Motorcycles play an important role in our lives. From commuting to sports to touring to service of our businesses. There is no denying that they are as good or even better at some point than those of cars. The number of motorcycle owners is growing exponentially year by year, which makes it the more popular option when commuting for short or long distances.
The number of sold motorcycles skyrocketed during this pandemic, specifically from the year 2020 to 2021 because the government only allowed delivery of goods services rather than going to the store. This made delivery services like grab food, transportify, panda express, etc to be very successful in the said years. These highly engineered two-wheeled vehicles were first invented by the two German nationals by the name of Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach.
They name the first motorcycle, “Daimler Reitwagen” and finished constructing it by the year 1885. Since that year, the bike gained popularity all around the world, and brands make their version of it since then, and makers started to mass-produce them. The first series production was Hildebrand and Wolfmuller are the very first ever to be called “motorcycle”.
Now, motorcycles have not only evolved from an engineering perspective but also in designs and features. In this effect, we now have a lot of options like their; classification, purpose, displacement, and design. Almost all homes have a motorcycle in them, it is very rare in today’s era that a home has no motorcycle in it, especially since its price to getting cheaper every year.
Motorcycles, Does Homeowner’s Association allow them?
Homeowner’s Association or HOA is an organization that leads in a subdivision, condominiums, or planned community. They can enforce laws and rules for their residents in the jurisdiction. You became an HOA member when your property is within the HOAs perimeter. This means you may pay, monthly dues, maintenance dues, or membership fees, they are all mandatory, which is great because the solicited money will be used for upgrading your facilities, fixing any broken structures, building new facilities, maintaining the cleanliness, or for the overall aesthetic of your community. Some HOA leaders have very strict rules and may impose fines on non-compliant owners.
Who can manage HOA? Well, they must be elected, just like a normal election, somebody should nominate someone and members should vote for them, and of course, the most number of votes should win. The members are typically composed of four(4) positions, namely: President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer. But HOAs can also make another position if necessary. Their rules compose of everything that is inside or outside your property, (e.g. house color coding, what you can or cannot park, what vehicles are allowed, etc.) This means some HOA doesn’t want your vehicles inside the parameter.
Living in an HOA has numerous 0f benefits and advantages, this may make you want to consider moving on one. Residing in HOA makes you likely to be friends and have connections with the community. Your parameter might have improved year by year and maintained thanks to your monthly dues. You might feel some sort of security because that’s one of the HOA officers’ priorities, to make sure that what’s inside the perimeter should be secured and maintain peace and more. This is why more and more are enticed and convinced on joining and live in one of the HOA establishments.
When it comes to the motorcycles, yes, they are allowed inside the area, as long as the HOA permitted you to do so. Although, some officers would restrict motorcycles inside the parameter for several reasons.
The first was, that there is literally no area to park any vehicle inside the parameter, this is typically seen in some condominiums without an underground parking area and other establishments that have very limited spaces, thus, prior to opening the properties to the public, it is stated on the agreement beforehand. In this scenario, it is just physically impossible to park any type of vehicle. You may not want to rent or live in these places if you have a motorcycle or any other vehicle.
The second one was a violation of HOA laws, this includes, parking at a no parking zone, parking in the wrong spot, parking in someone’s parking area, parking on someone’s driveway, double parking, reckless driving, improperly parked, etc. Anything that violates which HOA officers have imposed. This is great for homeowners because you don’t want your neighbors to park on any of your premises, and may result in arguments with them.
The third was when it was being discussed at HOA meetings, which majority of members agreed that there should be no motorcycles allowed inside, this is for a number of reasons that the members and officers would agree; like robbers would use motorcycles as their escape vehicles after robbing any homeowner, the bike might be too loud for the homeowners to tolerate, or it might be dangerous to allow motorcycle on the area. Any reason the HOA may think is valid, it will be implemented as long as it has the majority of votes. Things like these are typically discussed for the sake of the homeowners’ peace of mind.
The fourth was for their safety. Some bike owners, sometimes, they wanted to have some fun, fun in the sense that they don’t realize that they may be putting their lives or others to danger. These are for those who race their bikes within the parameter where kids, old women, or pregnant are in the vicinity. This occurs when they are speeding and doing “tricks” that are very dangerous in the area. This may not only make motorcycles banned but you, as a violator may also be kicked out of the HOA itself and banned from entering the premises.
The fifth was, if your vehicle, including motorcycles, has some sort of advertisement or is a commercial vehicle. The reason behind this is that
the HOA wants to preserve the aesthetic beauty and design of your community and not be bombarded with commercial vehicles. This means that you will have to pay for a parking area elsewhere if your vehicle or your motorcycle has ads in it. Not all HOA implements this type of rule, they are only typically seen in higher-end subdivisions.
The sixth was if your motorcycle is an abandoned one. This is especially when your bike was parked for a long period of time. This depends on what time allocation your HOA will give you, and typically the allowed time would be 24 hours only. Be very careful because some HOA officers can order to tow your vehicle.
The last reason is that your very specific motorcycle is loud, this may not restrict others’ bikes but only on your bike. Some bikes are naturally loud, especially those that are inline 4s, which also gives the impression that you are speeding even though you’re not. Not all of the HOA members knew or has knowledge of why your bike sounds so loud, this is very unfortunate because there’s nothing that you can do about it.
The best thing you can do, if you were told that you violated a rule or two, is to read first the Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions (CC&Rs). This will determine if you have violated a law or not. Then you will determine if theHOA has the authority to regulate such restrictions, or you can follow a necessary appeal to them. The worst thing you can do is to avoid and ignore the violations. Sometimes all of these issues are bring resolved with a face-to-face talk, and not putting your emotions first into it. This is a great way to start resolving any issues. In short, if you are on HOA, what you can do inside the area is pretty limited, which is just fine because you may not want to just ride around in your neighborhood. Take your bike and ride outside a bit to avoid being in trouble. At the end of the day, the officers will have the right to give you a penalty or restrict your bike from ever entering the area. You don’t want to be in trouble anyway. Yes, you can always file an appeal to the officers, but that just makes your situation worse, and some may get angry with you. They will always find another way to restrict your bike from entering the parameter if you are still violating their rules even though your appeal was granted. So just respect what your neighbors want and it is always for the betterment of your association.
Riding your bike is fun, relaxing, and exciting all at the same time. there is no denying that bikers are more likely to be happy while cruising or commuting on the highway, with the winds touching their face, with the friends they accompany while riding. But, when we go home, this is the part where we can be respectful and extra cautious of our neighbors and try not to disturb them, especially in the middle of the night. Respect begets respect, and that may save you from trouble. Just follow the rules, be obedient and be generous. Ride safe everyone!
