LazyBeerNutz
Active member
Before I start, I don't want this to turn into a cop bashing flame war. My wife works in law enforcement (prosecuting attorney) and I have the greatest respect for those people that choose to put on a uniform every day and deal with the morons of the world. This is merely an informational post about what you can look out for if you are traveling through the great (flat) state of Illinois this season. That being said....
Last weekend I went for a ride with a buddy of mine. I'm on the FJR and he's on his SV1000. Both of us are geared up (always are) and aren't doing anything stupid. Ride was great, got a bunch of errands out of the way and after the ride we parted ways, each of us about 5 minutes from our respective houses. 45 minutes later I get a call from him saying he got another ticket for his license plate and had an interesting discussion with the officer. The ticket was totally his fault (undertail kit on the SV that moves the plate out of sight) and he's not contesting it but here's where it gets interesting.
He's sitting in the turning lane waiting for the light to change, when the cop walks in front of the bike. He had parked in a parking lot on the side of the road and didn't see my buddy's plate so he got out to have a chat with him. To keep him from riding off if the light changed, he stepped in front of the bike. He tells my buddy to pull over into the lot so they can talk. My buddy complies and pulls into the lot, puts the sidestand down, shuts off the bike and takes his helmet off. They chat for a while about the plate, my buddy admits it's in a stupid place (way back almost behind the rear tire) and accepts the ticket from the cop. So at this point, the cop mentions that since my buddy was cooperative, he'd let him in on some info.
According to him, Illinois State Police are being instructed to watch bikes VERY carefully this season and if they so much as forget to signal to change lanes, to pull them over. The reason being, last year there was a huge problem with a couple of classes of riders. The first being the "invincible ********* sportbike rider" (my term, not the cop's) who gets the fastest bike he can't handle and tears down the interstate at 150+ mph. Shortly thereafter turning himself into a red stain on the pavement or scaring the crap out of other drivers. The second is the "midlife-crisis I'm gonna get me a Harley" (once again, my term) rider, who has 2.5 kids, a wife and a fat wallet who goes out and drops 25K on a brand new Harley that he can't ride and wrecks himself the first day riding. They are trying to cut down on the number of accidents involving motorcycles. The easiest way they came up with, is if you're bike is even slightly outside of the state laws, they will tow it. No questions asked. This includes aftermarket exhaust. My buddy has a yosh kit on his SV and the cop said that if the rider is a jerk about it, they can call for a decibel meter to see if you're outside state laws. Obviously if they pull you over, they ask for license, registration and proof of insurance and if you can't produce that, they have the option of impounding the bike for that as well.
So, what does this mean...? Well, according to the AMA site, the laws for Illinois state the following about exhaust.
1) Muffler required. Not modified to amplify or increase noise above that emitted by muffler originally installed (Sec. 902-101).
2) Maximum allowable A-weighted sound levels based on measurements taken at a distance of 50 feet (Sec. 902.122): 80-82dBA at less than 35mph; 86dBA at more than 35mph.
So just a warning, if you're riding through the Illinois this year on our numerous highways and you spot a state trooper, be careful.
Last weekend I went for a ride with a buddy of mine. I'm on the FJR and he's on his SV1000. Both of us are geared up (always are) and aren't doing anything stupid. Ride was great, got a bunch of errands out of the way and after the ride we parted ways, each of us about 5 minutes from our respective houses. 45 minutes later I get a call from him saying he got another ticket for his license plate and had an interesting discussion with the officer. The ticket was totally his fault (undertail kit on the SV that moves the plate out of sight) and he's not contesting it but here's where it gets interesting.
He's sitting in the turning lane waiting for the light to change, when the cop walks in front of the bike. He had parked in a parking lot on the side of the road and didn't see my buddy's plate so he got out to have a chat with him. To keep him from riding off if the light changed, he stepped in front of the bike. He tells my buddy to pull over into the lot so they can talk. My buddy complies and pulls into the lot, puts the sidestand down, shuts off the bike and takes his helmet off. They chat for a while about the plate, my buddy admits it's in a stupid place (way back almost behind the rear tire) and accepts the ticket from the cop. So at this point, the cop mentions that since my buddy was cooperative, he'd let him in on some info.
According to him, Illinois State Police are being instructed to watch bikes VERY carefully this season and if they so much as forget to signal to change lanes, to pull them over. The reason being, last year there was a huge problem with a couple of classes of riders. The first being the "invincible ********* sportbike rider" (my term, not the cop's) who gets the fastest bike he can't handle and tears down the interstate at 150+ mph. Shortly thereafter turning himself into a red stain on the pavement or scaring the crap out of other drivers. The second is the "midlife-crisis I'm gonna get me a Harley" (once again, my term) rider, who has 2.5 kids, a wife and a fat wallet who goes out and drops 25K on a brand new Harley that he can't ride and wrecks himself the first day riding. They are trying to cut down on the number of accidents involving motorcycles. The easiest way they came up with, is if you're bike is even slightly outside of the state laws, they will tow it. No questions asked. This includes aftermarket exhaust. My buddy has a yosh kit on his SV and the cop said that if the rider is a jerk about it, they can call for a decibel meter to see if you're outside state laws. Obviously if they pull you over, they ask for license, registration and proof of insurance and if you can't produce that, they have the option of impounding the bike for that as well.
So, what does this mean...? Well, according to the AMA site, the laws for Illinois state the following about exhaust.
1) Muffler required. Not modified to amplify or increase noise above that emitted by muffler originally installed (Sec. 902-101).
2) Maximum allowable A-weighted sound levels based on measurements taken at a distance of 50 feet (Sec. 902.122): 80-82dBA at less than 35mph; 86dBA at more than 35mph.
So just a warning, if you're riding through the Illinois this year on our numerous highways and you spot a state trooper, be careful.
