Performance Mods and California Law

[rich_imp]

Interesting piece on ADVRider, https://advrider.com/motorcycles-bypass-...egulation/

I didn't see lawnmowers on the exemption list.

I didn't see lawnmowers on the exemption list.
most cities in So Cal offer a trade for your old lawn mower to a new electric one
straight across or low price

[j3gq_imp]

I would guess that OEM’s will start selling a lot more à la carte ECU’s. Riders can keep a factory tuned ECU for the smog check and and a modified ECU for the remaining 364 days of the year.

Must depend on how easy it will be to replace the ECU, no ?

[GoldOxide_imp]

Interesting piece on ADVRider, https://advrider.com/motorcycles-bypass-...egulation/

I didn't see lawnmowers on the exemption list.

I didn't see lawnmowers on the exemption list.
most cities in So Cal offer a trade for your old lawn mower to a new electric one
straight across or low price

I didn't see lawnmowers on the exemption list.
most cities in So Cal offer a trade for your old lawn mower to a new electric one
straight across or low price
Huh. Interesting.

[Jonnyteabag_imp]

Interesting to read that a dyno is required for emissions testing..how are your four wheelers tested in the Colonies?
Here in the UK and I believe our Euro cousins all emission testing is done statically with a sniffer probe at the tail pipe, then dependent on fuel type it's repeated at various set point revs..and if it's in the correct range it's a pass on emissions for that part of the annual test.
All equipment used is the relavant government agencies approved stuff.

Here in the UK all new vehicles sold have annual inspections (called MOT's in the UK) on their third birthday from registration.
All UK motorcycles have been exempt from emissions testing BUT it's to start soon maybe this year with the coming of the EU5 changes for bikes so that would mean testing would not be until the bikes third year from registration.

JT
In addition to my comments above all motorcycles sold in the EU markets including the UK, ECU's must be encrypted for EU5 changes, and ECU's must be tamper proof via security measures attaching them to the bike...I can confirm this as my EU4 Kawasaki z9rs has its ECU caged via rivets that need to be drilled in order to gain access, the US market models ECU is by contrast held in place with a simple rubber holster..
Sign of the times it seems...
JT

[Whoops]

They used to use the sniffers up the tailpipe here a long time ago, but for most cars that are on the road now they just plug into the ODBII port and get everything from the vehicle sensors. From what I have read online (disclaimer: I am certainly no expert here) I think that’s more accurate since the car can report much more than just what spits out in the exhaust since it can collect timing, fuel to air ratios as well as O2 and catalytic sensor data.

The downside of relying on what the car tells them rather than a real world sample is that you can now game the results through dodgy programming like Volkswagen did with their diesel engine ECU’s. If I recall, their programming would detect when a diagnostic computer was connected to the ODBII port and change the way the engine ran in order to meet emissions requirements. Once unplugged they reverted back to the optimal VW configuration that caused a lot more pollution. Makes me wonder how many other car makers are doing that but haven’t been caught yet.

[GoldOxide_imp]

For a couple decades we had every second year mandatory emission testing for cars three (later seven) years and older in Ontario, Canada. By 2018 the government scrapped the program for cars because the program was making too much money when it was supposed to be revenue neutral. In addition, emissions? Bah, says the province.

Motorcycles have never been a part of emission testing, and probably never will be.

As more vehicles become electrified, I suspect emission inspections will be a harder argument in those countries that do it. Diesel trucks should probably still be inspected.

[Tev62]

We are strapped to the Euro regulations in Ireland of course, being part of Europe but we have no testing at all for motorcycles, emissions or otherwise. I run three bikes and it is dead handy. You would think the place would be overrun with rubbish bikes but it isn't really.

[pekingduck]

We sometimes forget that there are definite benefits to emissions regulations beyond the improvements in air quality. They mandated that vehicles had to maintain the effective level for a certain amount of years/miles.

I grew up around cars and bikes, and in the '60s-'70s, 10-12mpg was normal. So were valve jobs at 40k miles and engine overhauls at 75k. rarely would cars go beyond 100k without a rebuild. Same with bikes - valve jobs at 15-20k miles, overhauls at 40k.

Now we have bike engines easily going over 100k. My girlfriend at the time bought a new 1981 Toyota Starlet, and sold it a few years ago, still running well, with over 400k on the original engine AND clutch.

[GoldOxide_imp]

We sometimes forget that there are definite benefits to emissions regulations beyond the improvements in air quality. They mandated that vehicles had to maintain the effective level for a certain amount of years/miles.

I grew up around cars and bikes, and in the '60s-'70s, 10-12mpg was normal. So were valve jobs at 40k miles and engine overhauls at 75k. rarely would cars go beyond 100k without a rebuild. Same with bikes - valve jobs at 15-20k miles, overhauls at 40k.

Now we have bike engines easily going over 100k. My girlfriend at the time bought a new 1981 Toyota Starlet, and sold it a few years ago, still running well, with over 400k on the original engine AND clutch.

The landfills say, "Thank you".

[Tev62]

We sometimes forget that there are definite benefits to emissions regulations beyond the improvements in air quality. They mandated that vehicles had to maintain the effective level for a certain amount of years/miles.

I grew up around cars and bikes, and in the '60s-'70s, 10-12mpg was normal. So were valve jobs at 40k miles and engine overhauls at 75k. rarely would cars go beyond 100k without a rebuild. Same with bikes - valve jobs at 15-20k miles, overhauls at 40k.

Now we have bike engines easily going over 100k. My girlfriend at the time bought a new 1981 Toyota Starlet, and sold it a few years ago, still running well, with over 400k on the original engine AND clutch.

That is so true, I was in my third and last year of year of college and driving a battered old £150 Vauxhall Viva with a 1250cc engine. Buying "Gold Seal" reconditioned engines was very commonplace then, you could get one for just about any car. I had to buy a short block, which was basically the engine minus the head and gearbox, for £85 and fitted it in my garage swapping the rest of the components over. That did another 50K miles before the rest of the car fell apart around it.