Lots of Green for Clean

[mconlon]

Yup, this is great: relax air quality requirements on old coal burning powerplants and clamp down on them dirty motorbikes. Makes me want to find a nice early 70s two stroke streetbike...



This is such a farce. It really gets me going. Yes I did write to both my Senator and Representative regarding this. Yes the EPA does have their collective heads up their a$$es. Figure it this way--how large is the contribution of motorcycle emissions to total emissions in the US? I'd be willing to bet leaf blowers are a bigger source. Also figure in the other environmental aspects of bikes other than just emissions: gas milage, road wear and tear, traffic, parking, and even the amount of raw material to make a bike--all less damaging than any car. There are so many plusses with bikes, in terms of priotities, bikes should be one of the last emissions producing classes that the EPA goes after. And if these go into effect, bike prices will go up, less people will get into biking. Is that what the real agenda is?



Want a treat? Go to the EPA website. All kinds of data online for all kinds of different vehicles, but no milage or emissions information about motorcycles. In fact, motorcycles aren't even listed with on-highway vehicles, but are instead relegated to recreational use classification with outboard motors and snowmobiles. Sure tells you what the EPA and government in general think about bikes...

[Haird]

I have no problem with the government requring motorcycles to meet reasonable emission standards. Motorcycles, cars, tucks, snow blowers, lawn mowers, 2-cycle leaf blowers, power plants and all manner of small businesses and manufacturers create unhealthy exhausts and should all be responsible for controlling them. I personally have no problem paying more for a bike that pollutes less. In fact one reason I bought a BMW three years ago is because, at the time, it was one of the cleanest-running bikes on the road and one of the few with a catalytic converter. No, it wasn't the only reason I chose this particular bike, an R1100R, but it was one reason.



What I do have a problem with, as you point out, is the exemption of favored devices and industries. SUVs and pickup trucks are exempted from stricter car standards and "old" coal-fired powerplants given a pass on bringing their emissions up to current requirements when they are refurbished. Politics is clearly at play in these decisions and they need to be reversed for the good of everyone in this country who breathes.



My suggestion is keep writing your state and federal representatives, but maybe the focus should be on requiring everyone to comply with reasonable emission standards rather than trying to justify a special exemption for motorcycles. Whlie it is certainly unfair to require one category of vehicle to comply while giving another a pass, I think the overall goal of cleaning up the air is sound.

[Buzglyd]

It's because we're too busy having cruiser vs. sportbike wars rather than standing together under a common cause.



And no one really "needs" a motorcycle right? We can all take public transportation.

[seruzawa]

In a way this is poetic justice since so many motorcyclists are ready to oppress SUV owners for the exact same reasons... pollution. Thought it could never happen to them huh? What goes around, comes around.



It's always about money. Decision-making bureaucrats of the EPA retire at 55 and if they've been helpful to the big industries then they can get nice cushy retirement jobs, exactly like the revolving door between the DoD and the defense contractors or the FDA and the medical industry. The MC industry can't afford to pay into this protection racket.





The only way to protect our sport is through poltical cout. This will require large numbers of riders willing to fight back against unreasonable requirements.



Fat chance since so many people are unwilling to join the AMA because of its helmet stance or some other minor reason. $49 bucks a years is too much, huh? Most people spend 20 times that amount on pizza.

[longride]

It's not really a war, because your cruiser really does suck Buz! Anyway the small, unorganized fish get eaten by the big idiotic govt. agencies and their agendas.

[longride]

"Most people spend 20 times that amount on pizza."



And they spend 250 times that amount on beer!

[Buzglyd]

Well you know longride I'll never own a cruiser. I'll own a Harley or two but never a cruiser.



The '03 should arrive around Valentine's Day. It's kind of poetic since I'm not married anymore. I probably wouldn't be getting it if I had the wife still!



I went on a ncie 180 mile ride through the California Desert on Saturday. If you haven't ridden the desert in the winter it's really a site to behold. It was about 68 and crystal clear out. My overrated Ducati performed just fine and the young lady on the back had a rather ample "backrest" shall we say. It was a perfect day.



I forgot to read a magazine telling me how much better of a time I would have had on another bike.

[obandoj]

As relevant as always, eh longride?

[Abe_Froman]

The state of MN got rid of its auto pollution program and inspection stations because it was confirmed that air quality was improving on its own. Aggregate levels of auto emissions were improving despite exemptions for almost anyone with a vehicle that couldn't pass. Auto pollution here does not measureably contribute to health problems. As always, far more people suffer from the ill effects of swimming pools, ladders, and bathtubs.



Motorcycle emissions contribute such a tiny fraction of emissions to the average city environment as to make them irrelevant to air quality. To spend money, resources, and smart people's time on making them cleaner is a moronic waste.

[longride]

Sorry. I figured you would be busy tapping the AMA phone lines looking for that next secret phone call from Harley. I will be certain not to joke with Seruzawa or any others here, and conform to the lofty posting standard you yourself have set.