HIGHWAY MOTORCYCLE SOUND TEST STANDARD RELEASED
The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) International has produced a simple, consistent and economical sound test standard that can be used to determine whether a streetbike (on-highway motorcycle) exhaust system emits excessive sound, the AMA reports.
The SAE J2825 on-highway motorcycle sound test procedure is similar to the one used for the SAE J1287 off-highway motorcycle test. The streetbike measurement requires holding a calibrated sound meter at a 45-degree angle 20 inches from the exhaust pipe of a running engine. The procedure spells out how to do the test with the bike at idle, at a predetermined engine speed ("Set RPM Test"), or by slowly increasing the engine speed of the bike, known as the "Swept RPM Test."
The SAE J2825 standard, prepared by the SAE Motorcycle Technical Steering Committee, recommends a decibel limit of 92 dBA at idle for all machines or -- using the set RPM or Swept RPM Test -- 100 dBA for three -or-four-cylinder machines, and 96 dBA for bikes with fewer than three or more than four cylinders.
Chuck Watwood
Lawbike.com 770/650-0016
