Aftermarket Exhausts: Legal In Thailand?

[thaidiver]

Hi all,

Installed a Yoshimura exhaust on my bike 3 weeks ago, it is very loud. I was pulled over at a police checkpoint and given a 1k baht fine(they took my license and I had to go to the police station to pay, would not except "tea money"). Since then I have installed the silencer that came with the exhaust, it is still loud but not as bad. Now when I ride around town I deliberately keep the bike a a low-rpm and monitor the noise so as not to arouse the police.

Last night I was riding past a police box while making a left turn, I had a passenger and was riding slow, keeping the exhaust sound in check. To the immediate right was a police checkpoint. There was traffic and I had to stop ahead of the Police box, at this time an officer stepped out of the police box door and pointed to me while looking at one of the checkpoint officers (I saw this in my rear view mirror). Immediately the checkpoint officer made his way out into the street, but a moving songtheaw was between me and him. I exploited the situation and kept moving with the songthaew, it blocking a route between me and the officer. Then the songthaew stopped and I made a right into the oncoming traffic lane (which was not moving and waiting for the light at the intersection). I drove perpendicular through the two lane oncoming traffic and then the "wrong way" through a one-way alley and made my escape. Anyways we were wearing helmets and not making excessive noise. My only conclusion is that the officer saw my after-market exhaust and was going to ticket me for that alone. And perhaps they were preying on my ignorance of Thai law and just going to give me a ticket for something that isn't even illegal at all?

Anybody care to weigh in?

What is the actual fine for an excessively loud exhaust?

Are after-market exhaust illegal or is it just the excessive noise?

Where can I find the vehicular Thai laws in English?

[katabeachbum]

It is illegal due to increased noise level

It is illegal due to incresed pollution

and if bike is homoleg, it is illegal to replace it with another partnumber at all

and I have it on every bike including my pcx moped

max fine is 1.000 baht for each offense, one for noise, one for emission one for homoleg change. but in worst case bike can be impounded

[JonnyF]

I'm pretty sure it's illegal to change the stock exhaust and the fine is 1000 baht (if they're not taking tea money). Even if it's not noisier (most are) then the chances are the aftermarket one isn't as stringent in terms of emissions as the stock one.

I've got aftermarket exhausts on 2 of my bikes and a third bike has had the stock exhaust modified. Never been fined for any of them but none of them are excessively loud. One cop asked me if the exhaust on the Ninja was standard once and I just said "Yes" and he let me go. It's more obvious if you've got a loud Rainbow exhaust on a scooter or something, on bigger bikes with a more tasteful exhaust the cops don't really know if it's aftermarket or not half the time.

I think 1000 baht fine for an excessively loud exhaust is fair enough. They're pretty anti-social IMO.

[seedy]

When I was in Pattaya, I received many 1000 Baht fines. Got to be that I would not stop if I could get away. Only city police, never Highway Police.

Since moving to CNX I have been thru many checkpoints, never a problem. This goes for Chiang Rai and points in between too.

[skybluestu]

Guess it depends where you live and how the police interpret/enforce the law. I'm in Chiang Rai and never had a problem with my previous exhaust (Leo Vince) or my current one (Arrow) and not heard of any of the local riders being fined either. I was at a PTT last week having a coffee with a local bike group before they departed for a ride, there were two ZX10, Ducati 796 & 1198, Gixxer, Hayabusa, Fireblade some 650 Ninjas and a couple of others and almost every one had an aftermarket pipe, music to my ears when they started up and set off

[katabeachbum]

Guess it depends where you live and how the police interpret/enforce the law. I'm in Chiang Rai and never had a problem with my previous exhaust (Leo Vince) or my current one (Arrow) and not heard of any of the local riders being fined either. I was at a PTT last week having a coffee with a local bike group before they departed for a ride, there were two ZX10, Ducati 796 & 1198, Gixxer, Hayabusa, Fireblade some 650 Ninjas and a couple of others and almost every one had an aftermarket pipe, music to my ears when they started up and set off

agreed, have not heard about one incident Phuket loud rider has been fined. At DLT they just smile when they here my Akropovic, 2 Bros or Leo Vince, oh forgot the pcx Over

[ThaiLife]

A friend in Pattaya sent me this some time ago

[BigBikeBKK]

Yeah- in Pattaya they love loud exhausts as it's the biggest fine they can collect.

[Kwasaki]

Yeah- in Pattaya they love loud exhausts as it's the biggest fine they can collect.

I now know where to buy a cheap exhaust at the cop shop.

[JonnyF]

Yeah- in Pattaya they love loud exhausts as it's the biggest fine they can collect.

I now know where to buy a cheap exhaust at the cop shop.

Check your change

[Timthai]

Yep, I bet their collecting all the fines they can get, then confiscating the exhausts and reselling them to the bike shops to refit to other bikes so they can collect more fines and make a tidy profit on the resales... Nice little scam. Plus the local superintendent finds another opportunity to get his picture in the newspaper!

It depends where you live, and it depends on the mood of the BiB at the time. Being illegal has nothing to do with it in LOS, other than giving them a little more leverage than normal.

Cheers.

[visions]

Why is it that the BiB are so hot on nabbing bikes with after-market exhausts....when at least half (figuratively speaking) of all cars/pickups drive around with no muffler and after-market big bore exhausts?? They seem to be never bothered by the revenue collectors...even in Pattaya?

[blubberboybob]

ThaiDiver, if I was you I would put the original exhaust back on ASAP........the pattaya cops go wild when they see or hear the noisy aftermarket exhaust.

I got stopped 4 times in 5 days I think it was........you will have constant problems with it.

[Pdaz]

Had these on my bike for 5 years in Pattaya. Been stopped plenty of times to check insurance/licence etc. Pipes have never been mentioned. Mostly the cops seem more interested in the bike. Maybe they just expect Ducatis to be loud ?

[blubberboybob]

Had these on my bike for 5 years in Pattaya. Been stopped plenty of times to check insurance/licence etc. Pipes have never been mentioned. Mostly the cops seem more interested in the bike. Maybe they just expect Ducatis to be loud ?

I asked one of the cops why they didn't stop harleys and bigger bikes with loud exhausts......his answer was "bike bike ok, little bike not ok"

[Garry]

Hey Stu, thought you were going to call about the ride? ;-)

Guess it depends where you live and how the police interpret/enforce the law. I'm in Chiang Rai and never had a problem with my previous exhaust (Leo Vince) or my current one (Arrow) and not heard of any of the local riders being fined either. I was at a PTT last week having a coffee with a local bike group before they departed for a ride, there were two ZX10, Ducati 796 & 1198, Gixxer, Hayabusa, Fireblade some 650 Ninjas and a couple of others and almost every one had an aftermarket pipe, music to my ears when they started up and set off

[Garry]

Reckon that's about the gyst of it.

Had these on my bike for 5 years in Pattaya. Been stopped plenty of times to check insurance/licence etc. Pipes have never been mentioned. Mostly the cops seem more interested in the bike. Maybe they just expect Ducatis to be loud ?

Edited November 23, 2011 by Garry

[dcalaska]

Loud exhausts on street bikes, cars or trucks are RUDE, obnoxious and illegal. They are made for track use only.

They do very little to improve real world performance. You may think your bike is faster, but it's just noise.

After market sellers will tell you all kinds of B.S. to make a sale. Don't be fooled.

I wish all the police in Thailand would follow Pattaya Police Superintendent Nanthawut Suwanla-Ong and crack down on this problem.

[loserlazer]

Honda Bigwing is selling Moriwaki and Mugen exhausts for cbr500 and both of them are certified by Thai authorities as being road legal both on decibel and emission levels. I have seen the certificates framed on the shelf under the pipes.

So you buy one and let Honda bigwing register it in your green book and no more problems with police. I am seriously thinking about buying the Moriwaki one.

[macknife]

Loud exhausts on street bikes, cars or trucks are RUDE, obnoxious and illegal. They are made for track use only.

They do very little to improve real world performance. You may think your bike is faster, but it's just noise.

After market sellers will tell you all kinds of B.S. to make a sale. Don't be fooled.

I wish all the police in Thailand would follow Pattaya Police Superintendent Nanthawut Suwanla-Ong and crack down on this problem.

His 1st post on Thaivisa and this is it. lol. I wonder what woke him up this morning?

[thaicbr]

Honda Bigwing is selling Moriwaki and Mugen exhausts for cbr500 and both of them are certified by Thai authorities as being road legal both on decibel and emission levels. I have seen the certificates framed on the shelf under the pipes.

So you buy one and let Honda bigwing register it in your green book and no more problems with police. I am seriously thinking about buying the Moriwaki one.

Yep. What he says. The replacement exhaust has to be TIS stamped. I believe the Tsukgi exhausts that are made here are also TIS stamped. So legal (you may have to show in green book)

Sent from my GT-P1010 using Thaivisa Connect App

[moe666]

A friend was stopped a while back on Narawat Bridge here in Chiang mai, when the cop could find no problem checked out the exhaust and says 1,000 baht please. He was sent off to police station for fine and they gave him a 500 baht discount

Edited February 2, 2013 by moe666

[mania]

Interesting thread resurrection

Thanks for this info

I did not know this was a law & am a bit surprised considering it seems a first mod

for every bike 250cc & up I see here.

I had considered it but having seen the dyno charts was just not too impressed

in what $600 or more US dollars bought HP increase wise these days & have often said

I think the Big 4 bike Manufacturers really have upped their games on their stock exhausts.

Add to that the need these days for the power commander type fuel controllers to get anything

out of these & costs are mounting.

Also I have to admit the new N250 stock exhaust sounds good to my ears

Quiet when cruising & aggressive when on the pipe.

I know, a good sounding stock exhaust blasphemy, but anything over 7k rpm & this exhaust sounds very nice to me.

Also while it is singing nicely even then it is not obnoxious so I don't feel too bad zipping thru otherwise

peaceful mountains areas.

[dcalaska]

I would rather spend my money on fuel and RIDE my nearly stock CBR250ABS. I did install very loud Denso twin harmonic horns to chase dogs off the roads. They work great !

Catch me if you can.

[dave_boo]

Interesting thread resurrection

Thanks for this info

I did not know this was a law & am a bit surprised considering it seems a first mod

for every bike 250cc & up I see here.

I had considered it but having seen the dyno charts was just not too impressed

in what $600 or more US dollars bought HP increase wise these days & have often said

I think the Big 4 bike Manufacturers really have upped their games on their stock exhausts.

Add to that the need these days for the power commander type fuel controllers to get anything

out of these & costs are mounting.

Also I have to admit the new N250 stock exhaust sounds good to my ears

Quiet when cruising & aggressive when on the pipe.

I know, a good sounding stock exhaust blasphemy, but anything over 7k rpm & this exhaust sounds very nice to me.

Also while it is singing nicely even then it is not obnoxious so I don't feel too bad zipping thru otherwise

peaceful mountains areas.

On the older gen N250 the OEM silencer did a good job of making it sound like a sewing machine. Putting the DBS with db killer in did wonders for the tonal qualities. Of course it didn't do much for absolute HP increase; but think of it this way; if it went up 4 hp that's still a 15% increase. A 15% increase on a bigger bike that puts out 110 HP is 16 HP. How many exhaust get that much of an increase for bigger bikes?

What does help out a lot is the weight loss. On a bike that's down on power keeping speed up helps a lot. Having a bike that is lighter makes it easier to sail through corners that have bigger heavier bikes slowing down.

[Spoonman]

lol my SR is crazy loud, never been stopped....... crap now I prolly will.

[mania]

On the older gen N250 the OEM silencer did a good job of making it sound like a sewing machine. Putting the DBS with db killer in did wonders for the tonal qualities. Of course it didn't do much for absolute HP increase; but think of it this way; if it went up 4 hp that's still a 15% increase. A 15% increase on a bigger bike that puts out 110 HP is 16 HP. How many exhaust get that much of an increase for bigger bikes?

What does help out a lot is the weight loss. On a bike that's down on power keeping speed up helps a lot. Having a bike that is lighter makes it easier to sail through corners that have bigger heavier bikes slowing down.

Yes agree the weight loss is a +

The older cans seemed to be much more restrictive than the new ones.

I guess the manufacturers have gained a handle on EPA regs & made adjustments where they could.

One thing I will say I have noticed on those companies that do post dyno charts

or better yet owners who do as then you know the evidence is not tampered or massaged is this.

those who just add a end can net very little if any gains & sometimes actually take something away for a loss.

This could be down to back pressure being off & the FI needing to be adjusted to that.

I know many say they have tons more power but if they have no before & after dyno chart it is hard to qualify

But... without a doubt the full systems ( with dyno evidence ) do better gaining many times 4 HP or close.

This leads me to believe the main drawback in the stock systems is the restriction/bottleneck of the

catalytic converter.

I have seen folks cut the stock header at the bulge, dig out all the Cat material & weld the header

back. They say no increase in noise but power *seems* increased. Problem is they are not using a

dyno so it is questionable.

But the dynos that others have done with end can only versus full system is valid & does show increases.

So a possibility there. Does seem logical.

Here are some pics of one cut open. The cat looks like some fiber material & they do say they dig it out &

basically it is dust when they get it all out.

Edited February 2, 2013 by mania

[Semper]

Loud exhausts on street bikes, cars or trucks are RUDE, obnoxious and illegal. They are made for track use only.

They do very little to improve real world performance. You may think your bike is faster, but it's just noise.

After market sellers will tell you all kinds of B.S. to make a sale. Don't be fooled.

I wish all the police in Thailand would follow Pattaya Police Superintendent Nanthawut Suwanla-Ong and crack down on this problem.

His 1st post on Thaivisa and this is it. lol. I wonder what woke him up this morning?

Maybe the same Harley that wakes me up at 3 AM every morning.

[yankee99]

Loud exhausts on street bikes, cars or trucks are RUDE, obnoxious and illegal. They are made for track use only.

They do very little to improve real world performance. You may think your bike is faster, but it's just noise.

After market sellers will tell you all kinds of B.S. to make a sale. Don't be fooled.

I wish all the police in Thailand would follow Pattaya Police Superintendent Nanthawut Suwanla-Ong and crack down on this problem.

His 1st post on Thaivisa and this is it. lol. I wonder what woke him up this morning?

Maybe the same Harley that wakes me up at 3 AM every morning.

This subject can go on forever. Personally when riding loud pipes are safer. I can hear a bike coming to pass me from behind and they can hear me too. This alerts me to where or when i might be changing lanes or direction.

[scotty1286]

Anyone know where I can get a legal TIS stamped slip on for a CBR250R, would be good if available in pattaya or if anyplace in Thailand that can post them to pattaya. Thanks.