Police checkpoint aims to squelch motorcycle noise

Off the Wire
Biker Rights Issues
ARUNDEL — After enduring years of motorcycle noise complaints, members of the Kennebunkport and Kennebunk police departments and the York County Sheriff's Office came together Sunday, July 25, to get the message out that the state law governing noisy bikes has changed.

According to the Sheriff's Office, the new law, which went into effect July 12, prohibits any modification designed to increase exhaust noise, mandates that headlights be left on, and restricts handlebar height on motorcycles.

To both help educate riders on the law and make sure motorcycle owners and those driving other vehicles are complying with state inspection rules, the agencies conducted a joint vehicle inspection stop on Route 1 in Arundel.

"I thought it went fairly well," said Kennebunkport Police Chief Joe Bruni of the four-hour check, which took place in front of Weirs Motor Sales. "What we saw reflected what we're seeing statewide: that there is a significant number of motorcycle operators not getting their vehicles inspected."

State estimates are that up to 40 percent of motorcycles currently in use in Maine are not inspected.

One of those bikes belongs to Tim Madore of Lyman, who was cited with a violation when he dropped by Weirs on Sunday.

"I had heard they were doing this, but I didn't think they'd be here this early," he said. "I came here to look at the trucks."

Madore said he believes inspection stops like the one that nabbed him are just "harassment" and that he feels the inspections are just another way for the state to take money from people.

"It's safe, I know it would pass," he said of his bike. "It's just another $25 down the tube."

For not having his bike inspected, Madore is facing a $133 fine.

Some motorcycle owners, though, have made changes to their bikes that would prevent them from passing inspection.

Those changes include extended handlebars known as "ape hangers," Bruni said, and putting straight pipes on their exhaust systems, which makes a bike much louder.

It's because of that increased noise that the state law was changed. The law now allows local police officers to stop riders who have bikes that are louder than other vehicles in the area.

While those people with uninspected vehicles were ticketed Sunday — cars, trucks and motorcycles alike — King said most officers simply advised motorcycle riders of the new law governing noise.

This educational effort will continue throughout the summer, with two more inspection stops planned, King said.

Bruni said Sunday's location was not chosen for its proximity to Bentley's Saloon, just up the road, but rather because of the width of the road at that point.

"It's an extremely wide portion of road," he said. "We needed to have a certain distance on both sides to accommodate the vehicles that pulled in."

Bruni said officers pulled over 21 automobiles and wrote out six citations for drivers, all of them inspection violations.

Since Maine law doesn't require motorcycle operators to display an inspection sticker, Bruni said officers had to ask riders to pull over and show their information.

Of the 116 motorcycles pulled over, 21 riders were cited for no inspection sticker and one for an unregistered motorcycle.

A Sheriff's Department press release said eight motorcycle riders who tried to avoid the stop were found and three were issued citations for inspection violations.

Kennebunk Sgt. Tony Clukey said most of the riders seemed OK with the stop.

"The majority were great," he said. "They understood what we were doing, and understood we were doing vehicles as well."

Clukey said it was important to get the message out on the new noise law.

"Obviously, the citizens are demanding it," he said.

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