. saying, 'They just need to stay out of our business.' "

But none of Mile High's customers actually came in to remove their loud pipes - suggesting they'd either "wait and watch" to see how the rule unfolds or they'd simply avoid Denver streets.

Higher gas prices have buoyed bikes sales in the metro region in past months, and that trend likely will continue, dealers say - despite the city's proposal.

At Mile High, sales have jumped 13 percent over last year. At Aurora Honda, sales are up 20 percent.

That growth might continue if gas prices hover around $3 a gallon, said Tim Laing, Aurora Honda's general manager.

"The proposal will affect people who want to modify bikes and do changes on their exhaust pipes," Laing said. "But with gas prices as they are now, this particular regulation won't make a huge effect on our sales."

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