activedirt_imp said:
One of our members, I think is was AzBob, made a statement about motorcycle emissions: "....since we no longer have exhaust emissions for motorcycles". No one appears to have taken exception to this statement. When I read that post I did some internet searching to verify the facts but the search results were conflicting to say the least.
Have the emissions standards for USA motor bikes been eliminated? If not have they changed in some major way?
The state of Arizona recently abolished its emissions testing requirement for motorcycles registered in Maricopa and part of Pinal county (near the city of Tucson). Before this year, motorcycles were subject to the same standard as automobiles, which, if I recall correctly, is that new vehicles get basically four years where the owner doesn't need to get it tested at a state facility, and after that, every two years the owner must bring the vehicle in for emissions testing to renew their registration. Vehicles more than 20 years old are exempt from vehicle emissions testing. Vehicles built after 1995 (e.g. 1996 and newer) are tested simply by hooking up to the OBDII port and checking for emissions related fault codes. All other vehicles get the tailpipe sniffer while being run on a dyno and performing a set of standard throttle inputs roughly mimicking driving the vehicle (which included motorcycles since they don't have OBDII ports).
When I said "we" I was referring to the gentleman who also lived in Arizona.
To sell a vehicle in the United States, the manufacturer must meet all regulations set forth by the EPA at the federal level, as well as whatever local regulations each state and/or county has if they want to sell into those localities. California is a very large market and their (infamous) California Air-Resources Board (CARB) play into most manufacturers design plans as they have tougher emissions standards than the federal EPA and to sell in CA, the manufacturer either has to make a vehicle specifically for the CA market, or apply whatever restrictions are necessary for that market to all of their US-destined vehicles. Sometimes it costs less two make two different versions (CA-compliant one, and a 49-state compliant one) and other times it costs less to just make one (sometimes referred to as a 50-state legal emissions vehicle).
One final note: the federal emissions standards are laws that the MANUFACTURERS must comply with, not you, the owner. Once you've purchased the vehicle, you can do whatever you want to it, provided you still comply with your local (e.g. state, county, whatever) emissions laws (and in compliance with any contract you may have signed vis-a-vis a loan or lease agreement). The federal government has no power to regulate a privately owned vehicle in any way. As such, if you have no emissions test for motorcycles where you live, you can take the catalytic converter(s) (and other emissions equipment) off and toss them in the garbage (or, sell them, they're worth a lot of money).
