One of the responsibilities of being a 4-wheeler owner is to find out if there are laws in your city or town regarding the noise levels of your favorite machine. Most people who are 4-wheeler riders realize that noise does not equate power. It is true that a higher horsepower 4-wheeler will emit somewhat more noise, however. This does not mean that your 4-wheeler needs to be so loud it's considered obnoxious to others in the area who are not 4-wheeler riders.
The approximate decibel law hovers somewhere around 96 in most states. Recently researchers and development specialists in the field of 4-wheeler production have configured newer 4-wheelers with four stroke engines which produce a somewhat deeper and "throatier" sound, which has helped somewhat eliminate a bit of the extra noise.
Many manufacturers of exhaust systems are currently working on pipes to help reduce noise, but systems are not currently available at this time.
So, for the time being, it is up to the rider to know how many decibels their own 4-wheeler emits. Although, as previously mentioned, most areas prefer a decibel level of 96, many prefer lower than 96 on their 4-wheeler riding trails. Most national forest lands will require that you have a noise muffler in place prior to riding.
For comparison of how loud 96 decibels really is, 80 decibels is about the same amount of sound as running a garbage disposal. 110 decibels is like pushing a running lawn mower. So, each 4-wheeler rider should always make sure that their own 4-wheeler be somewhere between those two sounds.
