MIC Offers Standardized Way to Measure Motorcycle Exhaust Volume Levels
Wednesday June 24, 2009
If you've ever gotten a ticket for loud pipes that seemed completely arbitrary, you'll probably appreciate the Motorcycle Industry Council's latest effort. It took three years and $250,000 to field-test and develop the system encapsulated in SAE document J2825, entitled "Measurement of Exhaust Sound Pressure Levels of Stationary On-Highway Motorcycles."
The methodology promises an objective, scientific way to decide which motorcycles are breaking the law with their loud exhausts. The procedure includes two tests which are intended to be easily administered roadside: an idle test and a set RPM test. The recommend limits include 92 dBA at idle for all motorcycles, and revised numbers based on the bike's number of cylinders.
MIC prez Tim Buche says, "The new SAE standard provides a much-needed alternative to outright bans, restrictions and sound test standards that vary state to state and city to city, frustrating riders, exhaust system manufacturers, and municipal governments alike." Amen, brutha; I couldn't agree more.
Related:
- New York City Tries to Ban Loud Motorcycle Exhausts
- Man Shot Over Loud Motorcycle Exhaust
- California Considers Mandatory Smog Checks for Motorcycles
- Oakland Motorcycle Cops Stir Controversy with Loud Pipes
- New Laws Seek to Stifle Noisy Exhausts
Photo © Basem Wasef; click to enlarge
Comments
It’s nice to actually add some facts to this debate. New York’s plan was ludicrous.
Not sure how Yamaha got the loud stock pipes on the Liners and Raider approved in all fifty states.