Throughout the week, banging, crackling and popping from loud engines can be heard darting down Isla Vista streets. The frequent source — motorcycles — pose a nuisance to some while offering a community centered on a common interest to others.
Sarah Caulder / Daily Nexus
Among riders, it is common to install aftermarket exhaust systems and remove mufflers to increase the sound of engines, often exceeding the legal limit of around 80 decibels. According to analysis by the Environmental Protection Agency, loud noise from motorcycles can have detrimental health effects such as “[aggravating] existing heart conditions” and interrupting sleep.
“Typically, every hour or so you’ll hear a really loud motorcycle drive by, or even a car, [and clearly] some people they definitely have modded [them],” second-year computer science and physics double major Hao Guo said. “Even when I’m trying to go to sleep later in the day, I still hear them driving around at night, and it’s a really large annoyance because I wear earbuds and I still can hear them.”
Third-year communication major Sasha Christofi, who rides a Suzuki GSX-R1000, participates in the motorcycle scene around UC Santa Barbara and I.V., attends planned and spontaneous meetups. He estimates that over 80% of bikes in and around I.V. have modified exhausts.
“People like them because it makes a popping, banging sound, or it just sounds better because if not, it would just be really boring and quiet,” Christofi said. “My bike is stock exhaust because it doesn’t bring attention to the police. But I remember when I had my other bikes that had aftermarket ones, cops would just be always pulling me over and I got tired of it. So there’s kind of that trade-off.”
Within biker circles, some members argue that “loud pipes save lives,” which holds that louder bikes better alert drivers and wildlife to their presence and help prevent collisions. However, studies have found that this is largely a myth. Christofi said he personally “grew out of that phase.”
Second-year political science major Joseph Horowitz, who rides a 2008 Yamaha V Star 250, expressed sympathy for those affected by the sounds of passing motorcycles. He also said that he believes people may often confuse the sound of a loud car engine with that of a motorcycle.
“If they see it and it is a motorcycle, I guess it’s an adverse effect. Again, it’s … the tightness of our group [that] makes it seem like there’s so many more, the noise is so much louder than it actually is,” Horowitz said. “I feel bad for the people who have to experience the noise sometimes. But again, adverse effect.”
Several bikers claimed that motorcycles are more environmentally friendly than cars. However, evidence has shown that despite being more fuel efficient, motorcycles emit more hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide.
Christofi and other bikers have noted an increase in the number of people entering the local biker scene in the last year. According to him, a group chat of local bikers he is in has more than doubled since October 2025, when it had around 30 people. According to the Department of Motor Vehicles, there were over 11,500 motorcycles registered in Santa Barbara County in 2024.
Fourth-year biochemistry and applied mathematics double major Campbell Cleveland, who rides a 2009 Harley-Davidson CVO Softail Springer, said that while he could not definitively determine that there has been an increase in motorcycles in the area, he has noticed new bikes parked around campus.
To Horowitz, buying a bike in I.V. right now is the “smart decision.” He emphasized the upsides of riding a motorcycle over a car including cheaper entry, gas and insurance costs. He also highlighted the ease of finding parking for a motorcycle in I.V. in comparison to the lack of street parking for cars.
Another aspect of biking important to Christofi, Horowitz and Cleveland is the community. They all described how the local bike scene is largely inviting and inclusive.
“It’s an overall very warm community,” Horowitz said. “Despite being such a materialistic thing that connects us, a very menial thing — it’s two wheels and an engine — it’s a very strong connector. Because we all have that general feeling of ‘this connects us’ and this is our getaway, our separation from the stresses of school or the stresses of living in general.”
This year, Cleveland and Horowitz helped found a campus motorcycle club, Gaucho Riders. Horowitz explained that anyone interested, regardless of motorcycle ownership, is “more than welcome” to come to meetings. Currently, Gaucho Riders is helping students interested in pursuing their motorcycle license.
“I think it’s a once-in-a-lifetime kind of experience. You should do things when you’re young and have fun and live dangerously, and if you gotta crash, you gotta crash,” Horowitz said. “One of the beautiful parts about life is literally thrill. I’m not saying you gotta drive at 150 miles an hour on the 101, but I definitely think you should get out of your comfort zone.”
Cleveland, who serves as the president of Gaucho Riders, emphasized that the club aims to change perceptions around riders and motorcycle culture. As someone who found his community riding a Harley, Cleveland wanted to recreate that at UCSB and promote safety.
“People who are excessively revving or making a fool of themselves, they’re annoying, I get it, and I just hope that they don’t represent us,” Cleveland said. “So [with the club] we want to put forward a positive image and try to maintain safety and just make it fun.”
A version of this article appeared on p. 6 of the May 7. print edition of the Daily Nexus
