Does law enforcement (or anyone) care if I get an exhaust that is not permitted on highways in California? I was looking into getting the "Hindle EVO Megaphone Exhaust" for my ninja 650 but says "This product is legal in California only for racing vehicles which may never be used, registered or licensed for use upon a highway."
Thoughts?
Posted Dec 18, 2018, 8:28 AM UTC
I think that warning is more to do with CA CARB laws which almost no aftermarket exhausts are certified for.
the warning is an attempt from manufacturers to indemnify themselves from any fault, which still isn't enough given the precedent set 2 years ago when Harley was charged for providing the customer with an ability to change fueling without ensuring they wouldn't ride on road with it
it has nothing to do with what you as an end user could / couldn't be charged or liable for
it is indeed true there are nearly no known CA compliant moto exhausts that don't come on the bike from the factory, the other 49 states who cares certain retailers won't even ship / offer certain models in CA or ship to a CA zip code
That's not true, there are certified exhausts. They're just REALLY expensive. I'm like 90% Akro makes them for triumph, and so does arrow.
If you ride the snake, you'll occasionally see CHP set up a checkpoint to specifically check motorcycles for non-dot approved modifications. It's not all the time, but it does happen.
Really? What else do the check for?
Illegal license plate modifications and exhausts are the big ones they look for, and then any other violations like lights not working... stuff like that
I've literally never seen anyone get pulled at the snake on a bike for "non dot approved modifications" cars yes, they pull them over all day for no front plate. What are you basing this on exactly? CHP also isn't the only entity at the snake, sheriff as well..
Egregious moving violations are all they care about on the bikes, literally significantly less than half the bikes there at any given time are not OEM exhaust
personal experience being stopped at a motorcycle check point, right by the look out, where they were specifically looking for non dot approved exhausts.
Does the bus go to the Snake?
For the most part no, but if it is obnoxious there is a possibility that you'll get pulled over. If this exhaust: has a silencer, is after the catalytic converter, or is just not overly loud, cops will likely totally ignore you.
If you get pulled over it will be for something unrelated. At that point, it’s just another ticket if the cop wants to be a dick. I don’t think they would bother pulling you over for the exhaust only
CHP recently pulled my buddy over on the 210 for straight pipes on his Harley and issued him a fix-it ticket. I've always run aftermarket exhausts on my sportbikes and never been cited, even when ticketed for other things. YMMV..
I had an s1000rr with a full akrapovic and now have a tuono with a graves exhaust. Both loud as f@$k! Never had an issue even when passing door to door with cop cars. I do make sure that when I am passing by cops I rev the bike as liiiiiittle as possible and just cruise by. Try not to change gears, that usually creates alot of noise too if you have a shifter/blipper.
was it considerably louder than stock at idle or was it only really loud when you got about a certain RPM? I'm considering the Akra Evo but I live in an apartment complex and leave for work early. I try not to go above 2500 RPM before exiting but if the exhaust is super loud at baseline I'd probably pass.
The difference between stock and full system is ridiculous, even at idle. I live in an apartment complex aswell and I got used to being loud. After a while people just “know” you are that loud guy in their building but not bad enough to have people complain. It helps to get along with your neighbors so when they have to bear being in the garage with you they just smile and give you the thumbs up. I have a neighbor tell me my bike sounds dope and that he actually enjoys hearing me leave. (He’s young though) It’s easily bearable unless they are seniors. But make no mistake, the difference in sound is huge. Try to pick an exhaust that has a baffle. That is the best compromise. With a baffle, its 75% of the way between stock and full open. (Still very loud)
Thanks for the reply and not really what I wanted to hear! I leave at 530 AM so I would likely wake everyone up unfortunately. I wonder if Akra has a DB killer.
It really depends on the style of building you are in. Mine is an open garage and my neighbor has told me he hears me turning on the bike in the morning and he is on the other side of the building. Although he implied he can just barely hear me so it’s not annoying. And my exhaust has a baffle. If it’s a closed underground garage then probably the sound won’t escape as much. I honestly recommend you say fuck it and swing it. I could honestly never go back to stock sound. The pure extasy and euphoria of hearing a bike’s true roar is more than half of my enjoyment of riding now. It has changed my joy riding forever, no exageration.
In CA any aftermarket exhaust that makes the bike louder (measured how??) than stock is not street legal. That being said, good luck using police resources to round up every sport bike on the street. There are a few neighborhoods with the low crime rate and NIMBY residents that can and do spend the time enforcing this so you have to be careful, but generally speaking, even if you get pulled over for something else, no one is going to say anything about your exhaust.
They could use a decibel meter to measure whether the exhaust exceeds the max 80dBA alllowed for motorcycles made after 1985.
You're fine and probably won't get messed with for just having an exhaust, unless it's really obscenely obnoxious. If you do get pulled over for something else and the cop feels like fucking with you they can cite you for the aftermarket exhaust.