Topic: illegal exhaust in indiana?

[73hutch]

i was riding my 550 though downtown indy yesterday afternoon. not "crusing", just trying to get home from riding in out in the country. a motorcycle  cop trialed me for about 20 blocks and finally pulled me over. no ticket.  he said i didn't signal when i changed lanes. i do have a short in my signal and it might not have worked. i'll give him that. then he told me my exhaust was illegal because i removed the baffles. it's a stock 4 into 1, but i cut 2 inches off the end where it tapers in. the AMA site says there's no acoustic law for IN. does anyone know if it is illegal to cut the baffles out? he told me if he see's me downtown again he's going to write me a ticket? i know this isn't a tech question, but i'm on there alot and value everyone's feedback and opinions.

[Johnny5]

My pastor friend who lives and rides his bike in Indiana, has Vance and Hines pipes debaffled. Louder than Hades.

Maybe the law there has recently changed.

[754]

State law does not much matter, if Indy has a law against it.

 Its where you are operating the vehicle that counts, not where you are from.

 What was the cop riding..?

[Gordon]

There's probably a law on the books about modifying the stock exhaust.

[Johnny5]

I guess you should just put the baffles back in or install a James Bond oil slick kit. 

[73hutch]

he said it was a state law and he was on a harley. sounds like i should get an aftermarket pipe that even louder.

[Gordon]

Excerpt from Code of City of Indianapolis, Ordinance 225:


Sec. 18-2. Unlawful noises.

(7) Exhausts. The discharge into the open air of the exhaust of any steam engine, internal-combustion engine, or any other type of engine or power unit on a motorboat, motor vehicle, motorcycle or other vehicle or craft of any kind, except through a muffler or other device which will effectively reduce and prevent loud or explosive noises therefrom.

[BobbyR]

There's probably a law on the books about modifying the stock exhaust.

Bingo, that is how they can get you for exhaust and lighting.

[GammaFlat]

I wonder if the same officer gives Harley riders a hard time. 

[mgbgt89]

There isn't a state law as far as i know. Many towns and cities you can get a ticket though. All my vehicles have loud exhausts. My pickup truck sets off car alarms and i have never had trouble with it. Imports i have owned that were much quieter have gotten me into trouble. Most of the time cops in indiana will only hassle you if you are riding/driving an import.

[BobbyR]

There isn't a state law as far as i know. Many towns and cities you can get a ticket though. All my vehicles have loud exhausts. My pickup truck sets off car alarms and i have never had trouble with it. Imports i have owned that were much quieter have gotten me into trouble. Most of the time cops in indiana will only hassle you if you are riding/driving an import.

What you are talking about is selective enforcement not the Law. The Cops have a bag of tricks they can use to bust your balls. In NY if I raise my visor and am not wearing certified saftey glasses, many have been charged with not wearing proper eye protection. NYC has a Motorcycle squad, and they love to hand out that ticket.

[736cc]

A NYC cop buddy of mine told me that anything modified is illegal and tell it to the judge if you don't agree.

[Don R]

In Illinois I got pulled over twice by state police, one said too loud- gave me a warning ,the other said the noise is not too loud but it is modified and not legal, another warning. I figured if they could not get it straight I would do nothing. Never got stopped again.

[mgbgt89]

I think a lot of Indiana cops don't actually know the laws. My friend had a bike without mirrors on it, and called the local police to see if it was legal, since it was an old bike. They didn't know what model year that motorcycles were required mirrors and referred him to the sheriffs office. Nobody at the sheriffs office could tell him for sure so he was referred to the ISP. Nobody knew at the local post, and they referred him to the Indianapolis post. He talked to 3 different people there, and finally found out that all bikes made after 1955 were required to have mirrors.

I think most cops would rather write a warning, rather than a ticket for a law that they don't know for sure exists.

I got pulled over for speeding on the interstate by a State trooper and he asked why i didn't have mirrors. I told him its almost a 30 year old bike, and i wasn't sure if it ever had mirrors. He said "Oh, well i guess it's ok then."

I finally did put mirrors back on my bike though, it makes riding in groups a lot safer i think.

[73hutch]

thanks for all the help. i'm still not sure if it is illegal to cut out the baffles. i guess it doesn't really matter because according to the city "noise ordinance" any motorcycle qualifies as a nuisinace. i found out a friend of mine was pulled over last week by the same cop. hassled him about the way his plate was mounted. no ticket either. it kind of seems like this cop has a hard-on for bikers and wants to scare them out of downtown. i guess from now on i'm going to think twice before i take the main streets downtown. it's funny, i skateboarded for years and got hassled by the cops, now i get into bikes and it's the same story...

[KRONUS0100]

I live in Monrovia, Indiana...have ridden thru Plainfiled, Bloomington, Indy, Mooresville, Lebanon, Lizton..Brooklyn, etc....open kerker on a cb750.  Never been pulled over.  Rode all the way to hog rock in southern Illinois on a goldwing 1100 with open pipes and never got stopped.  Depends on the cop.

[736cc]

Main NEW problem in the world today is that anything thats fun is illegal.

[BobbyR]

Main NEW problem in the world today is that anything thats fun is illegal.

Now that is a NY attitude. 

[jx25]

Not about your exhaust but about mine.  I had dual exhaust on my car for awhile and I got pulled over by a Schofield cop, he said my exhaust was too loud.  I took my exhaust to the Wausau PD(Wausau and Schofield are right next to eachother the 2 cities kinda of flow together) and said it was new(it actually was fairly new and I painted it to make it look legit) and the cop said it was ok and signed off on it.
I was amazed that one cop thought it was too loud and another thought it was ok
I would stay off the main roads like you said, the story seems to change from one cop to another

[TomL]

Yeah I think the law leaves too much discretion to the cops who a lot of times enjoy their power too much.  I recently got a ticket for "harsh and objectionable noise" in my Scion tC.  Apparently revving your engine at a light is illegal.  Quick revs, but the idiot next to me reciprocated.  $50 ticket, which isn't bad but it also comes with a 2 point insurance jump.  So for all you math majors, here in MA, that adds up to nearly $1200 for a quick engine rev at a traffic light.  I drive a 5 speed.  C'mon now.  God  willing I won't get pulled over on the bike.  I was able to pass a MA motorcycle inspection with giant holes in the stock 350 exhaust, which has since been replaced with MAC.

[BobbyR]

Yeah I think the law leaves too much discretion to the cops who a lot of times enjoy their power too much.  I recently got a ticket for "harsh and objectionable noise" in my Scion tC.  Apparently revving your engine at a light is illegal.  Quick revs, but the idiot next to me reciprocated.  $50 ticket, which isn't bad but it also comes with a 2 point insurance jump.  So for all you math majors, here in MA, that adds up to nearly $1200 for a quick engine rev at a traffic light.  I drive a 5 speed.  C'mon now.  God  willing I won't get pulled over on the bike.  I was able to pass a MA motorcycle inspection with giant holes in the stock 350 exhaust, which has since been replaced with MAC.

I spent a couple of years as a Cop after I left the Army. One of our first lectures was from an old time flatfoot. He told us each of us we had probably broken at least one Law coming to the Academy. His point was to show good sense in enforcement. Some Cops i met must have been toilet trained an gunpoint and everything was a big deal. Most guys reach into the bag of tricks when they need to break someones balls. Technically you are not allowed to change an exhaust or lighting from stock. Today with the EPA laws it is tougher.
Most of my riding years Bikes were few and far between, so unless you were doing something weird
you were never stopped, now there are so many bikes they are drawing attention.
People living on popular roads are having groups of loud bikes going past every few minutes, and they of course are getting pissed.

[754]

I got hassled a lot less...


 after I stopped wearing my,


 "BAD COP...NO DONUT"!!..................... Tshirt..........

[MJL]

A friend of mine got arrested for having that sticker on his dashboard.  Maybe not just for that, but I'm sure that helped the officer make up his mind.

[Sporkfly]

It really depends on the cop.

I got pulled over doing 70 the other day, told the officer I was clocking 60 (but to be honest it turns out my speedo is dead accurate). Didn't question my exhaust (loud), the pod filters or exhaust wrap. I had an oil leak that has since been fixed and the oil that had absorbed into the exhaust wrap was smoking. That's the only thing he questioned. He let me off without even a warning, told me just to keep in mind that my speedo is about 10 off.

[Laminar]

A friend of mine got arrested for having that sticker on his dashboard.  Maybe not just for that, but I'm sure that helped the officer make up his mind.

Who puts stickers on their dashboard?