A friend of mine told me this was the case but he's usually blowing smoke so I didn't know if it was true. This seems odd as Harley would have to reconfigure as many owners of bikes & would cost people tons of $$?
2007-01-25 03:49:21 · 13 answers · asked by COblonde 3 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Motorcycles
Loud pipes are no more obnoxious or loud than the street racer cars with purposely loud exhaust or those riding with pounding base in thier cars. If any law, hopefully it applies to all!
2007-01-25 04:46:02 · update #1
There is already some cracking down on it. I've had a few friends pulled over by bored cops saying the pipes were too loud. Harleys pipes aren't very loud when they are straight from the factory these days. Most people put new pipes on them to give them the historic Harley sound. Some people get somewhat carried away with the noise and put short long pipes with no baffles. My bike has some noise but nothing really obnoxious. I do like some noise letting cars know I'm there. But I don't feel the need to let the neighborhood know when I'm leaving.
2007-01-25 05:28:16 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
I do not know if they are cracking down on individuals or not, but my new harley 883 had real silent pipes on it and the dealer is not allowed to seel loud pipes, but the bike did not run good and I had a mechanic to cupt of fthe baffals and it runs fine now and is not all that loud. The 2007 Sportsters are fuel injected so the power may not be a problem with silent pipes. I got the 2006 model which still has a corberator.
2007-01-25 22:06:18 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
In a way, yes. The EPA has been enforcing pollution and noise limits on motorcycle manufacturers, including Harley-Davidson, with a lot more emphasis beginning in 2006. That is the reason that stock Harleys are now extremely quiet. The limits on both are becoming more stringent over the next few years, also. As to enforcement on existing bikes (or new bikes modified by their owners), it is up to the states and municipalities regarding enforcement. In California, CARB (California Air Resources Board) has recently been auditing motorcycle dealers and repair shops to ascertain if they have replaced any intake and/or exhaust systems with non-stock parts, and have been levying hefty fines. As a result, almost no dealer or independent in California will now touch a bike with non-stock exhaust, or install aftermarket exhausts. There are rumors that the state is going after individual owners which are shown in those records to have non-stock exhausts, also, though I haven't heard any confirmed incidents. There are places around the country which ticket for loud exhausts, some of which do so almost exclusively targeting motorcycles (ignoring modified cars and the incredibly obnoxious loud sound systems), such as Carefree, Arizona (on the northeast corner of the metro Phoenix area) and some of the "Beach" towns in southern California. The EPA is pushing for states to mandate smog/compliance inspections for motorcycles, so yes, the government is trying to "crack down" on motorcycle exhausts - it is an unfunded mandate (the states have to fund enforcement themselves, the federal government isn't providing funds for enforcement), so it is questionable whether it will become a widespread issue, but the potential exists.
2007-01-25 15:57:43 · answer #3 · answered by 310Pilot 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I agree with you about the loud cars and booming stereos. Loud motorcycle pipes do offer some safety benefit in alerting people that a motorcycle is near. Still some bikers take it too far and make noise when it is not called for. I know many small towns are now ticketing for loud pipes but I doubt there is a national program since traffic law is set by states and cities.
2007-01-25 13:21:55 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't think there will be a "crackdown". Most stock bikes (Harley-Davidson included) conform with noise standards. Bikes usually aren't loud until someone modifies the exhaust. If the standards were to change, I don't think that they would be retroactive. I have noticed in the after-market catalogs that the companies that make custom exhaust systems are offering a quieter baffle system as an option. Personally, I have always liked a quiet bike.
2007-01-25 11:55:29 · answer #5 · answered by maxinebootie 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I think they have done what they can at the national level. Each State also sets it's own laws. Enforcment of existing laws is the real solution, not making more. Harley does not need to reconfigure, as they are already below all limits in stock form. Not only that they actually have a "Noise Warranty" that's good for 2 years.
2007-01-25 18:50:50 · answer #6 · answered by Firecracker . 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The only nationwide crackdown would come from the NHTSA the federal highway safety gurus. They pay us overtime sometimes for seatbelt enforcement where we work overtime to write tickets for that.
I have heard of no such event for loud exhausts. I will tell you this, it is a constant source of complaints for people who get sick of the loud exhausts.
Harleys aren't the only guiltyones, the "coffee can" exhausts on import cars are annoying as heck.
2007-01-25 12:41:37 · answer #7 · answered by Lt. Dan reborn 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
God I hope so. I almost got killed this summer when I experienced noise range toward a 300 pound Hell's Angel.
Harley's are not anywhere near that loud from the factory. They take the original pipes off and but on straight pipes.
2007-01-25 11:59:58 · answer #8 · answered by D Rat 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Highly unlikely, I should think. Harley is the largest cruiser maker in the US, the world and beyond, and I cannot imagine such a thing happening without their being seriously hurt, and they have some leverage. There might be local laws but nothiong national.
2007-01-25 14:08:04 · answer #9 · answered by Karl G 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Loud pipes save lives
2007-01-25 14:20:53 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 4⤋