Biker News
EPA Issues Guidance For Custom Motorcycle Builders
December 2006- The EPA recently released a Letter of Guidance for the “Certification Procedure for Highway Motorcycle Engines,” which will allow the use of certified, EPA-compliant engines without restricting the number of motorcycles built or owned.
Under EPA regulations issued in 2003, custom bike builders are limited to building only 24 non-compliant motorcycles per model year, and individuals are allowed to own only one EPA exempt kit bike in their lifetime. But now, following a year of successful efforts between the EPA and industry and consumer groups, the “Certification Procedure for Highway Motorcycle Engines” will allow builders of aftermarket engines to provide EPA-compliant engine packages to individuals, dealers, and small volume motorcycle manufacturers, thus circumventing the strict regulations applied to non-EPA compliant motorcycles. Therefore, the new Certification Procedure will permit certified engines installed in new highway motorcycle chassis to be operated or re-sold without onerous construction and ownership restrictions, provided the requirements of the procedure, as well as the federal Clean Air Act anti-tampering requirements, are met.
By using motors that are pre-certified to meet emissions regulations, individuals and builders can now build EPA-compliant motorcycles without having to go through the complicated and costly emissions testing procedures themselves, thus allowing small volume manufacturers to build and sell as many custom motorcycles as they want, and individuals can now own, ride, and sell them without prior restrictions as long as the engine package is not altered in any way that increases exhaust emissions.