Easyriders
Are the New EPA Regulations a Threat to Your Livelihood?
January 2006 - There is a lot of controversy these days regarding the new EPA rulings and how they may affect your shop. It is important to know that many of these new laws are difficult if not impossible to enforce and that the EPA is still working on redefining them.
As far back as the early ‘70s, Easyriders has been defending our lifestyle from government entities that sought to limit our choices in how to personalize our bikes. At that time the industry and our readers came under attack by the Department of Transportation over what the Feds deemed unsafe modifications to frames and extended front ends. In response, Easyriders helped form an industry group known as the National Custom Cycle Safety Institute, of NCCSI, to rebut their assertions and prove that choppers were indeed safe.
We built machines, performed tests and ultimately invited representatives from the DOT to ride with us on a test track (they on stock bikes and us on our choppers,) and showed them that a properly constructed chopper can keep right up with the stock iron. The end result was the DOT backed off on enforcement and agreed to allow the emerging custom chopper industry to police itself.
The new threat to our livelihood is coming in the form of new regulations enacted by the Environmental Protection Agency. Although motorcycles make up a miniscule percentage of the vehicles on the road and custom bikes are a mere blip on the screen, the EPA’s mandate remains to eliminate all sources of pollution, wherever they find it.
We all want a clean environment, but zero pollution is neither possible nor necessarily desirable, especially if it comes at the cost of destroying an entire industry. A balance is needed, and putting tens of thousands of Americans out of work to eliminate a microscopic amount of pollution is just plain wrong.
Since 1979, motorcycles have been subject to pollution controls, and these standards have been regularly tightened over the years. The Clean Air Act Amendments of 1977 prohibited tampering with the emission controls on any vehicle. Fines of $10,000 per violation are possible, and builders in California are already getting visits from CARD (California Air Resources Board). The fact is, in the EPA’s own words, the only modifications that are allowed under the rules are “cosmetic changes such as the color and chrome.” However, since enforcement is up to the states, these unfunded mandates are rarely enforced. This has been a boon for the motorcycle aftermarket, as it has allowed it to grow into a multi-billion dollar industry, employing tens of thousands of workers.
The new regulations, the “Final Rule for Cleaner Highway Motorcycles,” which actually are retroactive to 2004, if enforced, would present difficult if not downright impossible hurdles to custom motorcycles. Previously, a bike builder could pretty much choose any engine-drivetrain combination he wished to create a one-off custom bike for his customer. Under the new rules, those choices are severely limited.
Who is behind these new regulations? We’re not pointing fingers, but they certainly do not bother the large OEM motorcycle manufacturers. They certify their machines by engine groups and amortize the cost over a couple hundred thousand machines per year. The small builder or manufacturer cannot possibly pass the costs of testing (which costs tens of thousands of collars for each model,) on to his customer.
What does this all mean to you? If your customer wants you to build a bike for him from new parts, he will either find himself in the newly created Kit Bike category or the Exempt Custom Bike category. The differences are thus:
A Kit Bike is a bike that is exempt from emission controls. The owner is allowed to own only one of these bikes in his lifetime, and it cannot be sold for any reason for five years. If he sells it, under the current rule, he can never own another one. A Kit Bike can be built by the owner, or by a shop as long as all the parts are purchased before assembly.
The Exempt Custom Motorcycles category is the class that will most adversely impact motorcycle shops. Under the rules, a shop can produce up to 24 of these motorcycles, which are emissions exempt. The 25th and all subsequent motorcycles produced are subject to emissions testing. There are severe restrictions on these motorcycles. They are display-only motorcycles and can be driven only on the road to and from a custom show. They cannot be used as a daily driver.
There are two major organizations working to amend these regulations to address and help remedy the situation.
The Motorcycle Industry Council (MIC), in particular its American V-Twin Committee, represents the large players in the aftermarket, primarily the manufacturers and distributors. The MIC takes the position that the EPA restrictions are already enacted and is seeking ways to make compliance with those standards easier and less expensive, rather than trying to change them.
One of their proposals is to get an EPA-approved powertrain package that a shop could use to build bikes and avoid the expense of testing each motorcycle. The MIC has submitted this to the EPA, and at this time it is still under consideration.
The Motorcycle Industry Council is an industry group and membership is limited to manufacturers and distributors. Individuals and shops are not eligible for membership. However, you can keep up with their activities on their Web Site: www.mic.org.
The Motorcycle Riders Foundation (MRF) is a grass roots organization that represents small shop owners and individuals. They are Motorcyclist Rights Organization, much like ABATE but on a national level. They also work with State MROs in a coordinating function, getting the word out on legislative matters. Their MRF-PAC (Political Action Committee) lobbies Congress, helping our friends and educating our foes. They also host three annual conferences, the Meeting of the Minds, to educate and motivate the motorcycling activist community.
In an ideal world the government would simply leave us alone. Leave us free to experiment, to innovate and to re-invent the wheel. All of the innovations that led to the creation of the vibrant motorcycle industry started out in a tinker’s garage. Of course, this is the real world and it is far from ideal.
As gloomy as this all sounds, we wanted to end this article on a note of hope.
Earlier we pointed out that these EPA regulations are “un-funded mandates.” The feds are relying on the already cash-strapped states to actually enforce them. This means that laws will have to be written into the vehicle codes defining Kit Bikes and Exempt Custom Motorcycles. Enforcement Officer positions will have to be created to patrol independent motorcycle shops, and ultimately the states will rebel. They will have to because their budgets are already strained to the limits.
The hallmark of government is over confidence in its ability to accomplish its aims. Gridlock is what we can expect in respect to these regulations. Some states, particularly California, will continue to selectively pursue targets while ignoring the vast majority. The motorcycle aftermarket will continue to flourish, customers will continue to want to customize their bikes and keep buying your parts and services.
The motorcyclist rights organizations and industry groups will continue to lobby the legislators, as long as they have your support, and new legislation and enforcement will be stalled for many years in the future. The entrepreneurial spirit that dwells in the hearts of Americans is the engine that drives our industry, our niche in the greater economy, and it will not be stilled by bureaucratic nonsense.
And so, we shall prevail!