New NH Motorcycle Sound Level Law (HB1442)

[RandyO]

went into effect yesterday

no real change, maybe more lenient, mostly a change in medhod of measuring

also I learned from my dealer that the state is going to be very strict with inspection stations, new things that haven't routinely been checked besides sound level, is wheel alignment and headlight aim

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twelve

AN ACT relative to motorcycle noise emission regulation.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

61:1 Motorcycle Noise Levels. RSA 266:59-a is repealed and reenacted to read as follows:

266:59-a Motorcycle Noise Levels.

I. No person shall operate in this state any motorcycle which produces a sound level in excess of the following decibels, when measured in accordance with the provisions of the SAE International Recommended Practice SAE J2825, “Measurement of Exhaust Sound Pressure Levels of Stationary On-Highway Motorcycles”:

(a) For all motorcycles, 92 decibels while the engine is operating at idle speed; or

(b) For motorcycles with less than 3 or more than 4 cylinders, 96 decibels while the engine is operating at 2,000 revolutions per minute or 75 percent of maximum engine speed, whichever is less; or

(c) For 3 and 4 cylinder motorcycles, 100 decibels while the engine is operating at 5,000 revolutions per minute or 75 percent of maximum engine speed, whichever is less.

II. No person shall pass for the purposes of the inspection required by RSA 266:1 any motorcycle which produces a sound level in excess of the following decibels, when measured in accordance with the provisions of the SAE International Recommended Practice SAE J2825, “Measurement of Exhaust Sound Pressure Levels of Stationary On-Highway Motorcycles”:

(a) For all motorcycles, 92 decibels while the engine is operating at idle speed; or

(b) For motorcycles with less than 3 or more than 4 cylinders, 96 decibels while the engine is operating at 2,000 revolutions per minute or 75 percent of maximum engine speed, whichever is less; or

(c) For 3 and 4 cylinder motorcycles, 100 decibels while the engine is operating at 5,000 revolutions per minute or 75 percent of maximum engine speed, whichever is less.

III. Any person who violates the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a violation and shall be fined not less than $100 nor more than $300.

61:2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2013.

Approved: May 14, 2012

Effective Date: January 1, 2013

[nhbubba]

Wheel alignment uh? That seems odd.

Anyone have any idea how that will be measured?

[RandyO]

One of the requirements for motorcycle inspection stations is to paint a straight line on the floor, I'm not sure how that works

they will also be checking headlight aim on a new screen they are required to have, but not clear if its unladen or with rider that its checked

[Uncle Snake]

ZRX1200R has 5-10mm of rear wheel offset from the factory. Auto-fail???

[SVRACER01]

the new law will also make it virtually impossible for roadside testing.
state is requiring that there be 16ft clear radius around the bike, grass cant be higher than 6" (not 100% on height), and wind cant be over something like 5mph

no special screen needed for headlight aim. we have a line on the floor and a line on the garage door. state says thats good enough. ive never seen an inspection station check headlight aim, or rake and trail either (which is also a requirement).
we will be required to have a wind speed indicator. we are also required to have all the tools to check things like wheel alignment, rake, trail and other ridiculous things that only some asshole at a shop thats dead set on failing you would most likely use

it is a bit more lenient then the previous requirements. the previous law was 106db. a typical HD with Reinhart slipons was 104-105 all day. at idle they are more like 92.

[SRTie4k]

I still wonder if my TLS with LeoVince cans would pass a noise test. I'm glad the last inspection I got, the guy simply asked me if it was too loud.

[GingahNinjah]

the new law will also make it virtually impossible for roadside testing.
state is requiring that there be 16ft clear radius around the bike, grass cant be higher than 6" (not 100% on height), and wind cant be over something like 5mph

no special screen needed for headlight aim. we have a line on the floor and a line on the garage door. state says thats good enough. ive never seen an inspection station check headlight aim, or rake and trail either (which is also a requirement).
we will be required to have a wind speed indicator. we are also required to have all the tools to check things like wheel alignment, rake, trail and other ridiculous things that only some asshole at a shop thats dead set on failing you would most likely use

it is a bit more lenient then the previous requirements. the previous law was 106db. a typical HD with Reinhart slipons was 104-105 all day. at idle they are more like 92.

Im coming to see you in Portsmouth-ish next time i need an inspection done. still got the factory pipes but dont wanna have to deal with hassle and finding a shop that isnt gonna know what they are doing with the new changes. you guys do tire changes too??

edit: It doesnt specify at what distance from the pipe the measurement is to be taken. that is obviously a factor should we be worried that it isnt mentioned??

[csmutty]

I still wonder if my TLS with LeoVince cans would pass a noise test. I'm glad the last inspection I got, the guy simply asked me if it was too loud.

I'm sure that bike will be fine. With those standards there is no way it would fail. There is no way it is even close to 106db.

[gregp]

IMO, 92 Db for a single or a twin *at idle* is ridiculously loud, so a lot of people will be very happy with this.

[nhbubba]

we are also required to have all the tools to check things like wheel alignment, rake, trail and other ridiculous things that only some asshole at a shop thats dead set on failing you would most likely use

I never even knew any of these things (including headlight aim) were part of the process. In ~18 years I have never had this checked, to my knowledge. I would say I have been standing next to the bike whenever I got my sticker 7 times out of 10 and never seen these things checked.

I'm not going to sweat it. But it seems like a PITA for all parties involved.

Im coming to see you in Portsmouth-ish next time i need an inspection done.

His shop is not in Portsmouth. It is much closer to you.

[GingahNinjah]

His shop is not in Portsmouth. It is much closer to you.

ha ha even better!!

[oVTo]

Im coming to see you in Portsmouth-ish next time i need an inspection done. still got the factory pipes but dont wanna have to deal with hassle and finding a shop that isnt gonna know what they are doing with the new changes. you guys do tire changes too??

edit: It doesnt specify at what distance from the pipe the measurement is to be taken. that is obviously a factor should we be worried that it isnt mentioned??

I haven't looked it up, but I think it's measured at 20" from the end of the pipe, at a 45degree angle.

[ZX-12R]

It doesnt specify at what distance from the pipe the measurement is to be taken. that is obviously a factor should we be worried that it isnt mentioned??

It's indirectly mentioned as part of the SAE J2825 recommended practice (which you have to pay $60ish bucks for).

There is a video on YouTube that demonstrates how to do one. The requirements are to have a clear 8ft radius around the bike to prevent sound reflections and you place the meter 20" away on a 45 degree angle from the tip of the exhaust. Since I don't have access to the spec, it's unclear on what needs to be done if your exhaust has multiple outputs that aren't in a common location.


Edit: oVTo beat me to it.

Edit 2: The Video:

[SVRACER01]

Im coming to see you in Portsmouth-ish next time i need an inspection done. still got the factory pipes but dont wanna have to deal with hassle and finding a shop that isnt gonna know what they are doing with the new changes. you guys do tire changes too??

edit: It doesnt specify at what distance from the pipe the measurement is to be taken. that is obviously a factor should we be worried that it isnt mentioned??

im at the HD shop in Rochester. come on by for a sticker. we do tire changes but it would have to be off the bike but id be charging you a 1/2 hour at $99 p/hr

IMO, 92 Db for a single or a twin *at idle* is ridiculously loud, so a lot of people will be very happy with this.

i agree. i think we are going to see lots of bikes that had no chance of passing start passing. ex: straight pipes. unfortunately exhaust is loudest while under a load while giving ample twisting of the right grip. only way to test that way would require a dyno of sorts

It's indirectly mentioned as part of the SAE J2825 recommended practice (which you have to pay $60ish bucks for).

There is a video on YouTube that demonstrates how to do one. The requirements are to have a clear 8ft radius around the bike to prevent sound reflections and you place the meter 20" away on a 45 degree angle from the tip of the exhaust. Since I don't have access to the spec, it's unclear on what needs to be done if your exhaust has multiple outputs that aren't in a common location.

now that you mention it, it may be a 16' circle (8ft radius). ill know come spring when we paint it on the ground
i dont have all the new paperwork at my disposal at the moment but 20" sounds right. as far as multiple mufflers in different places, HD baggers have a pipe on each side of the bike. it would be highly unlikely that one pipe would be louder than the other.

[gregp]

Good video, but I would have liked to see what that DRZ400S read out at...

[ZX-12R]

it would be highly unlikely that one pipe would be louder than the other.

I agree with you that the two pipes should be about the same, but if one pipe isn't near the meter, an accurate measurement of the entire exhaust system's performance isn't possible. This actually favors the bike owner since the sound energy from one pipe will be less than the combined output of two especially if the meter is measuring a time average vs. instantaneous SPL.

For all I know this could be accommodated in the SAE spec. I'm just curious to know if that's the case because I won't spend $60 to find out.

[SVRACER01]

you could just swing by a shop and have the bike tested. that should be free.

[ZX-12R]

None of the bikes I have fall into that scenario. It's mostly just curiosity on my end to see how well thought out the testing is.

My only questionable bike would be my SV-650 with a D&D slip-on. 2K RPMs with no load shouldn't be bad for an engine meant to rev over 10K.

[G21forme]

2,000 rpm or 75% of redline which ever is lower, am I missing something or is that just dumb?

[SVRACER01]

both of you are wrong. the new test is at idle.
the test @ 2k RPM is only if the bike fails the idle test


edit. i just realized what you are saying Greg. yes. that is stupid. the only way 2k rpms would be more than 75% of max engine speed is if the the max engine speed WAS 2k rpms

[RandyO]

2,000 rpm or 75% of redline which ever is lower, am I missing something or is that just dumb?

it means that harleys have a second chance to pass if they are louder than 92db @ idle, if they happen to be less than 96db @ 2000. (or a gixxer less than 100db @ 5000) not likely on the second chance pass bikes get loud quickly as the you twist the throttle

by testing so far my dealer tested a metric cruiser that barely passed the old 106@ 2800 test, easily passes the new test with a 89db

there opinion is that the new law is more lenient and easier to test accurately,

the anti-noise crowd was satisfied cause all they saw was the BIG reduction from 106db to 92db

[G21forme]

Nevermind

I missed Oxx's post and that's what I was getting at.

[jasnmar]

both of you are wrong. the new test is at idle.
the test @ 2k RPM is only if the bike fails the idle test

Good call. I completely missed the -or- at the end of clause a and assumed it was an -and-.

[SVRACER01]

i agree thats its easier to test. the old way was a 2 person job on bikes with no tach. trying to hold the throttle at 2800 rpms while checking the the handheld tach and holding the Db meter at the right spot and reading that. it was tough. for the most part we know what pipes pass and what doesnt by just looking at them or listening to them. we test when they sound close or a little loud. we will have to relearn this a little as pipes that we KNEW didnt pass may actually pass now.

[ZX-12R]

Good call. I completely missed the -or- at the end of clause a and assumed it was an -and-.

I completely missed the OR as well. That makes a huge difference and should be a piece of cake for any mildly modified bike to pass.