Aftermarket Exhausts and SB 435 Law.

[FredBGG]

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[bigbob]

This is California, right?

 

[fredz43]

I hope and wish all states begin to enforce this law.

There already are laws that say you have to have some sort of exhaust system, or against excessive noise but I have never heard of the many cruiser riders that run straight pipes around here with no muffler at all getting a ticket.

 

[greg the pole]

pardon my ignorance, but If you only have a slip on, and your catalytic converter is in place, on you OEM headers,
how does the oem slip on pipe differ from an aftermarket one, with the exception of making more noise, and not having the approval?

 

[Dogdaze]

pardon my ignorance, but If you only have a slip on, and your catalytic converter is in place, on you OEM headers,
how does the oem slip on pipe differ from an aftermarket one, with the exception of making more noise, and not having the approval?

I'm with you on this. Years ago I had a custom end can made for me, very short and loud race can. It is required to have a 'BS Kite mark' stamped on all conforming pipes to be legal in the UK, so I had a stamp made for $30 and stamped it. All legal now. ::008:: How difficult to have the same made for US pipes by someone enterprising.....

 

[greg the pole]

I'm with you on this. Years ago I had a custom end can made for me, very short and loud race can. It is required to have a 'BS Kite mark' stamped on all conforming pipes to be legal in the UK, so I had a stamp made for $30 and stamped it. All legal now. ::008:: How difficult to have the same made for US pipes by someone enterprising.....

my slip on would be the furthest thing from legal.
It's a staintune that I bought 2nd hand off ebay, which was for a triumph 900 something or other.
I then cut it into pieces, had a friend re-weld it, and presto! staintune for a 1/4 of the price

 

[Checkswrecks]

pardon my ignorance, but If you only have a slip on, and your catalytic converter is in place, on you OEM headers,
how does the oem slip on pipe differ from an aftermarket one, with the exception of making more noise, and not having the approval?

The answer is that the EPA regulates noise, as well as air quality, so the EPA certification is that an exhaust system meets both. A slip-on would have to be proven to meet the noise side by a tester for the EPA. Good luck with getting that.

At the same time, this is largely just enforced in California for now, even though it's a Federal regulation. Outside of Cali, I know officers who have pulled bikes for being obnoxiously loud, but I've never heard of anybody anywhere failing a resale inspection or being pulled over by an officer if the obnoxious loudness didn't exist.

 

[greg the pole]

gotcha.

so here's the big question.
If I'm riding through California, on my Canadian bike..with my home made slip on, would they tag me?

I'm not a resident, I'm merely enjoying the roads, and scenery.

 

[Mark R.]

Once again, the predatory, lying, overreaching, micro-managing, violent, and parasitical state will require its costumed, armed tax collectors and purveyors of state-sanctioned violence, to issue tickets to people who simply want to be free to ride and enjoy life. And if you don't pay, the violence will eventually find you and come your way.

I don't advocate excessive noise from any motor vehicle, but this just shows that there is never an end-point to be reached with government regulation. One rule follows the next, as sure as day follows night and night follows day. Eventually, we will all suffocate and starve under the weight of regulation and nanny-state micro-management, stripped of all freedoms like slaves, and laid bare and naked before the incompetent, omnipotent parasites that we allow to rule us.

Personally, if I lived in California, I would have nice little heat-resistant EPA stickers made at a graphics shop and slap them onto any aftermarket exhaust I might have.

Problem solved, EPA bitches.

 

[Bio]

I think you'll find most laws like this are only enforced on 'vehicles sold or registered in the state'. If you're just riding through and don't give them an excuse to pull you over, you'll be completely fine. If you're worried about it, just keep short shifting and keep your noise level as low as you can when you're in a city.

 

[SingleTrackMind]

Living next to two Harley riders that have aftermarket pipes... Every time they leave I pray they are run over by a semi. Noise isn't cool, just plain annoying.

 

[Mark R.]

Well it's not a sticker. It's stamped into the metal.

Some have tried your idea on cars and paid huge penalties.
It is like riding with false plates.

It's not hard to figure this out. Johnny Law is looking for something that looks official. You give him something that looks official.

 

[Mark R.]

Yikes. Well, just another reason to justify why I moved out of California 18 years ago.

What galls me about such enforcement action is that there is rampant violent crime in Los Angeles and vicinity, which is clearly difficult to get a handle on, and is costly to stop or control. But cops choose the low hanging fruit of writing big dollar tickets against non-violent individuals who are out enjoying the day on their motorcycles, and who clearly have the means to pay such highway robbery.

However, even if one were to get such a citation, it would be relatively easy to beat in court by questioning the officer's expertise in evaluating and examining vehicle emissions systems, besides the tried and true method of delaying court dates such that he does not show up.

 

[arjayes]

A recent study by Carb. (California Air Resources Board) found that despite motorcycle being only 0.8% of traveled miles they account for 10% of pollutants.

I have no facts to back it up but I find this number unbelievable. The average motorcycle pumps out 12.5 times as much pollution as the average car? No f'ing way.

CARB is a way-too-powerful entity with a radical agenda. I'm sure they can have studies manufactured to produce whatever results they want to further that agenda.

 

[Mark R.]

Motorcycles do emit more than cars, per mile, apparently, as I did a google search and I did find evidence for that. But having an aftermarket exhaust does nothing to change that. As the article that follows states, there are other mitigating factors that make motorcycles good transportation. Even though they may emit more pollutants than cars per mile, they still don't emit very much, and if you look at a crowded freeway, there are going to be 400 cars for every motorcycle. Additionally, most motorcycles are ridden as pleasure vehicles, meaning they don't rack up the miles a car does, thus not polluting much again.

Motorcycles are a non-problem in terms of city air pollution. But they are nice targets of law enforcement, to milk us for money for government to waste.

http://www.sportrider.com/motorcycles-and-pollution

 

[Andylaser]

In Europe, the Akra is an approved replacement exhaust and complies with all legal requirements. Is it the same in the USA? The fact Yamaha are selling it as an accessory, should make one believe is is OK, otherwise, they would seem to be guilty of selling something illegal and that could open a big can of legal worms.

 

[greg the pole]

Yes you could get a ticket, but keep in mind a few things.

First of all this new law ... the one about visual inspection... is a secondary offense. You cannot be pulled over just to take a look for the stamp.
However if an Officer can pull you over for loud pipes and then just needs to see the missing stamp.
Even if your country does not require a stamp on the exhaust the officer can still ticket you if the pipe is visibly after market.

Stationary bikes can also be looked at and tickets issued. Non EPA compliance can also lead to being towed.

Last night a French couple had their rental towed for parking. I interpreted for them when they were trying to ask an officer how to get the car back.

It was a $399 ticket and tow fee.

One suggestion would be to stay away from biker bars or restaurants that are near other people that get annoyed by the ridiculous noise.
This is because the cops tend to have noise checkpoints at these spots. Then they do a "raid" it's a zero tolerance event.

They had one of these near me. They towed about 40 bikes, but that was a few years ago.

That said officers can be quite forgiving to travelers that are far from home.

we have a tendency to stay away from biker bars
In the three years we have been riding in California, never had one issue with the long arm of the law.

 

[2112]

I suspect if it becomes a problem some cunning engineer will produce a template or rivet on badge to get around the law. It happened here in the UK where you can easily buy BS (British Standard not Bull Shit, although the two could be related...) labels, stickers and exhaust straps to achieve a 'legal' appearance. Even when you go for an MOT as soon as the tester sees the BS or 'E' mark (European approval, badges, stickers etc also easily available) then all bets are off an the exhaust gets a pass. It'll happen in the US' soon enough. There are actually very strict penalties for producing these items but it's so small scale it's not worth the effort to prosecute. For every law there is someone working out a way around it.

P.S. I am not condoning the use of over loud pipes or fraudulently marking your exhaust to appear legal, I'm just saying how it is.

 

[Tyke]

My after-market Akrapovic pipe, which BTW isn't much louder than standard (3Db) came with a EC Type Approval Certificate

 

[Mark R.]

Crime rates actually are not that bad... maybe you should have stayed. New Mexico is not doing to good.

FBI statistics put New Mexico way down there with the worst states
Higher numbers are worse:

Forcible Rape:
CA 7th
NM 48th

Burglary:
CA 29th
NM 50th (Worst state)

http://watchdog.org/126467/nm-fbi-crime/

That said I love New Mexico.

i think you missed my point a little bit. I was not comparing NM to California, but was comparing the behavior of police in reference to violent criminals. All over the US, police would rather write tickets, seize property, and put people behind bars for drug offences, than they would confront violent criminals and get them off the streets.

It's simply safer, easier, and more profitable to surround a biker bar and write equipment violation tickets all day, than to go into South Central and track down rapists and burglars.

As far as the crime in NM, yeah, it is a real problem. I am thankful I can afford to live in a nice area. NM seems to attract some real weird people. It is a land of contrasts. However, even though we also have hyper violent cops, like everywhere now, there is still a sense that you can live your life unmolested by the state, and go about your business without running afoul of too many laws. The legislature only meets one month a year, and they don't get paid, unlike in California and other states, where they are constantly in session, and constantly dictating how others should live.

Be well.

Mark R.