Caledon Noise Bylaw for motorcycles

[Android Cat]

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That is the dumbest idea yet, the cagers see enough of them and they won't be looking around for anybody riding a motorcycle, they will expect them to jump into thier vision!
That stand out colour will make them more lazy than they already are!

Couldn't that be said about loud pipes too? Drivers won't bother looking because they expect to hear bikes a mile away?

Stick to regular colours and wear a whtie helmet, it makes a big differance.

White, or at least solid light coloured helmets do reduce the chance of an accident*, that from the Hurt Report onwards. Situational awareness is the most important, but every bit helps.

* with a car. I doubt it'll help with cornering too hot.

 

[Kelly Eric]

Why would it eliminate ALL bikes from the area? The allowable noise limits still permit loud pipes. They just make the loudest pipes illegal.

I'm not the least bit worried by this. My bike is quieter than most bikes and even quieter than a lot of cars. The residents don't even notice me coming and going unless they actually see me.

Saw a bike and jacket just like the one in your avatar passing through Belfountain yesterday, throaty but not excessively loud pipes on it, at least given the way it was being operated.

Actually the limits in the proposed law will make almost all aftermarket pipes illegal. I have tested (using the proposed procedure) 25 bikes, and all aftermarket but one failed, and out of 4 stock bikes, two were borderline fail. Don't be fooled, almost all aftermarket will be illegal with the new law.

Kelly Eric (Ditch)

 

[AGAVE]

I'm with you for most of those points Bill, i ride many different bikes and i have a couple sets of pipes for my bike too, when i use a set that is louder than stock, i curb my throttle quite a bit.
However, things will get ugly for all of us in a couple years, any aftermarket pipe will be ticketed.
If anyone cares to look at their pipe, 99% of aftermarket stuff says "Not for street use" etc,,,
This will be the new tactic, not just noise testing, the few cops that are trained to inspect bikes will increase, and there will be no mercy for anyone regardless of how quiet your pipe is, if it ain't stock / d.o.t. it won't pass.
Even though you may have packed your hindle to be quieter than a stock one, they will still pick on it, and that's why the whole system needs a review, the only person that should inspect a bike should be well qualified to do so.
Back in the day, you got a 48hr warning to correct the issue, now they want to throw our butts in jail.
My main problem is that they will target all bikes now just for the sake of testing them and building a database.
So guys like you who normally wouldn't get pulled over, will start complaining soon when they have to spend 30mins roadside testing 3-4 times a week.

I can see how the loudest harleys would be annoying with one of those rev happy idiots operating it, but i doubt they go blasting through the curves of belfountain much.
So the real question is, are low speed loud harleys the main issue or the guys that race through like a track?
As someone said, engine rpms will be directly associated to speed, sight unseen.

Bottom line, this issue is so friggin minor compared to other problems we face daily, we really need to stop focusing on stupid things and get down to the real hassles on the road.
Bad car drivers will always outweigh motos, lets enforce the rules/laws we have allready.

And i don't care if Belfountain really is treated like a race track, if some residents are actually putting oil or debris on the roadway on purpose, they should be charged with murder when someone gets killed.

 

[Rob MacLennan]

+1 there's an odd effect that some drivers display when they see a motorcycle with a high vis vest wearing rider on it...more than once the car in front of me has slowed down and the driver pays a lot of attention. I'm pretty sure that for an instant they aren't sure if the rider is a cop.

I have an Icon MilSpec vest and it's pretty comfy actually. I always wear it on longer rides.

What are regular colours?

Should we all ride black bikes with black gear and a white hemet?

Any way you can make yourself more visible is a good thing. The nice part about "loud clothing" is that it does not anger
anybody but the fashion police...

Fashion Ploice :lol:

Funny thing is that, when I'm riding my bike in afternoon rush-hour traffic, some drivers seem to mistake me for the POLICE police. If I hook a finger at some idiot who is ignoring the no turns sign coming out of The Eaton Centre at Shuter, nine times out of ten that person will go straight through the light instead.

 

[Ice Pic]

It's a fallacy that residents are throwing oil, anti-freeze, rocks on the road. I think someone on this thread is getting the natural stream at the top of the hair-pin confused with an oli spill. It's not oil, oil doesn't evaporate. It's part of the natural stream that runs under the hair-pin...it's spill off. It'll get you too if you're not aware of it. I know a few guys that have been taken out by it. As far as gravel, never seen it and I drive that road two to three times a week. The solution as I've written for the residents is simple - let the road go to hell - don't repave it. No bikes will come. Problem solved.

 

[Rob MacLennan]

The last time I was there, I stopped and checked it. It wasn't water.

 

[Ice Pic]

Edit

 

[Brian P]

Actually the limits in the proposed law will make almost all aftermarket pipes illegal. I have tested (using the proposed procedure) 25 bikes, and all aftermarket but one failed, and out of 4 stock bikes, two were borderline fail. Don't be fooled, almost all aftermarket will be illegal with the new law.

Kelly Eric (Ditch)

Three of my four motorcycles have aftermarket exhausts. I've had all of them tested independently (GreyGhost from this forum - thanks again). ALL of them passed. One of the bikes with aftermarket exhaust was the quietest one - NOT the one with the stock exhaust ...

 

[bonner_stabone]

Just found this article..

If Caledon passes a proposed bylaw on motorcycle noise on Tuesday, it will be tougher than the standard that most bikes currently have to meet in Canada.
Under the new law, OPP officers and the town bylaw officer would be allowed to stop motorcyclists anywhere within the town limits and test their bikes’ noise levels.

If a bike’s sound level exceeds 92dbA at idle, or 96dbA at any other engine speed, when the sound meter is held 50 cm from the end of the exhaust pipe, the rider could face a fine of $150. If riders choose to fight the ticket in court and lose, they could be fined $1,000.
Repeat offenders face fines of up to $5,000.
Town council has held public meetings of its draft bylaw and intends to pass the law Tuesday.
After an undetermined “grace period” of testing next spring, tickets would then be issued.

If it’s passed as written, the Caledon test is certain to fail a substantial percentage of standard, unaltered late model and new motorcycles that are equipped with Canadian government-approved silencers.

At a public information session held earlier this month at the town hall, about 100 people showed up, including town council and officials, the Caledon OPP, a representative of the Motorcycle and Moped Industry Council (the industry’s lobby group), a large number of citizens (mostly from the Belfountain/Forks of the Credit area) and many motorcyclists.

At the meeting, Staff Sgt. Greg Sweeney of the Caledon OPP supported the proposed motorcycle testing bylaw, saying that the current provincial law regarding noisy motorcycles was “unenforceable” because it does not have numerical standards.

Luc Fournier, director of policy and government relations for the motorcycle industry lobby group, told the meeting he has given presentations to town and city councils across the country, promoting the concept that they adopt a motorcycle sound testing method, with standards based on a Society of Automotive Engineers test known as SAE J2825, as their noise control bylaw.


The Caledon draft bylaw uses a 96 dBA maximum level without specifying the r.p.m. at which that test will be done, which means there will be no proper scientific or technical basis to the test.

Fournier’s test was developed by professional engineers under contract to the motorcycle industry in Canada and the U.S., to ensure that current motorcycles manufactured or imported to Canada and equipped with silencers that meet the Canadian government standards will not be ticketed.

What the town of Caledon is currently considering is potentially a much more restrictive standard than the standards proposed by Fournier.
Nadia Koltun, director of legal services for Caledon, said this week that the bylaw as drafted, unless altered by the council in its meeting on Tuesday, would be adopted in its current form.

If challenged in court the Town’s policy is to defend its bylaws unless otherwise directed by town council.

Hey i think we all missed what is really gonging on here. Once this comes into effect, any biker can be stopped at any time.....that is what all this is about and nothing more......keep trying to cover our eyes to the truth. Also so if i take this to court and loose i am on the hook for 850 more. we let governing bodies get away with way too much. So I do not have any rights anymore it seem. And any cops on this four (you are very easy to spot) wake the **** up. It is to serve and protect not to push people around cause I used to get picked on. So start serving for the community and not for the small few who out rank you and are getting huge kick backs to enforce bs like this.

 

[Brian P]

This does not change ANYTHING with regards to the ability of the police to stop "any biker at any time". They can already do that to check your insurance papers. And they can stop "any driver at any time", too. It changes NOTHING.

And with regards to the costs of this in court ... The good thing about SAE J2825 is that it is an objective standard. It has a numerical limit and a defined test procedure. You can do that test procedure yourself, and know in advance whether your vehicle is in compliance or not. If it is in compliance ... most likely it will be quiet enough that the police won't even give you a second look about it ... and if they do, you know already what the result is going to be. There is no fine and no court costs if your vehicle is in compliance!

Keep in mind that what is on the books right now is HTA s. 75 which is NOT objective, does NOT have a defined test procedure, and places you at the whims of a police officer. Having an objective standard in place, is an improvement over a situation that places you at the whims of a police officer with little recourse if your bike is not absolutely stock.

 

[turbodish]

Hey i think we all missed what is really gonging on here. Once this comes into effect, any biker can be stopped at any time.....that is what all this is about and nothing more......keep trying to cover our eyes to the truth.

Even without this bylaw, any motorcycle (and any car or truck too for that matter) can be stopped at any time for documentation checks or vehicle fitness inspections. No "probable cause" is required. Such stops have been in the HTA for a very long time, and the validity of such stops has been reaffirmed by the Supreme Court of Canada. http://www.hrcr.org/safrica/privacy/r_ladouceur.html

Also so if i take this to court and loose i am on the hook for 850 more.

Possible, but not likely unless there are outrageous circumstances surrounding your ticket or you have a lengthy prior history of similar tickets.

we let governing bodies get away with way too much. So I do not have any rights anymore it seem.

No rights? How so? Because you can no longer use your motorcycle to create unreasonable noise with impunity?

Rights are a matter of balance - your rights vs the rights of others, and in this case the rights of residents to quiet enjoyment of their homes and property. This noise bylaw seeks to balance the rights of all involved.

And any cops on this four (you are very easy to spot) wake the **** up. It is to serve and protect not to push people around cause I used to get picked on. So start serving for the community and not for the small few who out rank you and are getting huge kick backs to enforce bs like this.

It's the residents who live in the various affected "communities" that are calling for curbs on unreasonable motorcycle exhaust noise. Why should they have to put up with it?

It's the small (penis) few that are insisting on their right to run with open or near-open pipes. When you come into their community with your obnoxiously loud pipes, you are the problem, not the cops who will use this bylaw to help protect the community from your obnoxious and completely unnecessary noise.

 

[AGAVE]

We may as well give up all our rights and stay home.

I love the way they threaten to nail you with a 1000$ fine if you lose in court :lol:
What happened to the regular system where the loser pays the court costs?
I'm better protected against such inflated costs as a consumer when i buy gas.

I dare any person on gtam with an aftermarket exhaust pipe to try to run the gauntlet in Caledon next year.
You can be sure they will be revvin the bikes up until they fail, nothing but the stock system will pass, and in many cases i believe many stock bikes will fail also.
Add to that some incompetent testers and a few bully cops, it's guaranteed to be a huge cash cow and a way to harass motorcyclists.
Anyone living near there will really be upset when they get targeted every day and have to waste 30mins appeasing some nerd with authority and a hard on for loud pipes..

 

[iridebikes]

I can see how the loudest harleys would be annoying with one of those rev happy idiots operating it, but i doubt they go blasting through the curves of belfountain much.
So the real question is, are low speed loud harleys the main issue or the guys that race through like a track?
As someone said, engine rpms will be directly associated to speed, sight unseen.

Bottom line, this issue is so friggin minor compared to other problems we face daily, we really need to stop focusing on stupid things and get down to the real hassles on the road.
Bad car drivers will always outweigh motos, lets enforce the rules/laws we have allready.

And i don't care if Belfountain really is treated like a race track, if some residents are actually putting oil or debris on the roadway on purpose, they should be charged with murder when someone gets killed.

Not a summer day goes by for me without hearing at least one Harley riding fag with open pipes incessantly revving his tractor to get attention. It happens downtown, and it happens in the country. Some sportbikes are just as loud, but it tends to be far more common for the big twin crowd to put open pipes on their crappy bikes and make noise just to be seen. They do this in Belfountain. Its not a case of folks with loud exhausts puttering by at idle, they rev up on purpose because they're attention-whores.

If I lived somewhere such as the Forks and loud motorcycles were endlessly wizzing by my house making unreasonable amounts of noise I'd be fighting for this bylaw as well. If you can't find some peace inside your own home there's a problem. And their need to be able to enjoy peace and quiet inside their own homes far and away trumps your 'need' to put open pipes on your 2 wheel tractor just to garner some attention.

Furthermore, having a well documented standard testing procedure in place is better than what we have now. At least you can stand by while they do the test and point out what (if anything) they're doing wrong. You also have the ability to later go to a professional to replicate the results, and use that as evidence in the odd case that the piggies screwed up the roadside tests.

 

[AGAVE]

Not a summer day goes by for me without hearing at least one Harley riding fag with open pipes incessantly revving his tractor to get attention. It happens downtown, and it happens in the country. Some sportbikes are just as loud, but it tends to be far more common for the big twin crowd to put open pipes on their crappy bikes and make noise just to be seen. They do this in Belfountain. Its not a case of folks with loud exhausts puttering by at idle, they rev up on purpose because they're attention-whores.

If I lived somewhere such as the Forks and loud motorcycles were endlessly wizzing by my house making unreasonable amounts of noise I'd be fighting for this bylaw as well. If you can't find some peace inside your own home there's a problem. And their need to be able to enjoy peace and quiet inside their own homes far and away trumps your 'need' to put open pipes on your 2 wheel tractor just to garner some attention.

Furthermore, having a well documented standard testing procedure in place is better than what we have now. At least you can stand by while they do the test and point out what (if anything) they're doing wrong. You also have the ability to later go to a professional to replicate the results, and use that as evidence in the odd case that the piggies screwed up the roadside tests.

I fully agree that Harleys with straight pipes are the #1 offender, it's usually some numb nut who has too much money and only rides when it's nice outside.
That's the extreme, and they will be easy to pick off.

The real problem, is that every bike will get stopped and harassed now, just for the purpose of justifying this new bylaw.
Many people have nice aftermarket pipes that are slightly louder and sound nice as long as the operator isn't revvin the engine.
This is the group that will be crying foul.
Sure you may ride it quietly, but when a cop is revvin the thing, it won't pass if they don't want it to, i promise you that much.

The last part of your post is wishful thinking, and irrelevant, considering getting it professionally assessed and tested by an independent company, plus research and a day in court, will cost you more than the 1000$ fine.
Does that seem ok to you? Having to defend yourself in court after some cop decides your pipes don't pass?

And i'd love to see you try to "point out what they're doing wrong" on the side of the road, they'll smack you with a couple more bogus tickets just to keep you quiet and prove how much authority they really do have.

Mark my words now, next summer, innocent people will be crying foul in Caledon, and i'm not talking about Harleys that deserve it, i'm talking about every non-stock piped bike, they will all be getting tickets.
It's clearly marked on all aftermarket exhausts, "NOT FOR ROAD USE" "For racing purposes only" whatever it says on your pipe will be good enough for them to tow your bike, no decibal sound test needed.

 

[iridebikes]

The markings on the pipes have nothing to do with anything. This bylaw will follow a standard testing procedure.

We can make what if scenarios all day long and Im sure SOMEBODY, SOMEWHERE will be ticketed unjustifiably but we do it to ourselves. The coppers will probably put on a blitz when the law is enacted and eventually it'll die down when people get the message. Something tells me they're after the real offenders anyway and that most bikes riding by quietly won't be bothered.

 

[AGAVE]

The markings on the pipes have nothing to do with anything. This bylaw will follow a standard testing procedure.

We can make what if scenarios all day long and Im sure SOMEBODY, SOMEWHERE will be ticketed unjustifiably but we do it to ourselves. The coppers will probably put on a blitz when the law is enacted and eventually it'll die down when people get the message. Something tells me they're after the real offenders anyway and that most bikes riding by quietly won't be bothered.

Well then you my friend, are in for a big surprise.

 

[gcrouse]

so much for "loud pipes save lives" slogan

 

[DaFrEnCh-TiCkLeR]

Problem that most forget is it's real simple

Once they have a legit reason to stop you for nothing they will and then cross your fingers they dont find more ****, like that registration you forgot to sign or your burned bulbs and ****** tires.

Laws like this give the bears a fair playing game to stop anyone, scooters, bikes, cruisers, harley's japs and all.

Try riding a motorcycle in my home town in quebec now just for fun, call me when you need a lawyer down there for your tickets

 

[iridebikes]

Well then you my friend, are in for a big surprise.

Probably not, as I don't bother going to the Forks any more.

 

[iridebikes]

Problem that most forget is it's real simple

Once they have a legit reason to stop you for nothing they will and then cross your fingers they dont find more ****, like that registration you forgot to sign or your burned bulbs and ****** tires.

Laws like this give the bears a fair playing game to stop anyone, scooters, bikes, cruisers, harley's japs and all.

Try riding a motorcycle in my home town in quebec now just for fun, call me when you need a lawyer down there for your tickets

They can already stop you for nothing. They've always been able to stop you for nothing.

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