Everybody has heard that as of January 2019, California went from giving fix it tickets, for motorcycles that were deemed to be too loud by law enforcement, to outright tickets resulting in fines for motorcycles which they deemed to be too loud.

Before January 2019 you can simply fix the problem, take your motorcycle to a law enforcement inspection center, where they would either approve of the correction and write off the ticket, or require you to do additional work to get the problem corrected. You were not issued any fine.

Now after January 2019 law enforcement can simply give you a ticket in which you can be fined up to 00, whether or not you fix the problem. They can still require you to fix the problem, but the fine will still stand.

As with any ticket, or infraction, you may fight the ticket in court, but I would not do so unless you have a competent attorney like myself at your side in court. There are many ways to beat such a ticket in court.

Although I handle personal injury and motorcycle accident cases all over the state of California, I will limit my excessive noise ticket legal defense practice to courts in Los Angeles and Orange county, California. I will provide consultations to people outside of the area where I am defending these tickets.

The general rule for motorcycles manufactured after 1985 is that the motorcycle cannot emit noise above 80 dB, the exhaust system must not be modified, and all aftermarket replacement parts must have EPA certifications on the equipment. Many aftermarket exhausts will not have EPA certification markings on them. Some will say for off use only; others will say for racing only.

There are many jurisdictions in California that do not put up with loud pipes either from motorcycles, or cars. You can do a Google search on which cities do not like loud exhausts to get an idea of where to be careful.

Frankly, it is really easy for me to determine whether or not a motorcycle is too loud. Before I became an attorney, I was an engineer, and I dealt with decibel readings. If a motorcycle is obnoxiously loud, most people including motorcycle riders can tell right away. There are motorcycles just above 80 dB that you might not be able to tell without a decibel meter.

A decibel meter measures the loudness coming from the exhaust.

If you are pulled over, and law enforcement is alleging that your motorcycle is too loud, and they try to measure the loudness of your exhaust with the decibel meter, try to videotape them if you can, but do not get yourself arrested for obstruction. Try to remember everything that you see. Any facts and details you can remember, will help us defend your case in court.

As I stated previously, law enforcement can still require you to fix any exhaust problem they allege you have, but the monetary fine is not fixable unless you fight it in court and win. Many courts will require you to pay the fine as a bail, before they will allow you to appear before a judge.

Hopefully law enforcement is not going to use the new law to try to line their coffers with money, or to harass bikers and motorcycle club members. This type of law which even with a decibel meter is subjective, meaning it really is up to law enforcement judgment to determine if you are in violation, unless your exhaust system flat out does not comply with EPA regulations.

I recommend that if you’re going to modify your exhaust system, that you keep the stock exhaust system in your garage or other storage location, just in case you have to go back to a stock set up. I myself have my entire stock exhaust set up just in case law enforcement thinks my motorcycle is too loud. I myself believe I am in full compliance.

Another rule of thumb is to not be a frigging idiot on the road. When you pull up to an intersection, do not sit there like a moron and rev your motorcycle. If you’re going through a town on city streets layoff the throttle and rev the engine at the minimum required to not draw attention to yourself.

Modern motorcycles do not have to be reeved when the motorcycle is stopped, with fuel injection and modern engines, you are just wasting gas, and being a noisemaker by revving your motorcycle at a stop sign or light. Now if you have an old pan head you may have to rev it to keep it from stalling, that is a different story.

There are guys on touring motorcycles, cruisers, sport bikes, you name it running open pipes, who have basically ruined it for all of us. Do not give law enforcement an excuse to pull you over for a noise violation because let me tell you something, at a 00 a pop, you will be back to running stock exhaust very shortly if you run up 1 or 2 of these violations. This would suck for guys who have paid thousands of dollars for performance modifications on their engines that require a more open exhaust system.

If you use common sense, I doubt law enforcement is going to mess with you, unless you’re in one of those jurisdictions that harasses bikers and does not tolerate any excessive noise.

If you’ve got dinged with an excessive noise ticket after January 2019, and they are coming after you for a fine, and you want representation in Los Angeles or Orange County, give me a call at 800-816-1529. If you’re anywhere else in the state, you may call me for a consultation.

If you have had a motorcycle accident anywhere in California, give me a call at 800-816-1529. We will take care of you. As usual, don’t be fooled by fancy advertisements from non-riding personal injury attorneys, they have no clue how to ride motorcycles, or deal with the prejudice we motorcycle riders face in court.

By California motorcycle accident attorney Norman Gregory Fernandez, Esq., April 2019.

The post What is the real truth about the new California 2019 motorcycle noise law; will you get a $1000 fine? By California biker lawyer Norman Gregory Fernandez, Esq. first appeared on Biker and Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Blog.

No More Non EPA Approved Pipes in 2013

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed SB 435 into law which will require all motorcycles built after January 2013 to have EPA approved exhaust systems on their motorcycles.

Riders found without an EPA label certifying sound emission compliance will be issued fix it tickets, with additional infractions having fines up to $250.00.

Therefore, any motorcycle aftermarket exhausts or pipes that are not EPA certified will be illegal in California.

Many aftermarket motorcycle exhaust manufacturers will probably not have the money or inclination to get such a certification, so for all intents and purposes, after market pipes will no longer be legal in California.

If other States follow California with similar statutes then it may force manufacturers to comply with EPA regulations.

California will now basically enforce a 25 year Federal regulation which requires that all motorcycle exhausts be EPA certified.

I have been riding motorcycles for many years. I try to have exhaust systems that have some bark, but that are not too loud.

However, there are guys out there running open exhausts that are so loud that you cannot actually hear yourself talk as they drive by.

The State has now taken action to quiet our motorcycles down since we were unable to police ourselves.

What can be done to avoid SB 435? Keep your old motorcycles and do not buy anything new after 2013. Replace the engines, transmissions, and frames as needed.

Whatever you do, keep your stock exhaust systems just in case you do get a fix it ticket. Even if your motorcycle is not a 2013 or newer biker, we are still subject to noise laws here in California.

This bill will probably have an ominous effect on motorcycle sales in California. So again, we have do gooders enacting laws here that screw our economy.

What can we expect next, a motorcycle smog bill. I recommend that every motorcycle rider in the State of California join ABATE, so that we will have a voice in Sacramento.

By California Motorcycle Accident and Biker Lawyer Norman Gregory Fernandez, Esq., © September 2010

The post No More After Market Pipes in California in 2013; We Did it To Ourselves. first appeared on Biker and Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Blog.

After Market Motorcycle Exhausts will become illegal under SB 435

Well, many of you have heard about SB 435, and many of you have not. California Senate Bill 435 will basically make it illegal to run with non stock exhausts on your motorcycles.

This bill passed the State Senate and is now sitting on Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s desk as I type this.

Our only hope now to get this asinine bill stopped is for the governor to veto the bill.

Every one of you should call, email, and write to Schwarzenegger NOW to get him to not sign the bill. Schwarzenegger is a fellow biker. Hopefully he will veto the damm thing.

If Schwarzenegger signs SB 435, it will become law. This law makes all 2013 and newer bikers without EPA stamped exhausts subject to fines of between .00 and 0.00.

On a personal note, I have never had a stock motorcycle with EPA stamps, so I have no clue how the hell the State is going to force manufacturers to put Federal EPA stamps on their exhaust systems.

I think this law is discriminatory on its face.

They say that since this is a secondary infraction, that the Police will be unable to pull over a motorcycle solely for an apparent exhaust violation, but I know that many bikers are being pulled over now for supposedly loud pipes.

You and I all know how this thing will play out. There will be some officers that will pull over any motorcycle that sounds loud, and they will ding the rider with a ticket if they cannot see the EPA stamp on the exhaust.

Frankly, I am so pissed off about this bill that I probably should not write anymore about it right now.

All I can say is that this is what happens when you get legislatures in office making more money than most of the people in the State, and with too much time on their hands.

By California Motorcycle Accident Attorney and Biker Lawyer, Norman Gregory Fernandez, Esq., © 2010

The post After Market Exhaust’s and Pipes are About to Become Illegal in California. first appeared on Biker and Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Blog.