|
|
|
 |
Off-Highway Vehicle Questions and Answers
Regulations for Off-Highway
Motorcycles
By Mike Hobbs and MXOffroad
Staff |
| |
|
This below information was published and
last updated March 12, 1999 by the California Resources Board,
a department of the California Environmental
Protection Agency
. It was current as
of
March 1, 2002 as
reprinted here in MXOffroad.com. If you have any problems with what
is printed below, file your complaints with local, state and
federal representatives as well as media outlets.
Page 1
What You Need To Be
Legal!
|
|
Page 3
Regulations for
Off-Highway
Motorcycles
|
Changes to standards for off-highway
motorcycles
At its December 1998
meeting, the Air Resources Board (ARB) revised the regulations
governing the registration and use of off-highway recreational
vehicles (OHRV). These include off-highway motorcycles (OHMs) and
all-terrain vehicles (ATVs). Due to limited product availability,
the revised regulations allow ATVs and OHMs that do not meet the
new emission standards to be ridden during certain periods of the
year - mainly fall, winter and spring months - when ozone levels
are low. Ozone is one of the most health-damaging components of
smog.
Sales and seasonal use of
non-conforming OHRVs
The revised
regulations allow the sale of non-complying, two-stroke OHRVs.
However, people purchasing non-complying vehicles will receive a
red sticker from the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV)
which must be affixed to the vehicle. The red sticker identifies
the vehicle as non-complying and limits its recreational use in
off-highway riding areas to designated months when the ARB has
determined that ozone levels are low. The months when riding
non-complying vehicles is allowed varies from location to location.
Persons who ride red-sticker vehicles during months that are not
designated for riding for those vehicles are subject to citations
and fines. The chart on the back of this page shows the riding
areas and the seasons when use of non-complying vehicles is
permitted.
Green Sticker program
continues for conforming OHRVs
Vehicles
complying with state emission standards are not subject to the
calendar constraints of non-complying vehicles. Complying vehicles
are issued a green sticker by the DMV and are allowed to ride
year-round in designated off-highway riding areas throughout the
state.
The need for off-highway vehicle
standards
The previous regulations were
adopted by the Board in 1994 and went into effect January 1, 1997.
The standards called for new OHMs and ATVs with engines greater
than 90cc manufactured in 1997 or later and sold in California
starting in 1997 to meet grams-per-kilometer (g/km) emissions
standards of 1.2 hydrocarbons (HC) and 15.0 carbon monoxide (CO).
New vehicles with engines 90cc or less have to meet the same
emission standards beginning in 1999.
Prior
to adoption of the old standards, off-highway vehicles were
unregulated for air emissions. Sales data showed that the majority
of OHRVs, and motorcycles in particular, were powered by
"two-stroke" engines. These engines are highly inefficient and
allow up to 30 percent fuel to pass through the engine unburned. An
unregulated OHM contributes 118 times more HC emissions per mile
than a new 1997 passenger car.
The
history of developing regulations for OHRVs
To improve air quality in California, the ARB saw clear and
compelling reasons to adopt OHRV regulations. When the regulations
were adopted in 1994, the Board concluded that manufacturers, with
three years lead time, would by 1997 be able to produce and sell in
California a full line of OHRVs meeting the new emission standards.
It was anticipated that at first manufacturers would sell OHRVs
powered by cleaner four-stroke engines (this was the case in the
1980s with on-highway motorcycles) and that modified, cleaner
two-stroke engines would later come into use. At the 1994 Board
meeting, industry was, for the most part, in agreement with ARB's
proposal. Industry and trade organization testimony centered around
requests for a time extension, which ARB approved, for vehicles
with engines under 90cc.
After the
regulations were passed, however, OHRV user groups and dealers
began meeting with ARB staff and asking for more flexible
regulations. These requests were made at a time when it was
becoming apparent that motorcycle manufacturers were not providing
a wide range and number of motorcycles that could be certified to
meet California's new emission regulations. While a wide range of
ATVs meeting the new regulations were being certified, the number
of OHMs was lacking. To date, only 10 models of off-highway
motorcycles have been certified to the new standards. This has
resulted in fewer sales and economic hardships for many dealers;
particularly those dealers selling brands where manufacturers have
not certified any OHMs for California sale.
Air Resources Board
(800) 242-4450 (USA only) or (800) END-SMOG (California
only)
To contact in writing:
P.O. Box 2815, Sacramento, CA 95812
Page 1
What You Need To Be
Legal!
|
|
Page 3
Regulations for
Off-Highway
Motorcycles
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
Your Privacy Choices