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Muffler Bypass Street Legal in UK?

TBE997

Well-known member
Joined
19 Mar 2017
Messages
154
Hi guys,

this is my first post,i just recently bought a 997.1 C2S!

Whilst it has PSE (also added carnewal remote), i have been reading more and more about muffler xpipe bypasses (from sharkwerks and fabspeed). it seems a number of people have them fitted, my question: are they street legal in the UK?

From reading older threads, i understand:

- MOT emission test shouldn't be a problem as i wouldn't change the CAT,
- Insurance: i just need to let them know and potentially pay an additional premium correct?

what about the increased noise? will that not come up at the MOT? Also what if i get stopped by the police? if it's illegal, i would assume i lose my Insurance?

Appreciate any help,i have searched this forum and googled, but could not find a definit answer anywhere (one post asked the same question, but went offtopic without an answer pretty quick).

Thanks
TBE997
 
I would have thought the companys doing this would be able to say , all i could find was the noise legal limit , if the details of these mods have a DB rateing and it sabove 74 then yes its illegal .

MOT test and its difficult , a standard decibell reading is not normally done as far as im aware .

http://www.dft.gov.uk/vca/fcb/cars-and-noise.asp

Anything that fails an mot could invalidate your Insurance .

Doesnt help much but all i could find out im afraid :(
 
Thanks Dermot

I found that link too but it doesn't really give clear guidance unfortunately.

From reading across the internet it seems a number have them fitted but no one really knows.

Maybe I'll try to call garage or so tomorrow and ask them, will report back if i find anything out
 
I really wouldn't worry about it, but if you do see a traffic policeman, you might want to lift off...
 
Thanks

I am actually less concerned about the police (what's the worst that can happen? Fine?), but rather about the worst case scenario where my Insurance would use this as an excuse to void my cover in an accident given it's not street legal.

Admittedly the only reason i am considering to bypass the muffler is to improve the sound/make it louder. Also got the PSE and carnewal remote which i still need to install...
 
I know what you are saying !

I really would have thought any companys supplying parts would say its not street legal to avoid any legal battles later .. i know bike exhausts are labeled that way .

It would also be a bit hard for any Insurance to claim the noise of the exhaust contributed to an accident ..

Best with any modifications just to tell your Insurance , that way you have made them aware of whats been done so they cant wriggle out of it later on .

The exhaust would have to be pretty dam loud for the police or Mot tester to notice i feel .. think how many Motor bikes you have herd with no baffles !!!
 
TBE997 said:
Thanks

I am actually less concerned about the police (what's the worst that can happen? Fine?), but rather about the worst case scenario where my Insurance would use this as an excuse to void my cover in an accident given it's not street legal.

The worst the police can do is issue a S59 warning or even a prohibition notice. Would they? I've driven all over the place for years with a racecar exhaust on my GT3 which is 110dB at 6K RPM, so it's LOUD. Never been so much as pulled; in fact I had a single crewed TrafPol behind me with a big grin on his face & taking a picture of my car on his phone at some lights the other day before he turned off. They don't test noise for the MOT, so don't worry about it.

Your 3rd party Insurance cover cannot be voided no matter what the condition of your vehicle & I've never heard of a claim being denied because of the exhaust. Do you have evidence of this ever happening or are you just being paranoid? My Insurance co aren't interested in exactly what I've done to my car (good, because it would be a very long list!) beyond noting non-standard this, that & the other.
 

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