Exhaust law stinks




I feel compelled to respond to your editorial about noisy exhaust and SB 435. I have been a licensed motorcyclist since 1980. I have owned many different kinds of bikes, from sport bikes to cruisers, customs and choppers. There are already two vehicle codes that address altered mufflers and excessive noise: VC 27150 and VC 27151.

SB 435 was originally drafted to require motorcycles to comply with annual California smog checks. The smog check language has been removed and now the bill primarily addresses having a federal EPA noise standard label to be affixed to the exhaust system and creates a “new crime” if the label is not there. Many exhaust systems have these stamps in place but are sometimes difficult to find and may be obstructed by heat shields.

It would be similar to the police coming to your house to read the label on all of your mattresses and fining you if they were not there. This bill is unnecessary and redundant.

I believe that it is our responsibility as motorcyclists to keep the noise to reasonable levels and to not run straight pipes. I also believe that I have a right to upgrade the exhaust system with an aftermarket one for improved performance and gas economy.

I did get a 27151 in Long Beach this summer by a motor officer. The officer initiated the stop solely because he said my pipes were too loud. The irony is that I was riding a stock bike with factory-installed pipes and no way to prove it.
Randy King

Oak Park




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