Putting aftermarket exhausts in the bikes and vehicles is illegal in India. There are many who do it and get away with it without any objections or fines from the cops. This video from Karnataka shows one such rev-happy biker who attracted the cop’s attention while doing a photo shoot of the bike.
The cops roll in when the rider was revving the bike to its glory. It should be noted that the exhaust muffler seen on the Hayabusa is not stock. It is a performance exhaust from Brock’s that increases the performance of the bike but also increases the exhaust sound. The cops came to the group and asked them if they were pulling up wheelies. When they started questioning, a few bikers nearby left the spot, which the person in the video claims were riding without a helmet.
Cops then said that they have seen them pulling wheelies and someone lodged a complaint against them. To which the bikers reply in negative and say that they are just shooting the bike since last 30 mins. The video shows the same bike pulling a wheelie on the public roads, which again is illegal. Later, the cops tell them to take permission and do things with police protection. The bikers later leave from the spot without getting a fine for the loud exhaust.
Performance exhausts increase the noise level so much that they are banned for road use. They can be used in private properties like racing circuits and other places. Most of the cops from various states have started targetting the bikes with loud exhausts around the country. Most of the targetted bikes are Royal Enfield, which are unpopular for their aftermarket exhausts. Even the superbikes are targetted by the cops but most of the times they get away by saying that these are sports bikes and they sound like this in stock form. Cops do not get a decibel meter that can measure the exact noise output of exhaust to issue the fine.
However, there have been quite a few instances in the past where the superbikes have been stopped at the traffic signals for the noise and have been issued fine. As the cops are getting to know more about such bikes and aftermarket exhausts, we are sure that the future of aftermarket exhaust systems in India looks bleak. Aftermarket exhausts cause a major nuisance on the roads and create a lot of noise pollution.
Not all aftermarket exhausts are illegal though. There are many types of exhausts that meet the noise regulations and increases the performance at the same time. However, they are not as effective as the performance exhausts.
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