Loud pipes make tickets?

[daveco2]

I'm thinking of putting a louder can on my bike, because I think it'll make me safer and because it'll just sound a lot better. I'm thinking TBR.

I hear lots of rumors in SoCal that loud pipes attract tickets. Although I've heard plenty of loud pipes around favorite bike spots, especially on H-Ds, I've never met anyone who has gotten a ticket for it.

Have you or anyone you know gotten a ticket? Which can, and or DB killer, did you on have at the time?

Thanks,

Dave

 

[MichaelInVenice]

I'm thinking of putting a louder can on my bike, because I think it'll make me safer and because it'll just sound a lot better. I'm thinking TBR.

I hear lots of rumors in SoCal that loud pipes attract tickets. Although I've heard plenty of loud pipes around favorite bike spots, especially on H-Ds, I've never met anyone who has gotten a ticket for it.

Have you or anyone you know gotten a ticket? Which can, and or DB killer, did you on have at the time?

Thanks,

Dave

I've discussed this with several police officers. Mostly Manhattan Beach and Santa Monica, but also some LAPD. At present, it's tough to give tickets for the pipes alone. Starting with the 2013 model year, they can for any modded exhausts, but they tell me they're not really looking for that, especially as they really aren't experts at telling the difference between, say, a 2012 and a 2013 model. It's something they might decide to get your for after they've already stopped you for something else, if you're being a jerk. Over time, this may change, but it's not a huge issue right now.

What they all tell me is the same thing, and it applies equally to cars as it does to motorcycles. "If you make me notice you, I'm more likely to notice something you're doing wrong," and beyond that "if you do something that pisses me off, I'm more likely to go out of my way to watch you until you do something I can ticket you for, which usually takes less than 60 seconds."

I see the same with the beach traffic near my house every weekend. It's always the blinged out cars with the 2000 watt stereos that get pulled over for burned out brake lights, expired tags and the like. It's not that many other cars don't have these same issues -- they obviously do. It's that when you're effectively shouting "LOOK AT ME" wherever you go, people are going to look. Some of those people are going to be police. And when police look at you often enough, eventually they will see something they can get you for.

I drive/ride through Beverly Hills all the time. In Beverly Hills in particular, but also in some of the other nice neighborhoods in LA and Santa Monica, you really don't want to do much to call attention to yourself. Same is true in some sections of OC. They're just looking for outsiders to make unwelcome...

 

[FastFreddy]

My feeling about this is, if you think you are safer with a louder exhaust, then you don't have to justify it. Your safety is more important than a fine.

You can get hassled for having a stock exhaust or as the officer calls it "a hacked off stubby exhaust"
It was probably karma in my case for bothering up about something or other once before.

I say, if it makes you happy, go for it.

 

[stuna]

HEY, MY SPEC 11 1976 RD400 STAGE 3 . I TOOK THE MUFFS OFF THE PIPES :zombie:
INSANE , MAKES A HALEY QUIET . DONT START IT IN A BUILDING . OH BUT THE WHEELIES AT 50 PLUS IS COOL:sinister: ON A OLD AIR COOLED 400

 

[leem00]

I'm thinking of putting a louder can on my bike, because I think it'll make me safer and because it'll just sound a lot better. I'm thinking TBR.

I hear lots of rumors in SoCal that loud pipes attract tickets. Although I've heard plenty of loud pipes around favorite bike spots, especially on H-Ds, I've never met anyone who has gotten a ticket for it.

Have you or anyone you know gotten a ticket? Which can, and or DB killer, did you on have at the time?

Thanks,

Dave

I used to have a honda shadow with straight pipes... I think it all boils down to how your acting...if your reving it all the time, riding high rpm all the time, or generally doing squiddish things you will more than likey get ticketed.

That being said it all depends on local too, I know back in massachusetts/NEw hampshire there was a point when the hampton beach police were pulling bikes out of line of loud exhausts...

Here in Cincinnati there are neighborhoods that have noise polution signs... anything over like 80 db and your open to fines...

 

[SurfJunkie]

You should be fine in socal.

Just dont do something stupid eg: canless open header.

If they want to start enforcing this, they have about a trillion hardley owners to ticket first.

 

[MichaelInVenice]

You should be fine in socal.

Just dont do something stupid eg: canless open header.

If they want to start enforcing this, they have about a trillion hardley owners to ticket first.

Really the enforcement is at the dealers. The law does allow for enforcement on the street, but the real impact will be that it makes it illegal for anybody with a dealer or an automotive repair license to sell or install aftermarket exhausts for 2013+ model years. In effect, this has meant that dealers and official repair facilities have pretty much stopped selling any exhausts for street bikes, because the fines for just having them available are too high.

Obviously won't impact those of us who can easily buy online and do our own work. But the reality of the "custom Harley" crowd is that most of them can't even change their own headlight bulbs, let alone their oil. It's 100% fashion accessory for most of them. If they can't buy it that way, it will never be that way. The legislature in that sense knew exactly what they were doing: preventing intentional noisemaking from being a fashion statement for idiots. They're mostly not concerned with those of us who actually know how to ride (and by extension, know how to keep the revs down in a residential neighborhood at night).

 

[buzzbomb]

Back when I was researching my next (current) bike, I remember reading a review of the FZ6R. The reviewer made the comment that they took a corner pretty quick, and there were LEOs on the other side.

They never heard them coming, and the reviewer suggested that the quietness of the 6R saved him from a ticket. There are many arguments for loud pipes. Personally, I think they're overrated. The guy we're worried about has his stereo blasting, or a phone glued to his skull.

You'd have to be darn loud to break into that. I personally prefer visibility. It's an old argument, to be sure. Just my personal opinion.

If you just want to be louder because it makes you feel better about your ride? I cant argue with that.

 

[MichaelInVenice]

Back when I was researching my next (current) bike, I remember reading a review of the FZ6R. The reviewer made the comment that they took a corner pretty quick, and there were LEOs on the other side.

They never heard them coming, and the reviewer suggested that the quietness of the 6R saved him from a ticket. There are many arguments for loud pipes. Personally, I think they're overrated. The guy we're worried about has his stereo blasting, or a phone glued to his skull.

You'd have to be darn loud to break into that. I personally prefer visibility. It's an old argument, to be sure. Just my personal opinion.

If you just want to be louder because it makes you feel better about your ride? I cant argue with that.

Pretty much. Remember that we're people, not dogs. All things being equal (and they're not of course), we will tend to see something out of the ordinary far earlier than we'll hear it. Not to say that sound doesn't matter, but I'd spend my money on doing everything possible to make myself more visible before I'd spend a penny on sound. Just my opinion, based on years of work in human factors engineering.

Which is part of the reason I don't want a black bike, or wear anything black, and in fact I'm one of those guys who likes to have at least one piece of high-viz gear on at all times. I've also become a real expert at putting reflective strips all over everything and somehow getting them to blend in. (The "black" reflective stuff is a favorite.)

Someday maybe I'll get an exhaust. Of course, I need to finally get the bike first. Looking at what seems to be a good one next week...

 

[daveco2]

Pretty much. Remember that we're people, not dogs. All things being equal (and they're not of course), we will tend to see something out of the ordinary far earlier than we'll hear it. Not to say that sound doesn't matter, but I'd spend my money on doing everything possible to make myself more visible before I'd spend a penny on sound. Just my opinion, based on years of work in human factors engineering.

Which is part of the reason I don't want a black bike, or wear anything black, and in fact I'm one of those guys who likes to have at least one piece of high-viz gear on at all times. I've also become a real expert at putting reflective strips all over everything and somehow getting them to blend in. (The "black" reflective stuff is a favorite.)

Someday maybe I'll get an exhaust. Of course, I need to finally get the bike first. Looking at what seems to be a good one next week...

Will it be an FZ6R? I'm in between bikes too. Rode a Guzzi couple days ago, BMW F650GS last week, a Triumph before that, checked out a Honda CBR500R, and a GXSR600. But keep coming back to the FZ for all around goodness.

Completely agree with the two posts putting visibility first. My approach is to do EVERYTHING at once: visibility, reflectives, and sound. On the freeway in my cage, whenever I hear a bike I start looking around, so I usually hear them before I see them coming up from behind. On local roads it's the reverse and that's when I'm most careful.

 

[buzzbomb]

Will it be an FZ6R? I'm in between bikes too. Rode a Guzzi couple days ago, BMW F650GS last week, a Triumph before that, checked out a Honda CBR500R, and a GXSR600. But keep coming back to the FZ for all around goodness.

Completely agree with the two posts putting visibility first. My approach is to do EVERYTHING at once: visibility, reflectives, and sound. On the freeway in my cage, whenever I hear a bike I start looking around, so I usually hear them before I see them coming up from behind. On local roads it's the reverse and that's when I'm most careful.

Indeed. But we are riders and are aware of riders. It's the goofs who are not paying attention to anything that we worry about. It's the people who pull out in front of us, because we're just a motorcycle. It's the people who will never see or hear anything, that are the most dangerous.

To me? It doesn't matter if I'm an ambulance with horns and lights and sirens blaring. They'll still do what the heck they're going to do, because they're oblivious.

It doesn't matter how loud my bike is. It makes no difference to the oblivious.

 

[MichaelInVenice]

Will it be an FZ6R? I'm in between bikes too. Rode a Guzzi couple days ago, BMW F650GS last week, a Triumph before that, checked out a Honda CBR500R, and a GXSR600. But keep coming back to the FZ for all around goodness.

Likewise. There's a part of me that would love one of the mid-weight adventure bikes (V-strom 650, F700/800GS, tiger 800), but price for a decent one is an issue and they are a bit on the big side for a round-town kind of bike. I'd be adding at least 50% over the cost of a '6R for a comparable condition bike. So my thought is to get a used '6R with low miles, set it up for sport touring and when things change, sell it at not much of a loss to get something else if that is what makes sense. Alternately, ride it for years...

There are several low-mileage ones available in the general area. All are a asking a bit high, but all seem willing to take offers. The one I really want (a fast blue one with under 2000 miles) is owned by a guy who's out of town through Tuesday. When he's back I'm going to see if we can make a reasonable deal, if not I move down the line to one of the others, two copper 2011s and finally a white 2012. One way or the other, should be done next week.

 

[MichaelInVenice]

To me? It doesn't matter if I'm an ambulance with horns and lights and sirens blaring. They'll still do what the heck they're going to do, because they're oblivious.

Speaking as one who's been in the ambulance at times, I concur. It's amazing how many people will cut you off, run through an intersection right ahead of you, or fail to notice that you're right behind them with flashers and sirens going when all they need to do is hang a quick right turn to get out of the way. And if you talk to the cops who do cite people for this stuff, it's amazing to hear the stories they tell. Local PD does seem to make a point of chasing down and citing people who don't yield right of way or just plain get out of the way of an emergency vehicle. The usual attitude when they pull somebody over was "well, there was a green light, I didn't really notice the lights and sirens," or "what do you mean I should have made a quick turn to get out of the way, I didn't want to turn there," or just plain "I didn't notice there was an ambulance with sirens and flashers going behind me and didn't expect anybody to be trying to pass me there..." Idiots. They're also apparently quite surprised at the fines they can be hit with for this kind of stuff.

So yeah, I try to be as obvious as possible and think the visuals matter more than the sound. But those who aren't going to pay attention just aren't going to pay attention. The good thing about them is if you're paying attention, you can often pick them out before you're in their "danger zone" because they're being oblivious all the time and to everything.

 

[bloodypulp]

If the person driving on the side of u has no respect for u or ur bike they will cut u off for the fun of it. I have had this happen twice last week. They will look straight at u and decide since they're bigger u will just have to move out of the way. It happens to cars going against big rigs and bikes against cars. It boils down to ego . So I make me and my 6r as noticeable as poss. And watch everybody ! Keep ur distance and be as safe as u can.

 

[FastFreddy]

Never ride beside other cars. You have to be in between the cars in the next lane. I don't know who is beside me, I can't trust them.

 

[BoneJj]

Never ride beside other cars. You have to be in between the cars in the next lane. I don't know who is beside me, I can't trust them.

A better way to say it is to stay out of the blind spots. If they can see you without having to move their eyes you are good. So basically you need to be no less than at their front quarter panel/front tire. If you can't be there drop back so you are behind them so if they decide to be stupid it wont be hard to hit the brakes and avoid them hitting you.

Also always leaving yourself a way out is a major key, I've been known to gun it and lane split to get away from idiots on the road that try to rear end me.

Hence why at lights I am sitting pretty much on the line as I come to stop, if the idiot behind me doesn't stop he's not going to smash me so much as just fly right by me, that's happened a couple times over the years.

Defensive driving is your friend, and if they try to pull out in front of you... the mirror is fair game.