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California Senate tells motorcyclists to pipe down

2K views 27 replies 12 participants last post by  Serious Groper 
#1 ·
Could they please also apply this to cars? I'm talking about all those 4-cylinder imports* with the ridiculous whale-tales, gumball stickers, and star trek style dash boards, that couldn't exceed 110mph unless they were dropped out of a plane.

* Does not apply to Porsche

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Motorcyclists who swap their bikes' stock exhaust systems for so-called loud pipes may be more likely to get a traffic ticket under a California bill that passed the Senate on Monday. SB 435, also known as the Motorcycle Anti-Tampering Act, gives law enforcement officials the ability to cite noise pollution violations under the California Vehicle Code, reinforcing a 27-year-old federal regulation that is rarely enforced.
Under the proposed law, motorcyclists pulled over for other traffic violations could also be cited for illegally noisy exhaust pipes and fined $50 to $100 for a first violation -- a fix-it ticket that could be dismissed with a proof of correction. Subsequent offenses would result in fines of $100 to $250. The bill, which has also passed the Assembly, is headed for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to sign. It would apply to motorcycles and after-market parts from the 2013 model year forward.
"The noise pollution caused by illegally modified motorcycle exhaust systems is a major quality of life issue across the state," SB 435's author, Sen. Fran Pavely (D-Santa Monica), said in a news release issued Monday. "Basic common sense and decency dictates that when a motorcycle drives by and sets off every car alarm on the street, that is too loud.
The Motorcycle Industry Council, the Irvine-based trade association that represents motorcycle manufacturers and parts suppliers, opposes SB 435.
"It is not a practical solution to address excessive motorcycle noise," said MIC vice president, Pamela Arnette. Instead, Arnette said, the council recommends the J2825 standard developed by the Society of Automotive Engineers "as a fair, practical and economical enforcement tool." J2825 is a stationary sound test and specifies the type of sound meter to be used. [Updated 9-1-10, 9:45 a.m.: a previous version of this post did not include comment from the Motorcycle Industry Council.]
According to Senator Pavley, "Many of the modifications which are aimed at making a bike louder -- for example removing the catalytic converter -- also make the bike exponentially more polluting. This has direct, measurable and negative impacts on public health."

SB 435 is a watered-down version of a bill first introduced in the senate in February 2009. The earlier version of SB 435, which had also targeted illegally modified motorcycle exhaust systems but for emissions violations and would have required biennial smog checks for motorcycles, met too much resistance from bikers' rights groups and was amended last year.
The retooled version of SB 435 focuses only on exhaust-pipe-tampering and bikes that exceed the EPA-regulated 80-decibel limit for bikes manufactured since 1985. While an illegally noisy exhaust often goes hand in hand with a bike that exceeds allowable emissions, the 2010 version of SB 435 does not specifically address the smog-forming pollutants resulting from illegally modified bikes. It does, however, hold the potential to also reduce emissions -- if it's enforced.
According to the Air Resources Board, which backed the smog-check version of SB 435, motorcycles account for less than 1% of vehicle-miles traveled in the state yet account for 10% of passenger vehicles' smog-forming emissions; swapping a compliant tailpipe equipped with a catalytic converter for one without emissions controls can emit as many as 10 times more smog-forming pollutants per mile.
-- Susan Carpenter
Photo: Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times
 
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#4 ·
Well....can't say we haven't seen it coming....thanks all you "loud pipes save lives" idiots...

Yep, here's a toast to all the "I'm looking for the loudest exhaust system I can get for my MV...any suggestions?" posts.
 
#12 ·
Aha, that's surely a good point for me to step in and comment.

Here is my thoughts. I am not satisfied with my bike exhaust only being heard in Indonesia. My main goal is for the MV to be heard up to 16,000km away from where i am riding so i can have an impact on US legislation :yo:
 
#5 ·
Dont blame them, blame the chopper and harley guys. Sport bike exhausts, even the loudest ones are no match for some of these chopper pipes.
 
#8 ·
Ever heard a sport bike with one of those no baffle tiny megaphones that have become popular?? make your ears bleed.
 
#10 ·
Oh...I agree...it's the Harley nit-wits that are the worst offenders....but I've heard some pretty loud sport bikes, too.

What I want to know is if they plan to also do something about the car audio systems that rattle my teeth at stop lights???? Nothing better then to have your radio drowned out by some rap-crap coming out of another car near-by on the road.
 
#16 ·
+10

Oh...I agree...it's the Harley nit-wits that are the worst offenders....but I've heard some pretty loud sport bikes, too.

What I want to know is if they plan to also do something about the car audio systems that rattle my teeth at stop lights???? Nothing better then to have your radio drowned out by some rap-crap coming out of another car near-by on the road.
Bloody true ED, how come both those, Harley's and RapCrap come from the US....lol
:shitfan:
 
#18 ·
This is not and "us" or "them" situation. It doesn't matter if it's the Sport Bike Squid with an exhuast heard from more that a mile away as I enjoy my pool on a Saturday afternoon, or the neighbor with the Harley that, quite literally, rattles my windows as he throttles throught this quaint bedroom neighborhood...we are looking at targeted legislation...and WE are the target.

IF the real target was the NOISE, Then the legislation would be a bill that encompassed all vehicle-emitted noise over 80 decibels. That would include radio noise, emissions noise, "Jake Brakes", and any other vehicle created noise that exceeded the mandated decibel level.
 
#23 ·
IF the real target was the NOISE, Then the legislation would be a bill that encompassed all vehicle-emitted noise over 80 decibels. That would include radio noise, emissions noise, "Jake Brakes", and any other vehicle created noise that exceeded the mandated decibel level.

Here in Oz we already have the DB law in place for vehicles and have for some time. For the car test they make you go to 75% of the redline rpm then back off. I believe the limit is 90db.

The Police specifically target Commodore and Falcon V8's (these are the choice car for bogans) and Jap import cars like Skylines/Supras.

On the odd occasion you will hear about a group of Harley riders all being busted for sound. HD's are asking for it, never heard of a Jap bike being pinned but then again i don't hear many supersports bikes that have straight through pipes.

Sad to hear in your neck of the woods they are targeting motorcyclists. Here in Oz they are targeting the modified car community. In one of the states they are trying to ban 'tuning' your car.
 
#24 ·
It's not as straight as that. I once nearly got caught in an ambush by the boys in blue on the Darhug NP road, just a couple of km after the ferry crossing. Just as well a bunch of hypersport Ducatis had raced ahead of me and were keeping the boys occupied as I zoomed past. Caught up with the Ducs later;they did get checked for noise level and fined.
M
 
#25 ·
How funny...like most policing in this state/country it is all about 'the blitz' when revenue numbers are down for the period.

I have a mate who rides a COMPLETELY OBNOXIOUS Night Rod with fully open pipes wrapped in some homemade ceramic tape stuff.

You actually cannot speak to him when at idle, even when shouting.

He has been pulled over 3 times by the police in the last year...for RBT - twice the coppers have asked him to turn the bike off so they can hear each other talk, he then started it up and rode off.

One of the times the copper asked him to turn it off, they walked around it and said 'nice bike sir' and he rode off...

Policing is such a mood sport - kinda like banking....
 
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