with your user name, im just wondering what you said to the police officer in question.
and whether you were wearing the appropriate headware for riding a bicycle.
and just where the bicycle in question was being ridden. footpath or road?
then the time of day it was being used.
did it have requisite warning device, ie a bell or horn?
was it making undue noise or being ridden in a manner to cause disturbance?
you see, just wondering, cus i got pulled over the other day for the first time since losing my license.
no helmet. id put it on before leaving work to go get lunch, then went, "meh, its 500metres" and took it off... lol. they pulled me over on the way back. typical.
so, did i get a fine? did i get hassled? no. i politely told em what i was doing, that i was a bit of an idiot, they laughed, told me to push it the rest of the way and drove off... and i was riding on the footpath btw...
and you know what? i had about 27 driving offences on my record. the ones i couldnt be let off of... i have never met a cop that goes out of there way to make my life miserable. at one point, with a dui, i was left in the bowl for 3 hours to sober up before the test.
your biggest and maybe smallest defence is...why were you riding it? to get to work cus theres no public transport, and you feel a car is wasteful is a good one. having your license suspended for two years isnt such a good one
but, as with all judges, it will be some tosser wearing a wig that hasnt had to drive themselves anywhere in over 25 years and is really only interested in what theyll be having for lunch later on... no idea of the real world or just what its like to not be earning 200k + a year...
anyway, simple things you can do. set the valve clearances loooooose as. horrible, but hey. drops output drastically! you might pop a pushrod though. maybe dont!
the blanking exhaust was the best idea. either pull the back of the muffler off, jam it tight with fibreglass or sstainless scourers, replace cap... or make a thin gasket from some tin can. and only put a 5 mm hole in it. then fiddle with the size til it barely runs. you could get fancy and hang it on a balance to measure torque and therefore output, but hey... theres no other relatively simple way.
man up! its only about $1300 from memory!
sucks if its been confiscated though!