LAMS bike with slip on aftermarket exhaust ...

[liam_san123]

I recently picked up a Kawasaki Ninja 300 2015 from Red Baron in Auckland and it came with a coffmans slip on exhaust system. I’ve been told that the bike is not LAMS approved when the exhaust is attached, thus meaning I removed the exhaust and put on the stock exhaust to avoid any legal trouble. Also what are the advantages of having the exhaust on there other than the sound?

My question is do you guys actually think the police would care or even notice?


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[gonzo_akl]

I recently picked up a Kawasaki Ninja 300 2015 from Red Baron in Auckland and it came with a coffmans slip on exhaust system. I’ve been told that the bike is not LAMS approved when the exhaust is attached, thus meaning I removed the exhaust and put on the stock exhaust to avoid any legal trouble. Also what are the advantages of having the exhaust on there other than the sound?

My question is do you guys actually think the police would care or even notice?


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Hi,

It is not so much the police that you'll need to worry about but the insurance company that your bike is covered by. below is a quote from the Protecta FAQ.

Q, Is my bike still LAMS approved if it is modified.
A. No, unfortunately. NZTA have confirmed that LAMS approved motorcycles need to be in factory condition as produced by the manufacturer. There is more information on their website but the key point they reinforced in a communication to us is this paragraph:

[I]If you are a rider on a learner or restricted motorcycle licence, it is your responsibility to ensure you are riding a LAMS-approved motorcycle, as produced by the manufacturer. If in doubt, seek confirmation from the manufacturer's agent or dealership. If you are unsure who to contact, details for all major motorcycle importers are available on the Motor Industry Association website.

Please note that the highlighting above was provided by NZTA in their communication to help emphasize their point. The most common modification we see are aftermarket exhausts; please be aware that putting an aftermarket exhaust on your LAMS motorcycle will mean that you can no longer legally ride it on a learner or restricted licence, and we cannot offer you Full Cover insurance if you cannot legally ride your motorcycle.
This modification rule does not apply for motorcycles under 250cc as they don’t need to be LAMS approved, so long as they are not on the LAMS prohibited list. Nor does the modification rule affect riders on their full licence, as they don’t need to adhere to the LAMS rules.
For the purposes of insuring a LAMS motorcycle, a modification is deemed to be a change to any parts that were originally supplied as part of the motorcycle by the manufacturer. If you have added something to the bike that has not involved the removal or modification of a part of the original motorcycle, then we deem it an accessory and this will not stop us from offering you Full Cover.

it seems a bit irresponsible on Red Baron's part to sell a bike to you if they knew that you don't hold a full licence. I was actually in there the other day and noticed that a R3 had a pipe as well.

to answer the other part of your question, it is all about the sound, any performance gain is minimal.

[Dadpole]

Reading that, it appears that something like replacing a clutch lever or indicator with a non-factory item in a no-no. I can't wonder how many used LAMS bikes would fail that test.

[liam_san123]

Hi,

It is not so much the police that you'll need to worry about but the insurance company that your bike is covered by. below is a quote from the Protecta FAQ.

Q, Is my bike still LAMS approved if it is modified.
A. No, unfortunately. NZTA have confirmed that LAMS approved motorcycles need to be in factory condition as produced by the manufacturer. There is more information on their website but the key point they reinforced in a communication to us is this paragraph:

[I]If you are a rider on a learner or restricted motorcycle licence, it is your responsibility to ensure you are riding a LAMS-approved motorcycle, as produced by the manufacturer. If in doubt, seek confirmation from the manufacturer's agent or dealership. If you are unsure who to contact, details for all major motorcycle importers are available on the Motor Industry Association website.

Please note that the highlighting above was provided by NZTA in their communication to help emphasize their point. The most common modification we see are aftermarket exhausts; please be aware that putting an aftermarket exhaust on your LAMS motorcycle will mean that you can no longer legally ride it on a learner or restricted licence, and we cannot offer you Full Cover insurance if you cannot legally ride your motorcycle.
This modification rule does not apply for motorcycles under 250cc as they don’t need to be LAMS approved, so long as they are not on the LAMS prohibited list. Nor does the modification rule affect riders on their full licence, as they don’t need to adhere to the LAMS rules.
For the purposes of insuring a LAMS motorcycle, a modification is deemed to be a change to any parts that were originally supplied as part of the motorcycle by the manufacturer. If you have added something to the bike that has not involved the removal or modification of a part of the original motorcycle, then we deem it an accessory and this will not stop us from offering you Full Cover.

it seems a bit irresponsible on Red Baron's part to sell a bike to you if they knew that you don't hold a full licence. I was actually in there the other day and noticed that a R3 had a pipe as well.

to answer the other part of your question, it is all about the sound, any performance gain is minimal.

Thanks for the response.

I asked Red Baron to put on the stock exhaust, which they did. They did inform me that it would not be LAMS approved.


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[rastuscat]

Under the LAMS rule, manufacturers submit their bike specs to NZTA, who calculate the power to weight ratio, and then stamp the approval. The bike goes on the LAMS list.

To protect themselves, NZTA rules say that at any stage, if you reduce the weight of the bike or increase the power output, that varies the power to weight ratio, and voids the LAMS approval.

Given that the whole point of the after market exhaust is to either increase the power output or reduce the weight, that's why the rules exclude such a modification.

If the entire point of the after market exhaust is noise, get an iPod.

An accessory clutch lever or after market mirror might also fall foul of this rule, but that would be extremely unlikely to be actioned, even by an insurance company.

[AllanB]

The irony is a 200kg or 55kg person can ride the same LAMS bike, but they get pissy if you drop a couple kg of motorcycle weight with a pipe or gain 1.75 hp with the same can.

The measurable weight loss of the pipe would be no different to the poo weigh of the 200kg person having their morning crap.


So do what I do before a ride - have a massive shit, it's a guaranteed performance upgrade and cheaper than fancy carbon fibre parts.

[liam_san123]

The irony is a 200kg or 55kg person can ride the same LAMS bike, but they get pissy if you drop a couple kg of motorcycle weight with a pipe or gain 1.75 hp with the same can.

The measurable weight loss of the pipe would be no different to the poo weigh of the 200kg person having their morning crap.


So do what I do before a ride - have a massive shit, it's a guaranteed performance upgrade and cheaper than fancy carbon fibre parts.

Yeah, I completely agree. The system is a bit weird to be honest. I’ve heard even if you change for example your clutch and brake levers with shorty levers that your bike technically isn’t LAMS approved anymore, it’s ridiculous. I want to put my coffmans usa slip on exhaust on my bike, but am afraid that if I ever come off and total my bike I won’t get insurance, as another user said the only gain with putting on a slip on exhaust is the sound. There is little to no performance gain, if any.


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[neil.]

want to make it worse? the NZTA website page with the details of LAMS compliance now says this

"Any motorcycle modified in a way that increases or decreases its power-to-weight ratio is no longer LAMS-compliant"


Sooo, making the damn thing SLOWER is also now prohibited.

[SaferRides]

What concerns me is the next step in this BS, which is to stop modifications to ANY bike.

[FJRider]

Reading that, it appears that something like replacing a clutch lever or indicator with a non-factory item in a no-no. I can't wonder how many used LAMS bikes would fail that test.

Wonder no more ... A non-factory item fitted for the purpose of reducing weight and/or increasing engine power is their target ... clutch levers and indicators don't get a mention. Nor should they as they are not the issue.

[FJRider]

What concerns me is the next step in this BS, which is to stop modifications to ANY bike.

This is the situation in some countries overseas, Singapore is one ... custom rims and tires ... NO engine/body modifications at all. (repainting is ok ... within modest limits)

[FJRider]

Yeah, I completely agree. The system is a bit weird to be honest.

Perhaps you should restrict yourself to the old "Learner class" of motorcycles. ... under 250 cc's. only ... 52 owner 35 year old machines with barely enough compression to actually start/run.

Your choices are very much improved ... so no reason to whinge at all.

[WALRUS]

We're pretty chilled with modifications to LAMS machines. At the end of the day, the weight saved with some chinesium levers and power gained from some ghastly eBay special cannon exhaust are so minimal it doesn't make a difference.

That being said, more often than not, aftermarket exhausts are loud and draw attention to you so if Mr and Mrs Policemans don't like them and you're not supposed to have them, I'd probably take it off, personally. At the end of the day, it's your call, I don't know the full extent of your laws and the attitudes of your local bobbies but I prefer to go along the mentality of "as least attention as possible, please"

[jellywrestler]

Given that the whole point of the after market exhaust is to either increase the power output or reduce the weight, that's why the rules exclude such a modification.

or cause the stock ones are hideously oversized and expensive to replace maybe?

[jellywrestler]

.. clutch levers and indicators don't get a mention. Nor should they as they are not the issue.

and what if that shorty clutch or brake lever results in a bit more difficulty in a learner having full control over their bike? like a non adjustable one as opposed to one that can be set up for the users hand span?