Posted on 06/25/2002 2:20:42 PM PDT by Reaganwuzthebest
The way biker John "Little John'' Swisher sees it, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is out to get him.
"I think the ultimate goal of the EPA and the government is to do away with two-wheel traffic altogether,'' complained Swisher, 52, chairman of the Indiana Motorcyclists' Political Action Committee.
What has Swisher and bikers across the country on the warpath is an effort by the EPA to toughen pollution standards for on-street motorcycles. Bikers fear the regulations will prevent them from customizing engines to make bikes take off faster and sound louder, which can also make them more polluting.
What the EPA calls "tampering,'' motorcyclists call "improvement'' and "individualization.'' In the motorcycle subculture, a "factory ride'' - a bike that hasn't been customized - is for neophytes.
The EPA has been working on a draft proposal that calls for adopting roughly the same pollution controls for motorcycles that California is due to phase in beginning in 2004, said Tom Wyld, a lobbyist for the Motorcycle Riders Foundation in Washington. EPA officials said they expect to announce a formal proposal next month.
Motorcyclists have swamped the EPA with complaints about the draft standards. The Web site of the Indiana motorcyclists' committee features a drawing of a shadowy government worker in dark glasses and combat boots holding what appears to be a semi-automatic rifle. The letters "EPA'' are emblazoned on his chest.
"He's from the government ... but he's not here to help,'' the Web site warns. "He's here to take your heritage, he's here to take your freedom, he's here to take your motorcycle.''
Don Zinger, assistant director of EPA's transportation and air quality office, said he is baffled by the furious response from motorcyclists. He noted that the draft regulations would not affect any bikes currently in use and that it already is illegal to tamper with emissions equipment.
The present air pollution standard for motorcycles is 22 years old. Motorcycles account for only about 1.5 percent of all smog-forming air pollution emitted by vehicles on the road, but that is expected to increase to 2.5 percent as tougher emission standards for cars and trucks go into effect, Zinger said. Furthermore, even though they are more fuel-efficient than cars, motorcycles emit 20 times more pollution per mile because of the laxer standards for bikes, he said.
Currently, about 20 percent of all new motorcycles have catalytic converters, Zinger said. Under the draft proposal, eventually half of all new motorcycles would have the pollution-prevention equipment.
Small motorcycle manufacturers - the fastest-growing segment of the street-bike market - say the California pollution standards could cause the price of bikes to skyrocket. If the EPA were to adopt the standard nationally, they say, it could put them out of business.
"The EPA could get to the point where we literally can't meet some of their standards and there may not be engines available that the public would want to purchase,'' said Ken Crepea, owner of Panzer Motorcycle Works of Canon City, Colo. Crepea manufactures 200 to 300 cosmetically customized bikes a year that meet current pollution standards, but his customers often adjust their engines to improve performance.
"To require the manufacturer to somehow make them tamper-proof in my mind is impossible,'' Crepea said. "I don't think it can be done technologically.''
Crepea's customers are upset about the new standards. "They worry that they will be restricted to the point they will be riding mopeds,'' he said. "That's what they tell me.''
The fears of small manufacturers and their customers are greatly overblown, Zinger said. "We're telling people, 'Trust us. We're confident this is not going to put you out of business.' "
On the Net:
Motorcycle Riders Foundation - www.mrf.org
Environmental Protection Agency - www.epa.gov
Indiana Motorcyclists' Political Action Committee - www.impac1.org
And we'll only use RICP against "The Mob."
And we'll only use assest forfeiture against Drug Lords.
And we'll never make failure to wear a seatbelt a primary offense.
Jeeeez. I agree with you -- and I own two bikes! Just last Saturday night, I was awakened at 1:53 a.m. by some drunk Harley rider "saving lives" outside my motel window.
Your home page says you are a liberal (which I guessed since your first call is for a "law" to stop something you don't like) and you live in Denver so my guess it that is so much talk.
BTW, I bet you voted for Webb and ReGrette. That would make you part of the problem in the big picture of things generally going to hell in a handbasket. Denver is a sociallist cesspool. If you voted for either of the above, you are responsable.
I'll keep my strait pipes, thanks.
Does this mean that the headers and straight pipes I put on my Lawn-Boy is illegal?
Yeah, that is an awful noise. I had to run outside to break up a fight one of mine was in - it sounded like 2 women screaming at the top of their lungs. I could see my neighbors lights going on as I grabbed my cat (growling at ME now). I got me and the cat the hell inside.
I did not, offered to let you share the sweet sound of Harley strait pipes...{:0)
Tell it to the farmers, loggers, mill workers, powerplant builders and any other worker whose lives EPA edicts have touched.
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