Exhaust Sound Laws in progress....

[georgia]

July 8, 2009 - The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) International has produced a simple, consistent and economical sound test standard that can be used to determine whether a street bike (on-highway motorcycle) exhaust system emits excessive sound, the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) reports.
The J2825 "Measurement of Exhaust Sound Pressure Levels of Stationary On-Highway Motorcycles," issued by the SAE in May, establishes instrumentation, test site, test conditions, procedures, measurements and sound level limits. According to the SAE, the J2825 standard is based on a comprehensive study of a wide variety of on-highway motorcycles.
"The motorcycling community and law enforcement have long sought a practical field test for measuring street motorcycle exhaust sound," said Ed Moreland, AMA vice president for government relations.
"Thanks to the hard work of the Motorcycle Industry Council, and the SAE engineers involved in the project, for the first time a simple field test is now available."
"The AMA maintains that few factors contribute more to misunderstanding and prejudice against street riders than excessively noisy motorcycles," Moreland continued.
"With the new SAE J2825 standard, street motorcyclists can now determine how quiet, or loud, their bikes really are."
Moreland added that the new standard follows a template established years ago with the SAE J1287 off-highway motorcycle sound test, a standard recommended by the AMA wherever off-highway motorcycles are operated.
The SAE J2825 on-highway motorcycle sound test procedure is similar to the one used for the SAE J1287 off-highway motorcycle test. The street bike measurement requires holding a calibrated sound meter at a 45-degree angle 20 inches from the exhaust pipe of a running engine.
The procedure spells out how to do the test with the bike at idle, at a predetermined engine speed ("Set RPM Test"), or by slowly increasing the engine speed of the bike, known as the "Swept RPM Test."
The SAE J2825 standard, prepared by the SAE Motorcycle Technical Steering Committee, recommends a decibel limit of 92 dBA at idle for all machines; or, using the Set RPM or Swept RPM Test, 100 dBA for three- or four-cylinder machines, and 96 dBA for bikes with fewer than three or more than four cylinders.
The creation of a new street motorcycle sound measurement procedure was a top recommendation of the 2003 National Summit on Motorcycle Sound, expressed by its Motorcycle Sound Working Group.
The AMA organized the National Summit on Motorcycle Sound to pull together riders and user organizations, representatives of the motorcycle manufacturers, the aftermarket industry, racing promoters, government agencies, and others to develop proposals regarding the increasingly controversial issue of excessive motorcycle sound.
"The J2825 test allows jurisdictions around the nation, struggling with complaints about excessive motorcycle sound, to set reasonable limits in accordance with the SAE standard," said Moreland.
"While the AMA supports the establishment of the SAE J2825 standard in America's cities, towns and communities, we will continue to fight efforts that single out motorcycles while still permitting excessive sound from other sources, such as loud cars and trucks, booming car stereos, poorly maintained generators, whining leaf blowers, and the like."
The SAE J2825 standard can be downloaded on the SAE website for a fee.


cheers
geo

 

[georgia]

more...

STATE MOTOR VEHICLE NOISE LAWS
State law requires the DMV commissioner to adopt regulations, with the advice of the Department of Environmental Protection, that establish maximum permissible noise levels for all motor vehicles, including motorcycles. The law prohibits anyone from operating any vehicle at any time or under any condition in a manner that exceeds the maximum decibel level established for the vehicle. It also prohibits an owner from allowing his vehicle to be operated in violation of these maximum noise levels. Additionally, no one may sell or offer a new vehicle for sale if it produces a maximum noise level that exceeds the level established in the regulations (CGS § 14-80a(a) and 80a(b)).

The law also authorizes the DMV commissioner to establish a procedure for checking maximum noise levels of vehicles. The noise level must be measured 50 feet from the centerline of the vehicle. If the test procedure provides for measuring the noise from closer than 50 feet from the vehicle, the measuring devices must be calibrated in a way that creates an equivalency to measuring the sound at a distance of 50 feet.
The DMV regulations establish a specific maximum permissible decibel level for motorcycles for several types of operating conditions (see Table 1, below).
Defective/Improper Mufflers
State law also requires all motor vehicles to be "operated, equipped, constructed and adjusted to prevent unnecessary or unusual noise. " It requires that vehicles with internal combustion engines be equipped with a muffler designed to prevent excessive, unusual, or unnecessary noise. The muffler must be "maintained by the owner in good working order and shall be in use whenever the motor vehicle is operated. " The law prohibits anyone, including a motorcycle dealer, from installing, and prohibits anyone from using, a muffler that lacks interior baffle plates or other effective muffling devices, a gutted muffler, a muffler cutout, or a straight exhaust, except in permitted racing events or exhibitions. Also, the law prohibits the use of any mechanical device that amplifies vehicle noise. The law prohibits anyone, including a repairer or motorcycle dealer, from removing all or part of a muffler except to repair or replace it to more effectively prevent noise. Finally, it prohibits anyone from using any extension or device on the exhaust system or tail pipe that will cause excessive or unusual noise (CGS § 14-80(a) and 80(b)).

MEASURING NOISE LEVELS
A decibel (dB) is the basic measurement unit for sound. Decibel measurements are made on a logarithmic scale, which means that an increase of 10 decibels approximates a perceived doubling of the noise level. A noise source measuring 70 dB is therefore 10 times louder than a source measuring 60 dB and 100 times louder than a source reading 50 dB. The average background noise in a typical home is between 40 and 50 dB. State and federal motor vehicle regulations use the “dBA” scale of measurement, which is the scale that most closely approximates the sensitivity of the human ear.
MAXIMUM NOISE LEVELS FOR MOTORCYCLES AND OTHER VEHICLES
The maximum permissible noise level for a motorcycle manufactured on or after January 1, 1979 ranges from 78 dB to 84 dB, depending on the motorcycle’s speed and the road surface on which it travels. This is louder than the maximum permissible noise level for passenger cars manufactured during the same period (72 dB to 81 dB), but quieter than the maximum permissible noise levels for buses (83 to 90 dB), and vehicles weighing more than 10,000 pounds (86 to 92 dB) (Conn. Agencies Regs. § 14-80-1 et seq. ). (Note: these levels refer to highway operation. Different levels apply to vehicles manufactured before January 1, 1979, and to stationary vehicles. ) Table 1 lists the noise levels for different highway and road surfaces and for stationary operation.

Source: Conn. Agencies Regs. § 14-80a-4a
* Soft site includes surfaces covered with grass or other ground cover; hard site includes concrete, asphalt, packed dirt, and gravel surfaces.
Reasons for Different Standards
The standards took effect June 1, 1978. We could not find a record of DMV’s reasons for adopting the standard. However, a review of federal proceedings concerning motorcycle noise may prove helpful.
EPA initially proposed a graduated reduction in maximum permissible noise level for street motorcycles from 83 to 80 to 78 dB, for the 1980, 1982, and 1985 model years, respectively. Final EPA regulations called for maximum levels of 83 dB for motorcycles manufactured in model year 1983 and 80 dB for motorcycles manufactured in model year 1986 or later.
EPA heard testimony from motorcycle manufacturers and others on the optimum noise level for street motorcycles. Manufacturers favored a limit of 83 dB, saying it would be too costly to meet the lower standards. (Suzuki testified that its manufacturing costs would triple if EPA required it to meet the 78 dB standard. )
EPA argued an 83 dB limit would not produce sufficient benefit to the public. EPA eventually chose the 80 dB standard instead of the 78 dB standard, concluding it would benefit the public while involving less costly changes for the manufacturers (Environmental Impact Statement for the Noise Emission Regulations for Motorcycles and Motorcycle Exhaust Systems, EPA Office of Noise Abatement and Control, December 1980).
These regulations apply to most motorcycles produced in 1986 and later (40 CFR §205. 152). Manufacturers of after-market motorcycle exhaust systems must meet the noise limits for the model year for which they were manufactured (40 CFR §205. 166). Different EPA standards apply to motorcycles manufactured before that date, and to mopeds and off-street motorcycles (dirt bikes).
ENFORCEMENT OF STATE LAW
Table 2, below, shows the total number of all motor vehicle noise violation cases during FY 02-03, broken down by disposition. Most of these cases were for improper or defective mufflers.

cheers
geo
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[georgia]

summary

SUMMARY
By state regulation, motorcycles manufactured in or after 1979 cannot exceed a noise level of 84 decibels (dB) when traveling more than 35 mph on a paved street or highway. This is noisier than the maximum noise levels allowed for cars, but less noisy than the permissible noise levels for buses and other vehicles weighing more than 10,000 pounds. We could not determine from the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) or from the regulation’s history why DMV chose this particular standard. However, DMV may have used reasoning similar to that later used by the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) when it set federal standards for motorcycle noise. EPA weighed the public benefit of less noise against the cost to motorcycle manufacturers of reducing motorcycle noise levels.
State and local law enforcement officers enforce state noise laws and municipal noise ordinances. Enforcement is difficult, however, because of demands on police personnel, the need to use sophisticated testing equipment, and the transitory nature of the offense. (By the time police respond to a complaint, the offender — and the noise — are usually long
gone. ) During FY 2002-03, just over 2,100 motor vehicle noise-related cases were disposed of. More than one-third of these cases were dismissed or resulted in not guilty verdicts. Please see OLR Report 94-R-0827 for more information.
The EPA has enacted limits on motorcycle noise that apply to motorcycle manufacturers and makers of aftermarket parts and equipment, whose products are installed after purchase.

 

[georgia]

The Motorcycle Industry Council has urged the New Hampshire House Transportation Committee to postpone pending loud pipe legislation until early spring when a new stationary sound test is available. The MIC and the Society of Automotive Engineers are finalizing this test, SAE J2825, which will provide a quick, easy, economical, and science-based tool for accurately identifying motorcycles with excessively noisy exhaust systems.

The House Transportation Committee held a hearing yesterday on the proposed legislation, HB 95. The bill would prohibit modification of exhaust systems in any manner, prohibit operation of motorcycles without stock mufflers, require that every bike has a functioning tachometer, and also lower the allowable sound limit.

"Our goal is to provide a consistent tool nationwide for identifying excessively loud exhaust systems without failing those that pass the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency federal sound limit," said Pamela Amette, vice president of the MIC. "This sound test will effectively achieve the sound control goals of New Hampshire, and other states and municipalities, and more so than some of the proposed legislation currently being considered. On a national level, it will eliminate a lot of the confusion and frustration for motorcyclists when they ride through different jurisdictions."

Amette said that California, numerous local jurisdictions, and Canada have expressed interest in the new test that was developed through extensive sound testing during 2007.

The MIC's comments, submitted to the House Transportation Committee in advance of the hearing on January 21, requested the following: that action on the legislation be postponed, that the legislation be amended to permit aftermarket systems, that there be no requirement for functioning tachometers, and that the sound test limits and procedures specified in the bill be revised.

The committee took no action on the legislation at the hearing on January 21, but did create a subcommittee to study the issues more closely and make recommendations.


It's really starting to annoy me here in NYC. We're fighting and the AMA is helping. Any thoughts?

cheers
geo

 

[BigWillie]

I understand why they want to do this. Cagers getting pissed about the noise. I have never been almost run over when I was running straight pipes like I almost due every week with stock systems.

 

[Sidecar Flip]

I was just talking to a friend about this very subject this morning.

Does that mean Potato bikes out east will be slower?

I can see noise abatement laws. Motorcycle exhaust, especially the Hardley crowd is way out of hand. Most communities around here have noise ordinances but it's a non-enforcement issue, until now. With the advent of a standard across the board, I can see communities enforcing the noise abatement ordinances and I have no problem with it.

Personally, I hated the racket.

The public preception of a loud bike is that the rider is an 'outlaw'. That's precipitated by the media as well as what the public perceives...a loud bike is trouble.

First thing a HD owner does is change the exhaust to a noiser set. I've heard maybe one or two HD's that were quet, factory quiet. Same with ****** rockets. Nothing like the buzz saw sound at midnight on a quiet evening.

On the negative side, 78-84 Db @50 feet is pretty quiet. My riding lawnmower is 90 Db @50 feet. The other problem is selective enforcement. Even if there is a benchmark standard, there is a lot of latitude for interpretation by Barney Fife.

 

[TxRIIIRider]

Hey... How do you know our Constable's name??....

......... Even if there is a benchmark standard, there is a lot of latitude for interpretation by Barney Fife.

 

[snuffcityrider]

Hey... How do you know our Constable's name??....

He works down there too?!

 

[tdragger]

Speaking of selective enforcement, I wonder if LEOs are going to cite their own. The loudest bike BY FAR in our neighborhood is the Secret Service Escort bike. Since he has to work odd hours, it's not unusual for him to wake up the neighborhood at 3am. You can tell that he is trying to keep it quiet but it can't be done.

I assume the reasoning why a Secret Service bike is loud is to let others know that he's coming thereby adding a layer of protection for the VIP being escorted. Then why is it a double standard for Joe Schmoe to have loud pipes?

 

[georgia]

Personally, I prefer, and own, a louder bike.

But, if noise in any area is a problem, then ANY law going after noise should be about the NOISE, not about any specific group. In my neighborhood (NYC )... the loudest problem issues are not motorcycles... it's garbage trucks, junk tossed into those big dumpsters being used and then the noise from the truck lifting and carting away, Big trucks idling and in moving low gears, parties at night, the multitude of honking horns (for no valid reason) , fights and yelling, general traffic, and of course the ever ubiquitous sirens from fire trucks, police, and ambulances...

Now, lets see them go after these.... not gonna happen. bikes are a wonderful way for politicians to APPEAR to be working on the problem and while doing so, offend the SMALLEST sector of the population.

cheers
geo