Emissions

[Huron52]

I found this site from another forum site I read.
Has anybody seen this?

http://www.epa.gov/otaq/roadbike.htm#final

[Jerry]

Yep, saw it at webBikeWorld:

http://www.webbikeworld.com/Motorcyc...bike-rules.htm

Watch the line wrap.

[Pat Kelly]

Interesting referance to CA emission regs.

Calif. doesn't require motorcycles to be tested for emissions. No inspection for anything.

Only thing they look at when purchasing a bike (used anyway) is frame and engine serial #.

[MartyA]

Fortunately this will apply to 2006 model year. But this kinda bothers me a little. Anyone know what percent of highway vehicles are motorcycles?

"Motorcycles currently account for 0.6 percent
of mobile-source hydrocarbon (HC) emissions, 0.1 percent of mobile source oxides of nitrogen (NOx) emissions, and less than 0.1 percent of mobile-source particulate matter (PM) emissions."

0.6% HC emissions for motorcycles, means 99.4% is from everything else. Isn't this a lot of regulation for not very much?

Whenever the gummint decides to do something good for me, and uses such grand data and statements like
"The current motorcycle limit is 90 times that of passenger cars."
"...reduce the public's exposure to these emissions..."
"...respiratory impairment..."
"...visibility impairment in our national parks..."
I get a little skeptical.

And what about airplanes?

[Jerry]

If you go to a search engine (I like Dogpile) and type in "Motorcycle, emmissions" you will get a raft of hits with newer articles and a few things going back into the '70s. (Joan Claybrook and the Federal DOT)

BMW already uses fuel injection and catalytic converters. Japan has proposed even stronger emissions standards for bikes sold in their markets. At least one county (in Kentucky) had been inspecting motorcyles for emmisssions already; the AMA has an article on how it helped get the program stopped. (State specs were higher than Federal.) URL is:

http://www.abate14.org/legislative/n...le_emissio.htm

I would guess many engines, including snowmobiles, jet-skis, and lawn mowers put out more emissions than our bikes. I find it ironic that this administration, with the wost environmental record in history, would push for emissions regs on bikes. Maybe they will be "voluntary?"

[MartyA]

Prolly won't be voluntary, but a law. It does not matter how they clean them up, but I think by 2006 we should see cleaner burning bikes that will likely still satisfy the rider. Remember the old muscle cars of the 60's, before CAFE? They emitted 'tons' of emmisions. Then the EPA and CAFE hit, and for a while the engines were underpowered junk as development was going on. Then they developed better technologies, we got better, more reliable engine support equipment like fuel injection and computer controlled timing and mixture and spark, and now you can buy 200+ HP machines that get very good mileage and are 'clean' burning.

I get 30MPG highway with my 95 Crown Vic with a 4.3L 215HP V-8 and 136,000 miles on the clock..

So while I object to my tax dollar being wasted on what I consider to be a small, unimportant matter, I don't think by 2006 anyone will be disappointed by their new bike.

Now, if in a few years they decide that older bikes are required to meet certain minimums that they were never meant to meet, THEN I wll be heard.