Fighting equipment violations?

[ThrottleThrow]

On Halloween I got 2 tickets, from a cop that apparently had nothing better to do then pull me over 30 seconds from my house.

I got a plate light ticket - my bad was a new bike at the time and had a eBay plate kit with no plate light, I promptly went out and got a light and
installed it, kept the receipts.

I also got a " improper muffler" ticket - had a Yoshimura rs3 that was to loud for him

So it comes in at around 200 total, I was angry about the tickets ( cop said my bike was unsafe because of muffler and light, so made me tow the bike up the street and around the corner) so I requested a court date

I never got anything in the mail but called court and they said my date was April 5th.

This is the first time I've ever had to do this so I don't really know what I should do. If I lose do I have to pay more? Do I have any chance of getting off these ticket. I'm kind of nervous and unprepared for the whole situation.

Im insured with jevco, so to my understanding these tickets won't effect my insurance because they are equipment and not HTA/moving violations?

[Brian P]

Show the prosecutor evidence that you have corrected the issues prior to the trial. It's too late for you to do this at any time prior to the court date. A lot of the time, they'll drop them.

[ThrottleThrow]

i got the plate light and have the recipt, I sold the bike and my current bike has a baffle in Yosh, would that suffice as correcting the issue??

[PLau]

Why didn't you just walk the bike back if it was 30 secs away?
The tickets shouldn't effect your insurance as they aren't moving violations but hopefully you get these issues fixed and you aren't convicted of these "offenses"

[ThrottleThrow]

like a 30 second ride, it was about 15 minutes of walking, prob more if i was walking my bike up hill at 12am, i just got my buddy to come with his truck and saved a headache.

why does that matter anyways

[RetroGrouch]

The tickets shouldn't effect your insurance as they aren't moving violations but hopefully you get these issues fixed and you aren't convicted of these "offenses"

Any ticket other than a parking ticket is a moving violation and counts against your insurance if convicted.

[ThrottleThrow]

Sorry bud you are mistaken. Equipment violations don't effect my jevco insurance. Why would a plate light have anything to do with insurance it says nothing about my riding abilities. I am not a risk to insure because of a loud pipe.

Someone please confirm this for me, otherwise my broker is a retard and should be shot. And if I'm wrong I aplogize retro, but I am pretty sure about this

[suprPHREAK]

If you purchased the bike in the condition it was in, and can prove it, you can likely get both tickets eliminated, since the bike would have had to be certified to sell, thus all equipment is supposed to be checked for. You would also have to then fix the problems. If not...

The plate light will be tossed, since you fixed it right away. Good you have receipts, since it will show how soon you fixed it.

For the exhaust, simply ask the cop, in court, if he can tell you how many decibels and at what RPM you were at when he decided it was too loud. Unless he did a full roadside test, he cannot confirm that this in any way violated any laws.

The strange part to me, is that neither of these are safety issues. Your tail light still worked, right? I am not sure why the cop would mandate a tow. I would ask that in court, because to me it sounds like this cop simply had a hardon for bikes. It could be enough to discredit the other charges.

[ThrottleThrow]

it was late halloween night, right from the start the cop seemed extremely angry, mayb he had been dealing with shitheads all night and decided to take it out on me. it was pretty ridiculous that he mandated a tow, he said my bike was unsafe because of no platelight (even though my plate was clearly illuminated from my taillight but whatever).

i was also nothing but polite, because i relized this cop was going to be tough on me from the get go just from his general demeanor

I am correct about these tickets not carrying a insurance penalty with jevco?.

[mmmnaked]

If you purchased the bike in the condition it was in, and can prove it, you can likely get both tickets eliminated, since the bike would have had to be certified to sell, thus all equipment is supposed to be checked for. You would also have to then fix the problems. If not...

The plate light will be tossed, since you fixed it right away. Good you have receipts, since it will show how soon you fixed it.

For the exhaust, simply ask the cop, in court, if he can tell you how many decibels and at what RPM you were at when he decided it was too loud. Unless he did a full roadside test, he cannot confirm that this in any way violated any laws.

The strange part to me, is that neither of these are safety issues. Your tail light still worked, right? I am not sure why the cop would mandate a tow. I would ask that in court, because to me it sounds like this cop simply had a hardon for bikes. It could be enough to discredit the other charges.

what he said ^^^

[Rob MacLennan]

You may be able to get the plate light ticket tossed at First Attendance, if you show that you immediately corrected the issue. Not a guarantee, but a good chance.

As to the exhaust ticket there is no standard for noise level, in the HTA, for an exhaust. There should be, but there isn't. Did the officer perform any tests on your exhaust? The old standard used to be sticking a nightstick into the exhaust, to see if it had any baffles. If he didn't perform any such test, then he cannot testify as to whether or not it met the antiquated standards in the HTA. Let me elucidate....

Noise, smoke, bells and horns

Muffler

75. (1) Every motor vehicle or motor assisted bicycle shall be equipped with a muffler in good working order and in constant operation to prevent excessive or unusual noise and excessive smoke, and no person shall use a muffler cut-out, straight exhaust, gutted muffler, hollywood muffler, by-pass or similar device upon a motor vehicle or motor assisted bicycle. R.S.O. 1990, c. H.8, s. 75 (1).

Same

(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to,
(a) a motor-assisted bicycle with an attached motor that is driven entirely by electricity; or
(b) a motor vehicle that is driven entirely by electricity. 2009, c. 5, s. 31.

[ThrottleThrow]

he said there was no baffle in it. which i received a Improper Muffler charge. i bought the bike with the pipe, and it was certified with the pipe, is that a valid argument?

his exact words were "look theres nothing in the pipe" i said "theres a baffle in there you must be mistaken, my mechanic certified the bike to road saftey standards" or something like that

[Rob MacLennan]

he said there was no baffle in it. which i received a Improper Muffler charge. i bought the bike with the pipe, and it was certified with the pipe, is that a valid argument?

his exact words were "look theres nothing in the pipe" i said "theres a baffle in there you must be mistaken, my mechanic certified the bike to road saftey standards" or something like that

Unfortunately no, it won't be a valid argument.

Did he actually look into the pipe? There are brand new bikes on the market, with stock pipes, that you can stick a nightstick all the way down. That's one of the reasons why I refer to it as an antiquated law. Just because you can see down it, that doesn't imply that it's unbaffled.

*EDIT* What you need is a diagram of the internals, of a RS3 pipe, if they would show that the design actually isn't straight through. You would also need examples of bikes that have similar pipes, straight from the factory. Ultimately he might try and nail you on the noise, alone, which is a subjective measure. That's when you have to ask what standard he used, to determine the exhaust was too loud.

[Acadian1974]

Sorry bud you are mistaken. Equipment violations don't effect my jevco insurance. Why would a plate light have anything to do with insurance it says nothing about my riding abilities. I am not a risk to insure because of a loud pipe.

Someone please confirm this for me, otherwise my broker is a retard and should be shot. And if I'm wrong I aplogize retro, but I am pretty sure about this

In a way he isn't, equipment violations will result in a license suspension if they are not paid. That suspension is what could affect your premium.

[ThrottleThrow]

Unfortunately no, it won't be a valid argument.

Did he actually look into the pipe? There are brand new bikes on the market, with stock pipes, that you can stick a nightstick all the way down. That's one of the reasons why I refer to it as an antiquated law. Just because you can see down it, that doesn't imply that it's unbaffled.

*EDIT* What you need is a diagram of the internals, of a RS3 pipe, if they would show that the design actually isn't straight through. You would also need examples of bikes that have similar pipes, straight from the factory. Ultimately he might try and nail you on the noise, alone, which is a subjective measure. That's when you have to ask what standard he used, to determine the exhaust was too loud.

He looked in the pipe and said look its empty you took the baffle out

[Rob MacLennan]

He looked in the pipe and said look its empty you took the baffle out

Which is why you need to be able to present evidence as to the construction of the pipe.

[coyo]

elucidate....

Gesundheit.

[nobbie48]

I am not sure why the cop would mandate a tow.

If he said the bike was unsafe and then let you ride it home the two actions would contradict each other. It's either safe to ride or it's not.
In court you could say "He gave me a ticket because the bike was unsafe but then let me ride it indicating it was safe. Since he can't make up his mind let's go with safe."

[djltoronto]

he said there was no baffle in it. which i received a Improper Muffler charge. i bought the bike with the pipe, and it was certified with the pipe, is that a valid argument?

his exact words were "look theres nothing in the pipe" i said "theres a baffle in there you must be mistaken, my mechanic certified the bike to road saftey standards" or something like that

I'm fairly confident that there is nothing regarding the sound of the muffler in the safety/certification check.

[Rob MacLennan]

I'm fairly confident that there is nothing regarding the sound of the muffler in the safety/certification check.

You would be correct.

(12) The exhaust pipe, muffler and tail pipe shall be complete and securely mounted.

(13) No component of the exhaust system shall be so located as to cause charring or other heat damage to any wiring, fuel line, brake line or combustible material of the motorcycle.