Denver Passes Loud Motorcycle Ordinance

This is some bull-$#@* legislation here. Try finding a replacement exhaust for a vintage bike that has the EPA seal of approval. This law says, in effect, that you may have only a stock muffler on your bike. If it ever needs to be replaced for any reason, you're screwed unless you can find another factory can.



The way I see this playing out is if your bike is reasonably quiet and you're not breaking any other laws, you'll likely not be hassled. But it will give them one more thing to write you up for if you are stopped (by a LEO) for any reason. Kind of like the seatbelt laws.



Fortunately I don't live in Denver, but I hope this doesn't catch on.



Now let's hear it from the people who say the motorcycling community needs to be self policing, etc, so we don't see more legislation of this nature.

Actually, the law could be more than just compliance with Federal regs, so it's cause for concern if it complicates adding after-market exhausts.



Without seeing laws finer details, I'm not sure what the Denver law means by stamp. Is it a stamp you get at the DMV after passing a noise test or do the after-market exhaust manufacturers have to add the stamp at their end? If the latter, if you want after-market pipes in Denver you're screwed, because few, if any, exhaust manufacturers are going to make special Denver-only stamped pipes. If just a DMV sound check is required for the stamp that's more rational.



No other US cities require a special stamp to my knowledge, as it's usually up to an officer's discretion as to what it too loud based on Federal guidelines and common sense. Seems to me Denver's perhaps approaching the problem with red tape that won't stop modders, but will put more cash in the city's pocket and not necessarily save the ears of its citizens. After all, the noise violation is already enforceable without the new law if I'm understanding the Federal regs.



Case in point: I find it odd that it's $500 for a first time offense -- more than a speeding ticket or other lesser traffic ticket that actually endangers lives -- so the law seems dead set on killing after-market exhausts on all bikes completely and generating revenue for the city.



Mind you, I was a noise offender way back with riding a 2-stroke RD350 with seriously loud pipes (back in the '80s). I got pulled over and given a "fix it" ticket in SF. I did put the stock pipes back on and the cops were happy. Even with inflation it was no where near the ludicrous $500 first offense fine. That's just absurdly expensive. Ironically, I now ride a WeeStrom with a stock pipe, so it's quiet as church mouse and most of the time I prefer it -- I do miss the sound of that roaring Muzzy on my old ZX9R though.

Roger that.



Mofos,



Please post pics of said stamp ASAP. 20% for fellow Mofos.



- B

"Police from several agencies conducted a brief crackdown, but using a noise meter to catch a moving motorcycle was not an easy task."

Why does this produce a hilarious Keystone Cops visual in my head? Phil & Bob, donut in hand, step out of their vehicle at a stop light, db meter in hand. As the light changes, Bob races after the bike trying to get a reading. As the exhaust blast blows off his hat, Phil cries out, "Look out for that..." But it's too late. Bob has run face first into a hot dog vendor cart. Jelly from the donut is everywhere, blinding the hot dog vendor who has lost his grip on the cart, which is now careening down the street. It takes out a piano mover who loses his grip and now the piano and the hot dog cart are racing downhill. The hot dog cart is aimed directly at the ladder where two painters are working on a sign that says, "Help keep Denver quiet, loud pipes hurt ears". But the piano is fast approaching two men moving that large pane of glass.

Oh Denver! Oh the humanity!

You bring up a legitimate point that it is really going to hurt aftermarket exhaust manufacturers.



On the other hand, how do you stop a person from gutting a stock muffler?



I am not an oracle. I am not a prophet. I can't even choose the correct check-out line at the grocery store. I will predict that noise violations will be a tasty bit of revenue for local municipalities.



They have the support of a majority of the populace, who naturally enough don't ride.



A more rational method of enforcement is to adopt a basic standard XdB(A) measured at 1 meter from the tip of the exhaust with the bike revving to X RPM. A measurement taken at idle would fail a straight pipe.



I do not support this. There are lots of better things that need enforcement- like ceasing the proliferation of flavored coffees and other liquid blasphemy.



Revenue = enforcement, as proven by a Boston pilot program that scans license plates for unpaid parking tickets and then the vehicle gets booted.



The system is installed in a van and it uses a computer "eye" to automatically accomplish this feat. The computer alerts the driver when it "sees" a violator- who may in fact be parked legally at the time. A company in Canada wrote the code and keeps the scanned pictures of license plates in their systems. Don't like it? TOUGH.



Bottom line is if and when a simple standard becomes available expect "meter readers" to really proliferate.



Jawohl!