[lizargh]

I live in a terraced street in london. I have Double glazing and a neighbour ovr the rd with an extremely loud exhaust. When he starts it the rumble of the huge exhaust bounces off the terraced houses, its unbelievably noisy.

I know his exact movements, when he leaves when he comes home and can even hear him at the back of my house which is long and thin and a good 40/50 m from his bike and still it intrudes.

The noise is enough to wake me every day. I work shifts so really need to sleep. It is noisy when Idling and warming up and worse when he revs off down the road like a young boy racer.

Im not anti bike. I have a friend who is a motorbike courier who drives a large bike. When he visits me I never hear him leave or go, he has said the exhaust on my neighbours bike is ridiculously large and a right old 'willy wiaggler'

I have approached my neighbour about putting a silencer on but his opinion is that if he's awake everyone should be (he doesnt seem to understand not everyone does the same job or even likes a lie in on a saturday) its driving me mad. The council will do nothing about it. Is there a legal decibel limit for bikes? im losing the will to live.

[Santa]

I found this on another forum:

This from the DfT:
"Motorcycle noise can be especially intrusive. Existing maximum noise limits for motorcycles are significantly higher than for cars, and even from June 1999, when a more stringent 80 dB(A) noise limit will be applied to new motor cycles over 175cc, limits will still be 6 dB(A) higher. These relatively high limits reflect the limited scope on motorcycles for cladding and other noise suppression techniques. Furthermore, the fitting by some motorcyclists of inappropriate or altered silencers, mainly on older machines, can exacerbate the problem of motorcycle noise. The UK now has one of most stringent series of regulations in force to control both construction standards for, and the sale of, replacement silencers for motorcycles."

This may also be of interest: https://www.publications.parliament....a/40525wa1.pdf

[lizargh]

thank you very much! x

[Motman]

He's probably using race cans or he has a set of pipes with removable baffles. Either shouldn't be used on the road. Try getting on to your local environmental officer, you may get some help there if he is causing a nuisance.

[Yama1]

Hey there, just been doing some research myself and I'm sorry to say that on the official .gov website it reads there is no legal noise limit for the road in the UK. Here's the link if you wish to read more into it.
https://www.gov.uk/noise-pollution-r...ise-from-roads

[alan1302]

Originally Posted by Yama1

Hey there, just been doing some research myself and I'm sorry to say that on the official .gov website it reads there is no legal noise limit for the road in the UK. Here's the link if you wish to read more into it.
https://www.gov.uk/noise-pollution-r...ise-from-roads

That's the overall noise going past on the road - as Sanata mentioned bikes (and cars) do have maximum Db's they are allowed.

[TC1474]

80db is the current maximum permitted noise level for a motorcycle

However, Harley Davidson do seem to have got around that regulation somehow ;)

[Mattavfc]

It's people like you who moan about bikes being noisy we cant be heard we get pulled out on,

[Motman]

Nice first post! Let’s hope it’s your last too.

[OhhEnnEmm]

I think it's about balance, you need to be heard on a bike for safety's sake, but at the same time, you shouldn't be disrupting everyone around you as they sleep.

[alan1302]

Originally Posted by OhhEnnEmm

I think it's about balance, you need to be heard on a bike for safety's sake, but at the same time, you shouldn't be disrupting everyone around you as they sleep.

What about electric cars/bikes they don't make a sound.

[TC1474]

Originally Posted by OhhEnnEmm

I think it's about balance, you need to be heard on a bike for safety's sake, but at the same time, you shouldn't be disrupting everyone around you as they sleep.

There is no evidence to support the theory that a noisy bike makes a rider safer.

[Santa]

Originally Posted by OhhEnnEmm

~you need to be heard on a bike for safety's sake~.

I always thought that this was just something put about by those riders who like their bikes noisy.

[TC1474]

Originally Posted by Santa

I always thought that this was just something put about by those riders who like their bikes noisy.

It is. It is how they feel that they can justify having a non standard noisy exhaust

[Donald8]

I agree.

[judge dredd]

Motorcycle Noise

There is going to be a problem when we get more and more silent electric vehicles on our roads. In that scenario there will be no problem hearing any 2wv at all as they will be the only ones emitting noise.


There is absolutely no evidence that loud pipes save lives it's a misnomer just spread about by those motorcyclists that want them and try to justify them, that's all.

Loud pipes annoy others and just make one deaf. The can be offensive depending on use i.e how the bike is being ridden. They have no place in it being suggested that they are or make a bike any safer. In fact they annoy many other road users and perpetrate road rage against motorcyclists in general.

[EARLE]

80db is the standard noise level for a motorcycle. While a bike is travelling on a normal speed with a normal throttle it will increase to 82db maximum. But people have been using after market exhaust for their bike like a very popular austin racing (RC) exhaust which have db killers so the noise can reach more then 95db as well.

[JoSpanner]

I mean that's this country all over, isn't it?
Miserable, grey, wet, no sense of adventure or risk, more regulations than anywhere else and still moaning about other people doing things you don't like.

[Geihelpfullg]

Modified exhaust systems

It’s illegal to modify the exhaust system to make a vehicle noisier after it has been ‘type approved’ (checked it meets environmental and safety standards).

The police can also take action if your vehicle’s silencer doesn’t work in the way it was designed or if you’re driving in a way that creates too much noise.
ke action if your vehicle’s silencer doesn’t work in the way it was designed or if you’re driving in a way that creates too much noise.


There is no physical evidence i’m aware of around loud pipes but as a biker there is no question that people hear you coming when they may not have spotted you in the mirrors yet.
I personally can’t stand excessively noisy bikes but louder than standard can only be a good thing.
I’ve very recently purchased a new bike with standard exhaust and in 2 days of commuting I’ve been pulled out on twice... if I had a louder exhaust they may have heard me....

[iRiDeMoToRcYcLeS]

Okay so differentiate loud exhaust to exhaust note sound and acceptably loud, I have owned superbikes and my favourite was a Kawasaki ZX4, it was modified but I purposely kept the original exhaust, because yes it was quiet but because it sounded right for the bike, it was an original Japanese import twin cam 16 valve sports bike that reved to 15,000rpm, but it wasn't loud, it sounded like a very quiet but very racey formula one car, most bikes you hear aroun with excessively loud exhaust are just wack one on its sounds MAAAD exhausts and it drives me up the wall most the time. I have small capacity bikes with aftermarket exhausts, they are loud IF YOU SCREAM IT OPEN, there is just no need for it, I ride at the legal speed limit and, literally, the bikes potter along like to Peds, cruising at speed limits, but if I am at a junction or turning and blip the throttle or just accelerate a little the bike barks and blips, acceptably by the art of riding with a matter of any sense at all.....these high speed bikers that scream down the roads are the same ones that the odd one here and there goes straight on on a corner or a car pulls out in front of them. The rest of bike accidents are usually otherwise totally the cars fault for not looking and being road aware. Road awareness is key in motorcycling and the illegal bike louts are in the same category as the extremely loud bikes, it's just anti social behaviour cause they feel big and hard it's loud and fast, it's more like a disease, when does a speeder in star wars sound like a total suicidal idiot on a bike doing over 100mph and everyone thinks it's just a loud exhaust it's annoying, those bikes that loud are doing high speeds.
the other annoyance is my pet annoyance I swear, it's the BRRRRRRRRRRRR mopeds LOUD EXHAUST, talk about total waste and aggravating prat club.

[Beelzebub]

Originally Posted by iRiDeMoToRcYcLeS

the other annoyance is my pet annoyance I swear, it's the BRRRRRRRRRRRR mopeds LOUD EXHAUST, talk about total waste and aggravating prat club.

In Victor Meldrew mode, two of my 'pet annoyances':
1. People who resurrect ancient threads for no apparent reason.
2. People who post great slabs of text without breaking it into paragraphs.

[iRiDeMoToRcYcLeS]

@Beelzebub
no apparent reason?
Yuh okay troll bub

[Rolebama]

There has been an ongoing cycle in my neck of the woods that's been going on for over ten years. For three month we hear loud exhaust noise followed by about a fortnight of Police sirens. Then a few weeks of silence then the amount of noisy exhausts builds up until we have anoth two weeks of Police sirens. Ad infinitum.
It's not just bikes, it's cars as well.
FWIW, my V5 gives my car a maximum of 74dB.

[NMNeil]

I live in a rural area and we get this all day and every day. OK not always as loud but still loud.
So consider yourselves lucky

[AlbieJ]

@lizargh I feel your pain! I work from work and live in a village - being a petrol head myself I respect the neighbourhood where I live - HowevSo, er have this one rider who uses the road (20mph) as if it's a racetrack! Everytime I'm on a workcall, I can hear in the distance he's coming around the corner at full pelt and the <removed> noise his <removed> 125cc makes my blood boil...So I am 30 metres to the bend, have a db meter and recorded this <removed> at 89db - 30 metres away!! Yesterday whilst working on my car I heard him in the distance and recorded him on the pavement 96db! He had the <removed> to stop....I said - why have you you removed the baffles? he said he had not and said my 125cc is within the legal limit, I said what is it? he did not know..I believe in the 3 strike rule...told him respect the 20mph speed limit, i'll record you and we'll take it from there...you continue ...consequences - end of!