Should bike noise be part of the MOT? Fines?

[StephMurphy]

I am no angel and have a fairly loud Suzuki B King with aftermarket end cans replacing the ugly monstrocities the bike came with. It's louder than stock but not by too much. Today whilst out walking, i heard 2 bikes coming what seemed like an hour before they arrived and flew by, absolutely deafening. The comments from the pavement re-confirmed the hate for bikes a large % of people hold.
Should the MOT cover excessive noise and to get round people quietening them for MOT day should there be fixed penalties for bikes that are clearly way, way too loud, full stop? We live in a rural village and regularly get 2 KTM 2 stroke off-roaders with race expansion chambers roaring about and again, the noise is horrific for 99% of people within earshot.

[TimmyMallett]

I think it is isn't it? It's up to the tester though and not measured.


Edit after googling


8.1.1. Exhaust noise
If possible, you should assess the exhaust noise by revving the engine to approximately half the maximum engine speed. The engine should be warm before you carry out this check.

It is not possible to rev the engine on twist and go type motorcycles.

The exhaust system and silencer should be in such condition, or of such a type, that the noise emitted from the motorcycle is not clearly unreasonably above the level expected from a similar motorcycle with a standard silencer in average condition

[stevemcs]

It is part of the test, most bikes end up with a pass and advise. Noise wise its at the testers discretion.

[jjones]

no

[V8RX7]

ash73 said:

MoT test is pointless, people will just swap the cans over.

^^^ This

Plus tough MOT testers soon lose work

For my KTM 450 it's rare for the MOT tester to even take it out the van !

[MrGman]

I don’t get why you’d want a loud exhaust, I like to make progress and on the odd occasion slip over the speed limit a little so I want to be as stealth as possible, just got a panigale and it’s bog standard and it so bloody loud, fortunately being a twin it doesn’t sound like it’s doing a million miles an hour everywhere like a IL4

[Ed.]

ash73 said:

MoT test is pointless, people will just swap the cans over.

Drive-by noise tests plus big fines could get a few, but too resource intensive.

They could stop them being sold in the first place, even for track use.

Or somehow program road bike ecus to only start up with the stock can.

That's a great idea, another reason for a bike not to start due to damaged exhaust chip/ loose connection, do you work for a dealer?
I am sure the police could set up roadside tests under existing powers, not that I think they should.
Why does everyone want the state interference to keep banning things at the moment?
I know many imagine that common sense and decency has already evaporated but over legislating will only erode it further.

[Krikkit]

MrGman said:

I don’t get why you’d want a loud exhaust, I like to make progress and on the odd occasion slip over the speed limit a little so I want to be as stealth as possible, just got a panigale and it’s bog standard and it so bloody loud, fortunately being a twin it doesn’t sound like it’s doing a million miles an hour everywhere like a IL4

IMHO there's a sweet spot - I want to be able to hear it reasonably with plugs in on the bike, and it has to have a quality of noise that works (good tone, pops and bangs etc), but I also think the really loud stuff is way too much.

As long as you can crawl through a town being reasonably quiet I'm all for it.

[KingNothing]

Mine is very loud with the aftermarket pipes, MOT just mentions;

- Exhaust noisy (8.1.1 (a))

[Walter Sobchak]

Krikkit said:

IMHO there's a sweet spot - I want to be able to hear it reasonably with plugs in on the bike, and it has to have a quality of noise that works (good tone, pops and bangs etc), but I also think the really loud stuff is way too much.

As long as you can crawl through a town being reasonably quiet I'm all for it.

My Panigale V4 with the standard exhaust isn’t too noisy except on cold start and it seems to be high up the Rev range, people still seem to have trouble getting them through track day noise testing though, I’d not buy aftermarket exhausts for it to be noisier more for aesthetics, but it’s a moot point in my case anyway as I point blank refuse to spend £2.5k just for slip ons or £4k for a full system!.

[Esceptico]

The standard exhaust is so big and ugly on my Tuono I felt forced to order an Akrapovic. However I was also persuaded by discussion with bike shop (not the one selling the pipe) saying that bikes are all set up very lean as standard to meet emission tests and not good for the engine. A race map comes with the pipe which should make bike run richer and improve responsiveness.

Personally I don’t like loud exhausts. Gives me a headache and like another poster above I don’t really want to draw attention to myself.

[Dog Star]

KingNothing said:

Mine is very loud with the aftermarket pipes, MOT just mentions;

- Exhaust noisy (8.1.1 (a))

My old CRF450R supermoto used to get that advisory - it was on a race Akrapovic that spat flames and was so loud. The bike was distinctly illegal to be honest, so getting that advisory was rather amusing.

[Krikkit]

Walter Sobchak said:

My Panigale V4 with the standard exhaust isn’t too noisy except on cold start and it seems to be high up the Rev range, people still seem to have trouble getting them through track day noise testing though, I’d not buy aftermarket exhausts for it to be noisier more for aesthetics, but it’s a moot point in my case anyway as I point blank refuse to spend £2.5k just for slip ons or £4k for a full system!.

Because it has 2x cats to warm up for the emissions testing the warmup will be longer and higher RPM than older bikes without. I presume a decat race map would dispense with that as well.

And yeah, 4k for the full system is insane! It looks like a gorgeous bit of kit but that's silly.

[V8RX7]

Walter Sobchak said:

My Panigale V4 with the standard exhaust isn’t too noisy except on cold start and it seems to be high up the Rev range, people still seem to have trouble getting them through track day noise testing though, I’d not buy aftermarket exhausts for it to be noisier more for aesthetics, but it’s a moot point in my case anyway as I point blank refuse to spend £2.5k just for slip ons or £4k for a full system!.

Go custom

I've never understood why people pay such prices, I'd have custom systems made for my cars and vans from £150 !

[TimmyMallett]

KingNothing said:

Mine is very loud with the aftermarket pipes, MOT just mentions;

- Exhaust noisy (8.1.1 (a))

You, on reading the MOT:

[andburg]

My friendly MOT tester said he will start failing when they issue them with a noise tester and a legal limit.
If he starts failing noisy bikes they'll just go somewhere else like the places alluded to earlier where the bike doesn't even get pulled out of the van.

[Prof Prolapse]

Assuming the noise levels are fair and reasonably obtained, yes, I believe it is ideal if vehicle noise should be tested properly during the MOT and at the roadside.

Yes, I also think fines should also be issued roadside for non-conforming vehicles, at the discretion of police officers, to allow for individual circumstances can be taken into account.

But that's the system currently in place isn't it? (With some ambiguity at the MOT station apparently)

I mean, I get pissed off with loud cans too, but is it really a good use of tax payer resources at the moment to chase the buggers?

I'd rather they concentrated on getting the violent crime, vehicle theft and burglary figures down personally... Or is that far too reasonable an answer and should I be far more irrationally angry?

Edited by Prof Prolapse on Thursday 4th June 10:58

[gareth h]

MrGman said:

I don’t get why you’d want a loud exhaust, I like to make progress and on the odd occasion slip over the speed limit a little so I want to be as stealth as possible, just got a panigale and it’s bog standard and it so bloody loud, fortunately being a twin it doesn’t sound like it’s doing a million miles an hour everywhere like a IL4

Me too, just binned the Termi which was on my new (to me) Diavel.

[V8RX7]

MrGman said:

I don’t get why you’d want a loud exhaust

Really ?

The noise a car / bike makes is a huge part of the experience for me.

On my KTM 690 I fitted an end can straight away, tested with and without the baffle and without it sounded great (relatively speaking)

I then decatted it and whilst it was faster and I liked it, I felt it was too loud and with the baffle it took the deep bass off it, decat was removed within 4 hours

One of the main reasons I sold the KTM so quickly was because I wanted a better noise - Guzzi 1100 V twin sounds much better - although a V4 sounds better still

[RizzoTheRat]

I've watched my MoT guy do the test a few times without even starting the bike. He wears hearing aids too so I suspect a subjective noise test would be fairly pointless

Part of the problem these days is that the majority of bikes seems tom come with fking hideous dustbins attached the back end, so any self respecting owner is goingt o change them some something that doesn't make their eyes bleed, if it does make their ears bleed.

I've always been fairly ambivalent towards loud cans, and have some slightly fruiter but not especially louder Fuel cans fitted to my bike. However I'm currently renting a place near a reasonably busy, but low speed urban road, and I can see why a lot of people hate loud cans. The biggest problem seems to be scooters with stupid cans, and the occasional cruiser, rather than sports bikes.