Correct me if I'm wrong, but you've got illegal pipes on. You know the rules, don't whinge if you get caught..

Moan, moan, moan..

Swallow your pride & get on with it, dude.

 

Ah, not so fast there Reverend, you could be wrong. The pipes and Quiet Baffles may not necessarily be illegal, at least not everywhere, otherwise V&H would have to put a disclaimer up saying 'for off road use only'. Often police ticket because they 'think' it's too loud w/o any data to back it up or are just trying to bust your chops because they have nothing really to get you on. Unless they do a decibel test, it's all subjective.

So, I'm curious if Topspin's ticket was based merely on the officer's judgement or was a decibel test done. In a number of locales, you only need baffles, and all the police do is put a rod up your exhaust to check for them. Other places now require a decibel test for yearly state safety inspection, so clearly the law, and it's interpretation, can vary widely. But clearly the trend is towards the more restrictive in many communities.

 

It was based on me idling past him at 5 mph. No decible test.

 

Think very hard about moving to Houston Texas.
We ride about 360 days a year, and no hassle with loud pipes. In fact, a lot of open drag pipes here.
Hell, our Police are not even allowed to ask anyone if they are a citizen or not (that's the truth, but that's another story).
Texas always has room for another biker.
C66

 

I'm with the Reverend on this one. If you're paying attention at all, you know that there's a noise crackdown on all over the US (and most of the rest of the world apparently.) You put the pipes on because you wanted louder than stock. The police agree with you that they are. Take it like a man.

 

Yeah, I like living in the free part of the country.

 

That's the problem with today's youth......... Runnin around with loud pipes, gettin tickets........ makes it hard on the rest of us.

Sorry you got busted again.

DougJ

 

I have v&h big radius and have the baffles out, and ive never had a problem with police even in noise restricted areas.

 

Fight it... the Officer doesnt have a case without a decibel meter. It just sounded loud to me your honor...What BS !!!

 

I'm on hold for new pipes here in Oregon because the state legislature is still jawing about what proposed law they're gonna pass. It sucks. I don't want to run open pipes in order to keep my low end up, but I'd like a better sound than stock. It would really suck to spend $500 then have them pass some Denver-type crap ordinance. I looked up Florida's regs according to AMA:

Muffler - No person shall modify the exhaust system in such a manner that the noise emitted is above that emitted by the vehicle as originally manufactured. No person shall operate a vehicle with an exhaust system so modified.

Max Sound - Maximum allowable A-weighted sound levels based on measurements taken at a distance of 50 feet from center line of travel (Sec. 316.293): 1) Manufactured before 1/1/79--82dBA (35mph or less); 86dBA (over 35mph) 2) Manufactured after 1/1/79--78dBA(35mph or less); 82dBA(over 35mph).

I looked all over, but couldn't find the process required for measuring your bike's sound level in FL. It appears the bottom line is whether or not your bike is louder than it was when stock. If it is (and we're all pretty sure it is, GRIN) then you appear to be out of luck. That's really restrictive there in FL, hell even Laguna Beach allows 92DB! I think it's a pretty good idea to bring your paperwork proving you bought and installed the quiet baffles. Maybe you catch the judge in a good mood, or maybe he's got a bike too. Couldn't hurt. It sure as hell won't make the fine any bigger. Here's the downside - even if you beat this ticket LEO will just ticket you again.

I hope Oregon doesn't go down this path! Right now I've gotta have a muffler, and it's gotta be lower than 99DB. Not for long I'm sure.