Hey, guys. I know that I've seen a couple threads on this but I was just wondering if anyone has had a chance to gander at the new standards in place for bikes and was wondering what this means to some of us that have extensive mods done to their GS(or other)'s. I know that there will be exhaust standards so as of '10, your bike would get smoged just like the car/truck.
I live in NC, and as some of my neighbors know; it's not exactly easy to get "around" an inspection, especially if you fail. They hound the crap out of you. And being as though that in the 10 years that I've owned my bike, it's never been even safety inspected; I was just kinda curious as to what we're in for :icon_confused: :dunno_white:
http://www.epa.gov/EPA-AIR/2004/January/Day-15/a006.htm
I live in Kansas. We have a 16 year old age of consent, blue neons are legal, don't need a helmet, and there are no emissions checks, they pretty much don't care about anything here.
As usual, a bike (or car) that predates the rule doesn't have to be tested. They do fail inspection (if inspected at all) for blowing visible smoke, so a ring job every couple of hundred thousand miles might be called for. Heck, mass-a-two-shits has cars regulated to california standards and emissions testing with the safety inspection, but bikes don't even get started for inspection (and some clearly illegal loud exhausts appear to pass inspection just fine, though you're probably still subject to a ticket if you piss off a LEO or have a complaint called in.)
As for new bikes, if they are subject to the rule, and the state actually tests, then modifying them so they fail would be stupid and expensive. So don't do that.
If loud exhausts are planning to be banned I'm sure the AARP's harley riders would get out the vote and write their congressman, send a telegraph or whatever they do so they can keep their screamin' eagles cause you know loud pipes save lives ;)
The only way loud pipes could save lives is to deafen the idiot using them so that he doesn't hear the oncoming train and gets smacked by it before he smacks into anyone else... Those are usually the same folks that do most of their riding on the way home from tanking up at the bar.
The evidently terrifying (judging by several "the sky is falling" threads related to them) new standards are emissions related, and not that big of a deal - essentially California for all. Whether or not they actually get tested for in all states is highly debatable - I seem to recall Californians taking them off in California, and then there are all the states with no vehicle inspection of any sort - so any sort of testing would be a major infrastructure change.
Noise is already regulated, but enforcement is lax to non-existent. Read the side of that stock exhaust before you drill out the baffles or swap it for a louder one - the fact that you are committing a federal crime by doing so is engraved right into the heat shield, but enforcement is up to the states. The letter of the law in Mass certainly complies with the Federal standards, but the reality of the road is that it appears to be ignored quite willfully.
Maryland tends to follow CA's lead
Motos don't do emissions in WA.
Yes that's right, in WA, motorcyclists farts don't stink either.
in NY there is no emissions inspection.
when you do the inspection the guy only checks the lights and horn and pretends that he checks suspension and brakes