How loud is too loud? What will get me in trouble?

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mmmnaked said:
Here's an idea: be a good person and quiet your fkin bike down anyway, regardless of the law. IMO if you're asking this question, and your bike is louder at idle than your dad's Harley revving, it's too loud. Am I gonna have to end my conversation and plug my ears if you drive by my house? Then it's too loud. It's not about you, and nobody thinks your bike is cool when it's piercing their ear-drums.

Cruisers with straight pipes deserve to be crushed for reals. :violent2:
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If I'm cranking it, and you're on your front porch 5m from the street, you might have to speak up, yes. When I'm near houses, I try to keep it down in 'putter' mode, and at idle I find I can still talk normally just fine. I've yet to do a real analytical side-by-side with the Harley, so I may be wrong on that. Bottom line though, is that it's not ear-splitting unless I make it ear splitting.

Bike Cop said:
My two cents, for whatever it's worth - if you've modified your exhaust system from stock, you run an increased risk of being charged with an excessive noise offence. That's the easy answer. Most municipalities haven't adopted a DB standard yet, but there are a few in the GTA and I think most are mentioned in this post above.

Of course if you are being overly exuberant you will attract 'attention' to yourself, and you will roll the dice with whatever officer is nearby.
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Wow, I actually really appreciate you joining up here, you can be a huge help, and an ambassador here, assuming your name is correct :)

I have a feeling that I can pass the 2825 test, which as you know is the test adopted in Caledon.

An opportunity to ask a cop here: Is there any station I could get tested at, and *not* get fined if I'm over? I'm an honest citizen, and I want to see if I can pass, without having to buy the equipment ($100+) or risk fines. If I'm over, I'll get quiet baffles, plain and simple, but I think the idea of an olive branch (amnesty for the sake of awareness) is better than simple punishment.
 
You can do the test yourself if you have a dB meter app for an iPhone, or similar.

An iPhone dB meter is not a calibrated sound level instrument, which means whatever reading it shows is not admissible in court ... but it should be close enough to indicate whether you are (A) in compliance by a wide margin with no worries, or (B) out of compliance by a wide margin and you had better do something about it, or (C) in a grey area of uncertainty, in which case it ought to be best to do something about it just to make sure.
 
LoneRonin said:
Thanks for joining just so you could share your two cents on this matter Mr. Popo.

How do you and your buddies look at aftermarket exhausts on sportbikes meant for track use only??
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When all this was coming into effect, we tested several bikes to SAE J2825, including my race bike with a straight-thru Hindle, even though that one doesn't have to pass because it's not a street legal bike. It passed anyhow.

Aftermarket exhaust systems that are "decent" - with a big enough, long enough muffler that has the proper packing in it - should pass.

The ones that are likely to be trouble are: mufflers that have been cut shorter in the interest of vanity, mufflers that are stylishly small and therefore undersized for the engine (LOR comes to mind), mufflers that are poorly designed (D&D?), and mufflers in which the internal packing has blown out.

Just because something is "not stock" doesn't mean it is "louder". Among 4 bikes in that test, the quietest one had an aftermarket Hindle muffler, and it was quieter than one other bike with a stock muffler.
 
Brian P said:
You can do the test yourself if you have a dB meter app for an iPhone, or similar.

An iPhone dB meter is not a calibrated sound level instrument, which means whatever reading it shows is not admissible in court ... but it should be close enough to indicate whether you are (A) in compliance by a wide margin with no worries, or (B) out of compliance by a wide margin and you had better do something about it, or (C) in a grey area of uncertainty, in which case it ought to be best to do something about it just to make sure.
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I tried, and my phone wouldn't go past like 86db, I guess that's the mic sensitivity threshold. I'm just about ready to buy one, test, then return it, but the only place that seems to sell a sound meter is the source, and it doesn't look super high quality.
 
LoneRonin said:
Thanks for joining just so you could share your two cents on this matter Mr. Popo.

How do you and your buddies look at aftermarket exhausts on sportbikes meant for track use only??
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So you got an honest answer from a new member trying to be of assistance and you resort to this type of behaviour? Is it not better to get INFORMED opinion from an officer than from some "internet law specialist"???

Of course they could care less about aftermarket exhaust on sport bikes "MEANT FOR TRACK USE ONLY" what a ridiculous question if the bike is being used solely at the track they couldn't care less about the noise level or the specs of the track bike AT THE TRACK.

EDIT: If you meant putting track use only pipes on a STREET sport bike then that is a whole kettle of fish. When I was on patrol it would as with most things depend upon the rider I had stopped. if they were being a jack ***** and that is why I stopped them, or they were giving attitude, then the pipes would catch my attention as I checked the bike over. If they were polite and courteous then generally i took the paper work, ran the checks and sent them on their way.

Thx inreb fixed the other, and clarified
 
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hedo2002 said:
Of course they could care less about aftermarket exhaust on sport bikes "MEANT FOR TRACK USE ONLY" what a ridiculous question if the bike is being used solely at the track they could care less about the noise level or the specs of the track bike AT THE TRACK.
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Lot's of products come labeled off road use only or similar. But get used on the street anyway. I believe thats what he meant.
And it's couldn't care less.
 
I know when I had my bandit 1200 with yosh pipe, every time I came into view of a cop, they were already looking my way. If I was speeding, they'd get me every time. Good thing I don't speed much...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Bike Cop said:
My two cents, for whatever it's worth - if you've modified your exhaust system from stock, you run an increased risk of being charged with an excessive noise offence. That's the easy answer. Most municipalities haven't adopted a DB standard yet, but there are a few in the GTA and I think most are mentioned in this post above.

Of course if you are being overly exuberant you will attract 'attention' to yourself, and you will roll the dice with whatever officer is nearby.
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In the short term the db rating will get you the answer but in the long term loud pipes will continue to annoy people and they will continue to harass motorcycles of all volumes because of association. Only a very small percentage of the population rides motorcycles. Keep annoying the majority and they will enact stricter laws.
 
nobbie48 said:
In the short term the db rating will get you the answer but in the long term loud pipes will continue to annoy people and they will continue to harass motorcycles of all volumes because of association. Only a very small percentage of the population rides motorcycles. Keep annoying the majority and they will enact stricter laws.
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I ride, I would enact stricter laws. The Harley situation is out of control on weekends.
 
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