Motorcycle Riders Association of SA - Motorcycle Noise Emissions

Motorcycle Noise Emissions - Abbreviated Article

Vehicle noise standards define limits on external noise generated by all light and heavy vehicles, motorcycles and mopeds in order to limit the contribution of motor traffic to community noise. The age and engine capacity of your vehicle will determine the allowable noise your vehicle can make. We recommend that you know your rights, and have a basic understanding of the regulations. Below is a table of the last two ADRs that were released.

ADR	Mandated From	Capacity	Drive-by Noise Level (dBA)	Stationary Noise Level (dBA)	Information Label
39/00	1 July 1988	<80ml 80ml to 175ml >175ml	77 80 82	94	Yes
83/00	1 January 2005	<80cc 80cc to 175cc >175cc	75 77 80	+5 dBA over label signature	Yes

The most recent ADR (83/00) came into effect on 1 January 2005. If your bike was manufactured after this date, it will need to comply with this standard.

ADR (83/00) makes reference to two noise levels, one from a moving vehicle (drive-by) and one from a stationary position. This represents the TOTAL noise coming from the vehicle and includes ambient noise sources like the engine, whether it's air-cooled or water-jacketed, intake tract, driveline, tyres, sound absorbing fairings, etc.

The ADR (83/00) stationary noise level shows '+5 dBA over the label signature'. This means that if your label says 98dBA then you would be given an allowance for vehicle 'wear and tear', resulting in 98+5 = 103dBA before any enforcement notice can be issued.

Compliance Plate or Information Label

Find your motorbikes information label, which can be located anywhere on a motorbike. It is not a legal requirement to have it on the frame, except for brand new bikes at initial registration. The label will define the allowable noise (in dBA) at a specific engine rpm, and the muffler system fitted to your vehicle (also stamped onto your exhaust).

The rpm on the label is defined as 'half ESMP' - as detailed in the test procedure manual. ESMP is the Engine Speed at Maximum Power, at which the noise emission test should be conducted.

Example Information Label

Other Standards

There are other standards and rules that are specific to your State or Territory, which you can refer to for older motorbikes. Generally speaking these define a 100dBA limit, however most States have since deferred to the relevant ADR.

If you would like more information, please refer to the full Noise Emissions article.

Reference Material and Websites

The MRASA would like to recognise the following sources and contributors of information on the subject of vehicle noise emissions.

Guy Stanford, Australian Motorcycle Council (AMC)
Australian Government website - Vehicle Noise.
Australian Government ADR 83/00.
Road Traffic (Light Vehicle Standards) Rules 2018 of South Australia - Webpage with links to PDF's from 2018 (current and historical)
National Transport Commission - NTC Home Page.