Ok, so on Saturday late morning, we crossed into maine on ITS 84 toward Ocquossoc from Pittsburg. Approximately 2 miles into Maine, there was a group of F+G officers checking stickers and other items. One rider in our group (not me) had a can and was asked to pull over, which he did. He was then given a ticket for modified exhaust IN ADDITION to being told to turn around and go back to NH.

While, in my persoanl opinion, refusing him entry into maine should have been enough, I understand about the ticket. Hey, he was against the law and has to pay for it. Two things come to mind, however-

1) we were only in maine for like 2 miles and passed zero houses. Couldn't they have just turned him around without having to add insult to injury? Did we come across a fish cop with a bad attitude or is this the policy???

2) hypothetical- What happens if a maine resident gets caught with a mod exhaust? Do they allow him to ride back home, or do they force him to abandon or what? It seems like there isn't really a clear cut rule to what happens when someone gets caught with a modified exhaust and where they are from...

I am in no way defending my buddy here, and am probably one of the few who think F+G need to enforce trail laws in order to maintain order. I just was looking for clarification on this for future information.

I think since it was a NH ME crossing they chose to give it lots of attention. Had you found a warden on his own you may have gotten some lighter treatment. Its just the way the sport is going. Why give them any reason at all to pull you over by modifying an exhaust.

I think you answered your own questions.

Loud pipes on the trails gets land shut off to sleds. Just my .02

I was in Millinocket this weekend and I heard a few sleds with ridiculous loud cans. One was at the heritage hotel downtown. It was on a Arctic cat. F'n thing was real loud and I was so hoping a Warden pulled in and busted their ass. The other was in Sherman Mills. Guy on a Yami pulls in and this thing is so frigen loud when he started it I thought my sled blew up. It just amazed me someone could ride that thing all day and not go insane. I love fast cars, sleds, bikes, boats, you name it but there is a point. And when doing it is going to make the sport we love get penalized and cause us to lose area to ride on be a fucking man and put the thing away and do what is best. And for those that wanna drop a little weight and that kind of horseshit excuse, get a gym membership and lose some of your midsection. I am sure that will outweigh the can savings. Rant over.

Ayuh

I can say that I have never had any experiences like that. I can count the number of fish cops on one hand I have seen I am sure this was a targeted border thing. I do see their point but hope it doesn't get like NH where they write tickets like it is an industry.

snodeo weekend crossing into maine with loud exhaust....... errrrr..... kinda asking for it dont ya think?

surprised NH didnt bag him in p-burg.

Whatever it takes for people to get the hint about loud pipes.

This is a spot that they do alot of registration checking....especially on weekends. If they happen to bag a guy for loud exhaust, than bonus for them I guess. This is one of the few spots I've actually seen Maine wardens patroling. The other spot is on 19/ITS80 in Evergreen Valley.

loud cans are illegal in NH too. Just don't put em on we already have enough people hating us already.

Yea. kinda like when I cam across in to NH from Maine and got a stupid ass speeding ticket... whats with that shit,,, was only in the state for 2 min and bam hit with a fine,,,dumb ass speed limits....wtf so in closing I guess NH fish cops are just as bad on border riders eh

IMHO, people with loud cans should have to park their sled and drag them off. There is no need for them and they do not add any power. I recently posted and gated my land for this reason. Being woken up at 1 am by a sled with a can became too frequent. Pretty bad when there are 500's that are twice as loud as my mod Thundercat.

And this was kind of my point-

Iam not condoning cans and pipes, and in fact we warned this rider several times before the ride that he was playing with fire. I just wish there was some sort of SET IN STONE protocol for the F+G to follow in these instances. In my humble opinion, it is too subjective. If 100% of all riders caught with a can had to abandon their sleds or tow it back home, I would be happy. Unfortunately, I don't think this is the case. Like I said, I completely understand and agree with trying to shut down noise violations, etc..., I am just looking to see this enforced in a more "official" manner.

Does this make sense?

I hear what you are saying Gold, but I would think after all this that the guy in your group wont be bringing that loud ass can back up here. sucks to be him and all that but hopefully he learned. When you do shit like that and know it is illegal you are gonna get what is comng to you.

I guess I just do not understand why people add something that slows them down and makes a lot of noise. Do these folks suffer from an inferiority complex or is it to impress others?

I agree, there is no consistency to the fines issued and it is usually a biased decision made by the warden. The only foolproof method to ensure you will not be fined is to leave the exhaust alone.

I do not like the fact that I closed down a section of trail and had to go through the trouble of installing a gate (signs did not work), but until people come to the realization that they need to be held accountable for their actions, that is the way it has to be.

OK I have to ask this seems to be a exhaust bashing thread, but did they even measure how loud his exhaust was????? Here is the law I dont kow how loud his sled was maybe it was ridiculous case closed, but some cops are crooks they are just regular people like anyone else some good some bad so a little common sense goes a long ways. I didnt find a title anywhere that says you can not modify your exhaust in anyway. MOST sleds unless you ride like a retard can be pretty quiet until you get out of town.

Snowmobile noise level limits. This subsection governs noise levels for snowmobiles.

A. Except as provided in section 13112, a person may not:

1. Operate a snowmobile that exceeds the noise limits for that snowmobile established in paragraph B; or

2. Modify a snowmobile in a manner that amplifies or otherwise increases total noise emission above that of the snowmobile as originally constructed, regardless of the date of manufacture.

B. The following noise levels are established:

1. Every snowmobile manufactured after February 1, 1975, and offered for sale or sold in this State must be constructed to limit total vehicle noise to not more than 78 decibels of sound pressure level at 50 feet on the "A" scale, as measured by the SAE standards J-192;

2. Snowmobiles manufactured after October 1, 1973, but on or before February 1, 1975, and offered for sale or sold in this State must be constructed to limit the total vehicle noise to not more than 82 decibels of sound pressure level at 50 feet on the "A" scale, as measured by the SAE standards J-192; and

3. Snowmobiles manufactured on or before October 1, 1973 are not subject to a specific noise level, except that they may not be modified in violation of this subsection.

It's important to get the word out that pipes are not to be tolerated, your buddy was an unfortunate example of that. Personally I think if you were further into Maine and not on the border coming from NH it would have different, ticket but not kicked out of the state.

They don't have to measure anything if common sense says that it is waaaaay louder than stock. They'll win in court no matter what. I'm sure that for the most part, they are going after the super loud sleds that won't stand a chance of beating a ticket.

So how much is the fine for loud exhaust?

Hey they are your rights I am just letting you know what the law as I could find it read. I dont know what this guy was doing maybe his sled was way to loud maybe the fish cop was an ass, but without measuring it I cant see how it would stand up in court, unless the fish cop has some sort of decible meter built into his bionic ear. That being said it takes some common sense too we ride motorcycles with after market exhaust and have some of the same issues with crooked cops in the area. They can write you for excessive noise but only if you are being stupid. The one thing you want to remember is that you are riding on someone elses property when you are close to town and you have to imagine that no one wants to hear you goofing off. Out in the middle of the woods up in the allagash who cares but if you want to continue to ride in peoples back yards you had better keep it down