The point is that the issue of loud pipes must be included in the bigger debate of excessive noise. Sure, there will be cases where local communities specifically ban or restrict motorcycles because of the noise. Riders must challenge those restrictions at every opportunity. But they will be much harder to overturn if there are already deep restrictions on all noise over a certain limit at the federal and state levels.
Just where in the overall hierarchy of noise makers do other organizations put motorcycles? As noted with the Right To Quiet Society, pretty high. Sound intensity is measured in decibels (dB), a relative unit of sound loudness to humans. Zero decibels is considered the point where a person begins to hear a sound. A quiet room is about 40 dB. Sounds greater than 80 dB are considered potentially dangerous. The EPA stated that typical noise emissions per vehicle are 85 dB for an auto, 95 dB for a heavy truck, 100 dB for a bus, and 110 dB for a motorcycle. The EPA further states that numerous research projects on the effects of noise indicate that an outdoor sound level of 65 dB is unacceptable and an outdoor level of less than 55 dB is desirable. Current EPA noise-emission standards for street motorcycles are in the low 80s.
Get informed on the issues-on the current situation and on existing or pending legislation, regulations, and especially your local ordinances. For example, the City of Houston has a noise and sound-level regulation which states that no person shall permit a sound discernible beyond their property that exceeds 65 dB during the day and 58 during the night. If city officials chose to enforce that code, most bikers in Houston wouldn't be able to start up in their own driveways. To learn what the restrictions are in your area, go to the Noise Pollution Clearinghouse (www.nonoise.org) and search its NPC Law Library.
Join a motorcycle organization such as the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) or the Motorcycle Riders Foundation (MRF). You may not agree with their position on every issue, but at least they're up there pointing the finger in the face of the powers-that-be and reminding them that bikers have rights, too!
Get involved at the local level. It's more likely that your homeowners association will ban your bike from the neighborhood-or your county sheriff will write you a ticket-than the state police will pull you over for loud pipes. Be sensitive to your community's perception of motorcycles and be willing to join in to educate and inform nonriders of the issues so that a balanced and reasonable compromise can be reached.