An Act To Remove the Provision That a Motorcycle Operator May Prove a Motorcycle Muffler Does Not Exceed Specific Noise Standards
Maine Legislature, Session 126, LD 0918
Committee: Transportation
Sponsors: GILBERT, SAVIELLO, JONES, KNIGHT, LIBBY, WILLETTE, MAZUREK
Amends: 29-A MRSA §1912

Legislative Document 
No. 918 
H.P. 642 
House of Representatives, March 7, 2013 
An Act To Remove the Provision That a Motorcycle Operator May 
Prove a Motorcycle Muffler Does Not Exceed Specific Noise 
Standards 
Reference to the Committee on Transportation suggested and ordered printed. 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Presented by Representative GILBERT of Jay. 
Cosponsored by Senator SAVIELLO of Franklin and 
Representatives: JONES of Freedom, KNIGHT of Livermore Falls, LIBBY of Lewiston, 
WILLETTE of Mapleton, Senator: MAZUREK of Knox. 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  29-A MRSA §1912, sub-§6, as repealed and replaced by PL 2011, c. 158, 
§1, is amended to read: 
6.  Defense for noise violations by motor vehicles.  The following are defenses to a 
violation of subsection 1 or 3. 
A.  If a muffler or exhaust system of a motor vehicle as defined in section 101, 
subsection 42, not including a motorcycle, does not emit noise in excess of 95 
decibels as measured in accordance with standards and specifications outlined in 
standard J-1169 adopted by the Society of Automotive Engineers in May 1998, 
subsections 1 and 3 do not apply.  A person served with a Violation Summons and 
Complaint charging a violation of subsection 1 or 3 must provide satisfactory 
evidence that the muffler or exhaust system does not emit noise in excess of 95 
decibels as measured in accordance with standards and specifications outlined in 
standard J-1169 adopted by the Society of Automotive Engineers in May 1998.  
Measurements must be made by a participating certified inspection station. 
B.  Subsections 1 and 3 do not apply to a muffler or exhaust system of a motorcycle 
that does not emit noise, as measured in accordance with standards and specifications 
outlined in standard J-2825 adopted by the Society of Automotive Engineers in May 
2009, in excess of 92 decibels at an idle and emits noise that does not measure: 
(1)  More than 96 decibels using the set RPM test or swept RPM test for an 
engine configuration other than a 3-cylinder or 4-cylinder engine configuration; 
or 
(2)  More than 100 decibels using the set RPM test or swept RPM test for a 
3-cylinder or 4-cylinder engine configuration. 
A person served with a Violation Summons and Complaint charging a violation of 
subsection 1 or 3 must provide satisfactory evidence that the muffler or exhaust 
system does not exceed decibel levels as described in this paragraph.  Measurements 
must be made by a participating certified inspection station. 
SUMMARY 
Current law prohibits the operation of a motor vehicle that is not equipped with an 
adequate muffler properly maintained to prevent excessive or unusual noise, which 
includes noise emitted by a motor vehicle that is noticeably louder than similar vehicles 
in the environment, or that is equipped with a muffler that has been modified to amplify 
or increase the noise emitted by the muffler above the original muffler.  Motorcycles are 
exempt if the muffler or exhaust system does not emit noise in excess of 92 decibels 
measured according to a specific standard.  The burden of proving that the motorcycle is 
in compliance is on the operator of the motorcycle. 
This bill repeals that exemption for motorcycles.