Germany looks to ban noisy bikes

THE German government is looking to clamp down on noise pollution with the advent of acoustic cameras across the region and also a ban on noisy motorcycles on certain days.

While the acoustic camera is something certain EU governments have been looking to implement for some time now, the second measure that the country is looking to get off the ground is a much more restrictive one.

The new ruling, voted on this month, would see standard motorcycles banned from certain areas on Sundays and bank holidays. With only bikes powered by alternative drive systems (electric motorcycles) being allowed on the road in these areas at that time.

The new ruling could mean cans like this are a thing of the past...

In addition to the new rules, the federal states want to give police officers the right to impound vehicles in the event of serious noise excesses or to confiscate them on the spot. They will also, if the rule gets the nod in parliament, to issue fines to bikes and cars that produce excessive amounts of noise.

Aside from the new rules out on the road, there will also be a change that could affect all new motorcycles sold in Germany, as the government wants to limit all new motorcycles to 80dB. Bearing in mind that most trackdays in the UK have a 100dB limit, the new rules would mean motorcycles sold in Germany would have to be considerably quieter than they currently are.

While the new rules wouldn’t directly impact UK riders, they could mean bikes homologated for sale in both regions would be affected by the new noise limit. The chances that a motorcycle maker such as BMW would build one spec of bike for the home market and another for the rest of Europe seems slim.