It's spreading... now.. noise from PA

OFF THE WIRE
http://dailyitem.com/0100_news/x336263708/Loud-pipes-can-cost-bikers Loud pipes can cost bikers Loud pipes can cost bikers By Gina Morton The Daily Item
Loud pipes save lives, motorcyclists say.
Noisy bikes can cost you $100, police counter.
Yet, Valley authorities say, it's difficult to enforce the state law that limits the decibel level created by motorcycles with altered mufflers.
"We don't go out specifically looking for them," Lewisburg police Chief Paul Yost said. "Yeah, if we hear loud pipes, we can stop and see if it's a modified exhaust and there are citations for that."
The summary offenses can lead to $100 citations, he said.
Yet the president of a Valley motorcycle dealer said Wednesday that some customers want their bikes to be louder to make their presence known to automobile drivers.
"They're hoping if they're heard, they're not run over as quick," said Rodney Kurtz, president of Kurtz Kawasaki and Ski-Doo in Watsontown, which sells new Kawasaki motorcycles and various used brands. "Some people also want to make them louder just because they like the noise."
A new motorcycle is quiet, Kurtz said.
If becomes louder because the customer changes the exhaust system. Many motorcycles have a removable baffle — or noise-reduction unit — that customers can remove.
According to the 1977 state law on transportation noise restrictions, borough or state police have the right to cite drivers if their motorcycle is louder than 88 decibels.
An online resource, NoiseOFF, The Coalition Against Noise Pollution, said motorcycles with poor muffling characteristics or modifications to the original equipment can reach higher than 100 decibels.
State law also permits police to inspect, examine or test a vehicle for noise violations.
"We get occasional complaints of this type, but probably no more than a half-dozen in the 22 years I've been here," said Todd B. Roup, chief of staff for state Sen. John Gordner, R-27, of Berwick. "The problem in our area is that local enforcement generally does not have, or cannot afford, the sound-measuring devices necessary for proper enforcement when complaints do arise."
That rang true with Trooper Matt Burrows, a state police spokesman from the Milton station.
"If there is something that is extremely loud, we would utilize a machine to see what the decibels are," he said. "We don't get a lot of complaints. It doesn't happen a lot."