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http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_16199826?nclick_check=1 Motorcycling Calif. gov signs bill to quiet hogs
By ROBIN HINDERY Associated Press Writer
SACRAMENTO, Calif.—More than 60 years after the Hells Angels first revved their engines in a steel town east of Los Angeles, California is reining in motorcycle enthusiasts with new legislation aimed at quieting the deafening roar of modified rides.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, an avid motorcyclist, signed a bill Tuesday that targets motorcyclists who remove federally mandated, factory-installed emission control devices and replace them with custom, aftermarket parts. Those modifications often make bikes louder and increase their emissions.
The new law will make it a crime to operate a motorcycle manufactured after Jan. 1, 2013, that does not meet federal noise-emission control standards.
Motorcyclists whose vehicles lack the proper U.S. Environmental Protection Agency label will face fines of up to $100 for first-time violations, and up to $250 for subsequent infractions. The initial ticket can be voided if the individual makes the required corrections.
"Basic common sense and decency dictates that when a motorcycle drives by and sets off every car alarm on the street, that is too loud," said Sen. Fran P avley, D-Agoura Hills, the author of SB435. She called the noise problem a quality-of-life issue.
In a statement Tuesday, Pavley praised the governor, who owns multiple motorcycles, for acting to put a stop to what she described as "a few bad apples on our roads."
But many bikers say the law adds an unnecessary layer of government
bureaucracy, and that the state's existing laws to deal with motorcycle noise and illegal mufflers already keep the problem largely under control.
Pavley disagrees, and says the legislation will provide a uniform statute that gives state and local law enforcement officers the ability to write citations.
The first Hells Angels motorcycle club was founded in 1948 in Fontana, in San Bernardino County. Today, California is home to more than 10 percent of the country's registered motorcycles, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The state implemented a motorcycle helmet law in 1992 over the strong objections of the biker community.
