Race can .... legal or urban myth
 

Hi,

Two different people over the last weekend have told me a tale about Race Cans and how they can be "legal" for MOT's. Can this be true or is it an urban myth ???

The claim is if a can say's "not for raod use" then it can not pass a mot etc etc. However, if the can has no markings at all then it is up to the discretion of the tester. I find this difficult to believe as I thought that a can must show the "E" markings etc to be MOT'd.

Any one had experience of this "urban myth" or is it just that an "urban myth"

I had exactly this situation on the weekend. The guy looked at my (extremely loud) silmotor cans and said "If they don't say 'Not for road use' then they pass"!

A couple of months back I read that it has now been passed to the MOT centre to decide wherther an exhaust is antisocially loud. It's a bonus that most people like the sound of dukes :D

Cheers,

Ali

Yep, thats what I`ve heard, if it doesnt say "not for road use" then it is up to the MOT tester.

I got my bike mot'd on good friday with race cans on it.
I spoke to the tester on the phone previously and he told me that the law had just changed to what you said.
If the can does not have any markings on it which say 'not for road use' or 'race use only', then subject to the discretion of the tester it can pass.
However, it is a very new thing and some stations may not yet be aware of it.
There's certainly no way I could have got through otherwise as I have no standard cans anymore, and even if I did, they would not fit 50mm headers!
I fitted the db killers off e bay and they work a treat, went straight through the mot with no problems.

From what I remember, it used to be the case that cans had to be "e" marked to pass the MOT test. However, given the rise in stickers and self-stamping of the cans to avoid this, I think this rule has now been revoked so it's back to the old way of being at the tester's discretion.

There has been a change in the MOT regs for exhausts from June 2004 , The new regs are simpler on paper but also open to more interpretation

All Systems The Exhaust system should be in good condition (no rust holes / complete and secure ) and be correctly fitted (ie: not blowing from the joints ) durable repairs are acceptable providing the exhaust is structually sound.

There should be no leaks which cause excessive noise

The next part I will quote direct from the testers manual

Section 7.1 reason for rejection 2

" A silencer that is in such a condition OR is of such a type that the noise emitted is clearly in excess of that which would be produced by a similar machine fitted with a standard silencer in average condition "





IF the EXHAUST is marked NOT FOR ROAD USE or TRACK USE ONLY or similar words it should fail an MOT.

Mine passed with race cans

OK OK .... looks like this urban myth may actually be true.

So, if a Race can that has no markings at all can be MOT'd is it then legal on the road .... if it can be mot'd can the police have a go at you for having a noisy can with no markings ?

What you need to do is find a nice friendly tester who says "have you got your standard cans at home?" You say yes and he passes the race cans anyway.

Well, he knows you'll only swap them back over again so he's basically saving all the faffing about :)

[Edited on 4-4-2005 by Desmondo]

Just because it gets through an MOT does not make it road legal. Some forces do sound checks at the side of the road.

Re: the police.

If they tug you and start going on about race cans.

If they dont have any markings, the only way they can test them them in with a decible kit and coppers never carry them.

They could use their professional discretion on the matter and write you up for excessive noise etc.

Then you'd have to prove they were within the limit at your own cost, recoverable from the court if found not guilty. Same applies even if they're e / bsau marked.

If they can use professional judgement to determine your speed without equipment, they can certainly get away with writing you up for loud cans.

I know the old "friendly" MOT garage, casn at home etc, routine and have used it many times.

But, if you can legally get race can's MOT'd then :D

So, lets say that you are stopped by the police who do not have a decibel meter with them .... just play dumb about "all these confusing markings and the law", after all I'm just a biker :(

"ignorance is not a defence"

:frog::frog:

I think it depends where you get stopped, here in hampshire they're razor sharp on small plates, but seem to let loud pipes & black visors go. Then again, if you're riding like an ass on bald tyres, prepare for a fisting.

[Edited on 4-4-2005 by Mr_S]

I've pulled along side coppers in a car at traffic lights with a Termi can on my 749s. They ignored me, but I was very careful to drop the revs and coast up to them and then just pull away at low revs and the noise is not so bad. If I'd blipped the throttle or let the revs increase to a more normal level between gears then they might have taken notice. Maybe I was jsut lucky that time ... they are usually quite keen on "safety checks" around here. If you get pulled over drop the revs, kill the engine ASAP and pray! :P

OOOOOH, goody-does that mean I can get a daytime MOT for the TZ then?? After all it only produces 104db-"but they all sound that loud officer, these ARE the standard exhaust's"
No? hmmm, thought not...........:lol:

John

The VOSA website quotes the criteria for the exhaust to pass the MOT as "complete, secure, correct type and not too noisy." Have spoken to the tester who does my MOT and he says that if the pipe has no markings it's down to the discretion of the tester as to whether it's too loud. Anything stamped " not for road use"etc. will fail.

Whats a db killer?

Just found them on ebay, that looks intresting. Which ones did you get, what cans did you put them in and have you got a photo?

Cheers,

Steve

Here's Jen's thread on dbkillers, there's some photo's of mine on the desk and fitted in the thread.

Cheers Mr S, but no link.

I'll go and do a search

No can't find it

D'oh my fault

http://217.199.188.40/xmb/viewthread.php?tid=17001

We are lucky in the fact that Big twins "thump" rather then "scream" (like the IL4s) and it`s not as offensive to the ear.

Just look at the Harley boys, some of the screaming eagle pipes are seriously loud and no one bats an eye lid.

I just found this - I think you can get the gist of it ... db killer for 999/749 Termi 63 Euro

http://www.duc-ypi-shop.nl/nl/dept_54.html
5th from the bottom of the page

"prijs per stuk" means "price by piece" according to Babelfish.

Uitlaat DB killer voor 999/749 Euro63,00

Uitlaat DB killer voor 999/749 met open Termignonis. 8 DB minder in geluid (prijs per stuk)

ISN0450700


[Edited on 6-4-2005 by HW]

http://www.produkte.friends-and-bike...8095f70e18905/

999, 749

If you are after exhausts for a 748 916 etc try the arrow cans which are homologated with E mark and removeable baffles.

They even come with a certificate of conformity Officer:sing::sing:



[Edited on 6-4-2005 by m1keyp]

:bouncy::bouncy:

[Edited on 6-4-2005 by m1keyp]

[Edited on 6-4-2005 by m1keyp]

No just a baffle for my Termi's to get them through the mot

You're joking right?

What with the dry clutch trying to smash itself loudly to pieces on the one hand and the cans blatting away on the other, my bike was painful to stand next to.
You certainly couldn't speak to anyone next to it. :o
Things are somewhat improved with the STM clutch kit, but if I had open cans still I would get complaints for sure, plus I would have to ride much slower since everyone can hear you coming for miles (evidenced by the fact that you can hear it all the way round a racetrack).
Il4's are way quieter at tickover than Ducati's are, even if they have race cans/systems, they only 'scream' at high revs, and that's not what the MOT tester is listening to.
I agree that a lot of people like the sound of Ducati's, myself included, but I think it's pretty inconsiderate to inflict it on everyone just because we like it.

walenut, sorry I hadn't replied, but mr s has covered it. I got the same ones as him and they fitted my 50mm cans. They were also delivered within two days, something most UK e bayers can't seem to manage! :)

[Edited on 6-4-2005 by desmojen]

Cheers mate I'll drop them a line.

OK, I got my 748s from a local dealer (CCM) and it came with 50mm termi's fitted with no visible markings. It also came with a new MOT - so they passed.

I have kept the website photo which first intrested me in the bike so when I go back for MOT this year they can't say I fitted the Termi's after buying the bike and try to fail it.

"so your telling me you sold me a bike with illegal exhausts and a dodgy MOT". take a look at the picture pal....or something like that !

Hope it works...

Delooney.