Long Overdue - SMOG check on motor cycles

Hardly. I can take my exhaust on and off in 30 minutes. (Have to to change the rear tire) It will make things a little more difficult but won't eliminate the problem.

The motorcycle community is up in arms about this because as the proposal is written it will require checks for bikes manufactured from 2000. The argument was that many riders have illegal exhausts on their bikes and it would be unfair for them to have to replace them.

My take is that has been illegal to change your exhaust since the 70's. People willing broke the law and will have to face the music.

Here is a good article: Motorcycle smog check proposed for California | Greenspace | Los Angeles Times

 

Do you want to be the smog tech who has to tell the Harley guy that his chopper failed smog and its going to be impounded*? :madgrin:









* Yes, I realize this is unlikely, just fun to think about.

 

That is simply not true. The Federal Clean Air Act specifically prohibits the the removal, modification, or disabling of all emissions equipment.

The exhaust on my Yamaha clearly states that it meets EPA noise and emission standards for my specific motorcycle and that it is not to be removed or used on another motorcycle.

Aftermarket exhausts are also clearly stamped: COMPETITION USE ONLY or FOR OFF-ROAD USE ONLY. This is to protect the manufacturer of the exhaust from prosecution under the clean air act and to fulfill their obligation to label product. The manufacturer just plays dumb and pretends that all those exhaust they make are installed on motorcycles only used for racing.

 

People violate the law on all types of motorcycles; Harley, Kawasaki, Honda, Suzuki, etc etc. It isn't just cruiser riders that break the law, many others to as well. I would say at least 60% of the people I ride with have illegal modifications on their motorcycles. (6 of the 9 motorcycles I have owned had illegal exhausts and none of them are Harleys)

A police officer can easily tell if an aftermarket exhaust is EPA legal or not. All motorcycle exhausts are stamped. Legal one's will say that they are EPA and DOT approved. Illegal exhausts will say: FOR OFF-ROAD USE ONLY OR COMPETITION USE ONLY. Any motorcycle that is on a public highway without a DOT and EPA approved exhaust is illegal. It is a simple visual test. The problem is that it is not enforced.

Tampering is more difficult to spot. You are correct that someone could remove the catalytic convertor. This would be very difficult though. Most motorcycles have the catalytic convertor inside the muffler section of the exhaust. To remove Catalytic converter one would have to cut all the welds on the muffler, remove the catalytic convertor, then reweld the muffler. That is a lot of work for little to no gain. You are correct that the only way to detect this kind of work would test the exhaust.

 

Anyobody remmeber the movie The Last Chase?

 

Kind of cheesy if I recall. A future society where the oil ran out, a couple make a last-ditch run to a "free" California or something like that.

Every once in awhile, it plays in the middle of the night so they don't have to broadcast color bars

 

I have 2 Harleys with aftermarket exhausts. I sure as heck don't want to have to spend the money to bring them both up to specs.

BUT - as a strong believer in taking care of the environment and passing it on to my grandchildren in a healthy state, I will certainly follow the law when and if it is passed. (yes, I know, if I really feel that way I should fix my bikes regardless of the passage of the law) Besides, my hearing will benefit from the quieter pipes.

I do wonder though, if motorcycles only contribute 5 tons out of 5,692 tons of daily emissions. Can I buy carbon offsets?

And no one has to worry about telling a Harley rider that he has to fix his bike. All the guys and gals I know are drawing Social Security or darn close to it.

Ride safely! :rockon:

 

I think this is long overdo as well, and I've been a rider for 26 years and motorcycle journalist for 16. Stock bikes these days can be as clean as car, and should be. Of course, the riding community is filled with people who think loud pipes save lives, like aftermarket pipes because they think it makes their ride so much more powerful (it doesn't), and don't give a rat's nice person about emissions. These same folks typically also think they should be free to ride w/o a helmet. No amount of truth can convince them otherwise. Trust me, they will (with the help of the American Motorcyclists Association and aftermarket pipe makers) fight this thing. And, I hope they will lose.

 

Motorcycles are no where near as clean as automobiles. I suggest you look at emissions certification data at: Subject Top Page: On-Road New Vehicle & Engine Certification Program While motorcycles have relatively high fuel economy they put out roughly 10x the smog forming emissions as automobiles.

2009 Honda VTX1300:
HC + NOx ------ 0.6 g/km
CO -------------- 4.0 g/km

2009 Suburban 6.0L:
HC + NOx ------ 0.038 g/km
CO -------------- 0.559 g/km

Even my 2003 VW TDI diesel is cleaner than that 2009 Honda!

2003 Jetta TDI 1.9L:
HC + NOx --------- 0.825 g/km
CO ----------------- 0.125 g/km

Which is why I am no longer a member of the AMA. All they do now is lobby against helmet laws, mandatory training, and for our "right" to break federal laws. (The AMA's position is that as long as other motoring communities break the law it is discriminatory for laws to be enforced against motorcyclists that break the laws.)