Modesto, CA Noise Ordinances: Vehicle Noise (2026)

17 opens with City Council findings that off-road motorcycle and off-highway vehicle use causes noise and dust that erodes the comfort and privacy of Modesto residents, and it exercises the City's general police power to regulate that use on both public and private property within city limits. Subsection (b) bars riding these vehicles on any property that is not a public street, highway, or City-approved private street, with exceptions for the property owner, resident, or an authorized visitor riding on land they occupy, and for riding under an unclassified use permit consistent with the zoning code.

Subsection (c), the muffler requirement, applies to that same off-highway riding: the machine must run an adequate, properly maintained muffler meeting Vehicle Code § 38280 at all times, and the exhaust system cannot carry a cutout, bypass, or similar device that would let sound escape the muffler. The section defines covered vehicles by cross-reference to Vehicle Code §§ 400, 405, and 38012, sweeping in motor scooters, motorbikes, and mini-bikes along with full motorcycles and off-highway machines. Subsection (a)(2) carves out riding on streets and highways themselves, since the state Vehicle Code already occupies that field, and subsection (d) confirms the local muffler rule does not replace or block the City's separate noise and zoning regulations, meaning a rider without an adequate muffler can face both this section and a generally applicable noise citation for the same incident.