Editor: I read with interest the recent motorcycle muffler story by Harlan Weikle.
There’s a much easier way to quiet down loud motorcycles that are equipped with illegal mufflers. By adopting the Environmental Protection Agency’s motorcycle noise label system, enforcement becomes much easier. The federal law, which was written to allow states and their political subdivisions to adopt the federal law, has been in effect since 1983.
Since then, all new motorcycles sold in the United States are required to have an EPA noise compliance label attached to the chassis and a matching label stamped into the muffler. It’s illegal under federal law to replace the legal muffler with a non-compliant muffler or to modify the certified muffler in any way that produces more noise.
Denver enacted a motorcycle noise ordinance based on the EPA label system in 2007 and it’s been very effective in reducing the numbers of loud motorcycle complaints. Green Bay’s ordinance was enacted last summer and Boston’s went into effect last Sunday.
In addition, the noise compliance label is also an air emissions label. Replacing the legal muffler or tampering with it violates the air emissions laws. In 2010, new EPA regulations on motorcycle air emissions will go into effect. Even with these upgraded standards, a motorcycle will still emit more toxins into the air than a modern car by a factor of eight according to the EPA.
A motorcycle operated with an illegal exhaust system pollutes more per mile of travel than 200 to 300 modern cars.
The truth is that when you hear a loud motorcycle, you’re hearing a machine that’s in violation of federal and state noise and air pollution laws, and is robbing folks of their right to peaceful and quiet enjoyment of their home, their neighborhood and community.
