Bill Bish, the rider behind the Coast To Coast Biker News.
THE AIM/NCOM MOTORCYCLE E-NEWS SERVICE is brought to you by Aid to Injured Motorcyclists (A.I.M.) and the National Coalition of Motorcyclists (NCOM), and is sponsored by the Law Offices of Richard M. Lester. For more information, call us at 1-(800) ON-A-BIKE or visit us on our website at http://www.ON-A-BIKE.com
COAST TO COAST BIKER NEWS
Compiled & Edited by Bill Bish,
National Coalition of Motorcyclists
EPA SETS EMISSIONS STANDARDS FOR STREET BIKES On December 23, 2003 the Environmental Protection Agency announced the first new emission standards for highway motorcycles in 25 years, but certain concessions from the federal regulatory agency indicate that three years of opposition and resistance from America’s motorcycle rights network has succeeded in producing a more palatable ruling.
By 2010, motorcycle manufacturers will be required to slash tailpipe emissions by more than 80 percent by using improved technologies such as secondary air injection, electronic fuel injection systems, liquid cooling and catalytic converters, though none of those technologies are mandated in the new regulations.
These reductions will be phased in over a two-tier implementation plan that will require manufacturers of on-highway motorcycles, small scooters and mopeds to meet strict new emissions limits by 2006, and even more stringent levels set for 2010.
New motorcycles over 280 cc’s sold in the United States beginning in 2006 must emit no more than 1.4 grams per kilometer of hydrocarbons (HC) and nitrogen oxides (NOx), and levels of those pollutants must be cut to .8 g/km by 2010. Previously, motorcycles were allowed up to 5.0 grams per kilometer traveled of HC, and NOx was unregulated. Allowable carbon monoxide levels will remain unchanged at 12 g/km. Manufacturers will be allowed to “average” the emissions levels of the bikes they produce, so cleaner running models can make up for more pollutant counterparts.
Sections of the rule dealing with customization were most impacted by riders’ efforts, and the EPA contends that the new regulations will not have any adverse affect on the aftermarket industry. Nothing in the new regulations will change what owners may do legally to customize their motorcycles, they claim, though it’s important to note that it’s already a violation of the Clean Air Act to tamper with pollution control equipment.
Also, small volume manufacturers who build fewer than 3,000 motorcycles a year, and who have fewer than 500 employees, are exempted from the first-tier pollution limits until 2008, and will not be required to meet the second-tier standards at all. There is also a one-time exemption for the owner/builder of a kit bike.
The new federal regulations are based largely on emissions standards already taking effect in California for the 2004 model year, except on a two-year delay basis, though California’s regulations do not allow for these exemptions.
All in all, motorcycling activists can be proud of their efforts to protect their rights as consumers and the liberties of our lifestyle. But rest assured that the fight ain’t over, and the EPA intends to revisit the street bike regs in 2006.
EMISSIONS TESTING IN TENNESSEE MAY INCLUDE MOTORCYCLES Based on the fact that the federal EPA will begin enforcing strict new emissions regulations on motorcycle manufacturers in two years, Knox County officials might include motorcycles in a mandatory emissions testing law likely to be enacted this year in Tennessee.?
The current standard for hydrocarbon emissions from motorcycles allow about 90 times more emissions than the standard for passenger cars, according to the EPA, and when new truck and car standards take effect next year, new SUVs will be meeting hydrocarbon emission targets that are about 95 percent cleaner than the typical motorcycle.
Lynne Liddington, Knox County’s air quality management director, said officials haven’t previously considered testing motorcycles, but “We can always put it on the table.”
Knox and 10 surrounding counties are under the regulatory gun to take steps to clean up East Tennessee’s smoggy skies by March 1, 2005 or face sanctions that could include the loss of federal highway funds and stricter pollution controls on industry. The EPA has put the area on notice that East Tennessee skies likely will be out of compliance with new ozone standards that take effect in April. Ground-level ozone, a colorless gas created by combustion, is the primary component of smog. Knox County officials want emissions testing implemented statewide.
“Whether motorcycles are included or not,” Liddington said, “the biggest pollution sources – coal-fired power plants and tractor trailers – won’t be covered under any testing program.”
“It’s obvious that the new EPA regulations are already being factored into new government regulations at the state level,” points out Steve Lundwall, State Director of CMT/ABATE of Tennessee and a member of the National Coalition of Motorcyclists (NCOM) Board of Directors. “When bikes which comprise an extremely small percentage of registered vehicles and an even smaller percentage of the pollution are singled out and it is stated that the biggest polluters won’t be included in the testing program, it becomes very clear that we are vulnerable no matter how insignificant the initial threat seems.”
According to the Tennessee Department of Safety, there are 6,772 motorcycles registered in Knox County, which is a little less than 2 percent of all registered vehicles, though that number triples every June when the Honda Hoot attracts up to 20,000 motorcyclists to Knoxville from across the country during the height of smog season.
“Here in Tennessee we will fight to protect motorcycle businesses, tourism, ourselves and our liberties,” concludes Lundwall.
“ORGAN DONOR” BILL AMENDED, KILLED IN COMMITTEE AB 1200 started out as a nice, “clean” helmet modification bill, allowing motorcyclists 18 and older the option of wearing a helmet in California. Then, just one week before the measure was to be heard in the Assembly Transportation Committee, the bill was amended to include mandatory organ donation as a requirement to ride free.
The bill’s author, Assemblyman John Longville (D-San Bernardino) amendedthe bill without consulting the bill’s sponsor, ABATE of California, in a misguided effort to find a “creative solution” to help the bill gain the votes needed to pass.?
Obviously, this was one solution that didn’t sit well with the riding community, and when the bill was heard in committee on January 12, in front of a room packed with motorcyclists from all over the Golden State, AB 1200 was further amended to remove the offensive amendment and any reference to organ donation. The original bill language was then voted on and the bill lost by 9 aye votes to 11 no votes.?
Hundreds of riders who rallied at the Capitol that day had hoped that a motorcycle-riding governor would aid their cause, and some carried signs asking Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to “Terminate the Helmet Law.”
Despite the setback, Jean Hughes, legislative director of ABATE, told the Sacramento Bee newspaper, “We’ll be back.”
HELMET LAWS DETER TOURISM When concerned out of state riders began writing to the Nebraska Tourism Division seeking their support in shelving the state’s mandatory helmet law (LB303), the director agreed that more riders would travel through their state if helmets were optional.
“You are not alone,” wrote Dan Curran, Director of the Nebraska Division of Travel and Tourism, in response to a letter from Richard Hall from ABATE of California, “there are a number of people that want the law modified or removed. In my job, I can’t lobby for or against the issue. But, you are correct, we would see a positive economic impact during the annual Sturgis migration with a more liberal helmet law.”
BIKERS WANT TO PARADE TOPLESS On December 15, the Massachusetts House of Representatives engrossed H 206, a bill to exempt motorcyclists participating in public parades from the helmet law.
“House, No. 206 now goes over to the Senate for its action,” said Paul Cote, legislative director for the MMA of Massachusetts. “Maybe when the MMA storms the statehouse on Thursday, May 20, 2004 – we’ll have a ‘parade!’ I like that idea!”
“GET YOUR ROCKS OFF”? OUR ROADS!” ABATE of Pennsylvania has sponsored a bill to require trucks to cover their loads to prevent spills and road hazards. Representative Stan Saylor introduced HB 880 to increase the fines for violations and further defines what the violations are.
“Those from the trucking industry still maintain that enforcement is the problem and that the current law is sufficient,” said John Mullendore, Legislative Coordinator for ABATE and a member of the NCOM Board of Directors. However, as ABATE’s lobbyist Charles Umbenhauer points out, enforcement wasn’t a problem when it came to helmets so he isn’t buying that argument.
“We’re not looking to drive a wedge between bikers and truckers,” said Mullendore, adding that they hope to come to an agreement between the two groups. “Some of the biggest violators are weekend movers in pickups and people hauling mulch and the like. These too are included in the law.”
WEIRD NEWS OF THE MONTH: A Taiwanese motorcycle mechanic has confessed to police that he feasted on the body parts of an insurance agent after killing her. The discovery of the missing woman’s scooter near a Taipei bike shop led police to suspect the 39-year-old wrench, and when police searched the area around his workshop, they discovered Ms. Shih Chin-chi’s dismembered body in a residential water tank.
Police said the suspect strangled his 28-year-old victim with a rope before chopping her body into eight pieces on Dec 7. Parts of her body, including flesh and skin in the chest area, were missing, reported the Taipei Times.
According to statements given by Kwang Teh-chiang, an apprentice at the cycle shop, the suspect had gotten into an argument with the victim over some insurance matters at the shop and he killed her in his presence. Police told reporters that Chen had searched her body for valuables after the murder and handed Kwang NT$400 ($20US), presumably to buy him off.
Police also suspect the mechanic of being involved in the disappearance of another female insurance agent 12 years ago.
QUOTABLE QUOTE: “In the rush to cure all the ills to which humans are heir, liberty is too often an innocent bystander, and an accidental casualty.”
Barry Goldwater, former Arizona senator and presidential candidate (1909-98)
NCOM CONVENTION REMINDER The National Coalition of Motorcyclists will hold their 19th annual NCOM Convention from May 6 to 8, 2004, at the Biltmore Hotel, 401 South Meridian Avenue, in Oklahoma City, OK, hosted by ABATE of Oklahoma and the Oklahoma Confederation of Clubs. For room reservations, call (800) 522-6620 and mention NCOM for the special room rate of $70.64, including tax, for up to four folks per room. Convention registration is $75.00 and includes the Silver Spoke Awards Banquet on Saturday night, or $40.00 without the banquet. For additional information, or to pre-register, contact NCOM at (800) 525-5355.
