catalytic converter
 

Why did Harley start putting cats on . Is this because of EPA regs, California regs or what? Was it a univeral decision to meet those areas that have inspection?

Short answer, EPA.

I'll guess.

Like it or not, the smart money heeds PC issues these days and I'm betting HD is no different. If Commiefornia savers of the spotted bark worm want emissions down to "X" then not complying will earn you a leftist media blacklisting and the market consequences of it, (GM Hummer).

Why not?

If you want to see what things look like without the EPA and emissions controls . . . just pay a visit to any major city in China . . . that bastion of freedom . . . There aren't any real emissions controls in Comunist China . . . go ahead . . . Google Beijing AirQuality or Singapore Air Quality. That's what communism and no emissions controls gets you.

You don't like it here? To many rules for ya? Maybe you'd prefer living somewhere else where they don't have such pesky annoying rules about clean air!

:icon_attention:

Have you always been an asswipe ?

I'm in China at the moment. Been working here on and off for 3 years located in Shekou just across the strait from Hong Kong. No smog ! Singapore BTW is an international banking center and Free port and decidedly NOT communist.

Some BIG Chinese industrial cities are apparently smoggy but the entire country is certainly not blanketed. Verifying personal ideologies by watching CNN and other leftist harmonizers, will make a sucker out of you.

they did it to keep you warm on those cold rides and sweating in the summer. or just to give your ol' lady something more to bitch about ( cooking her right calf and foot)

Shekou is hardly representative of Communist China. It is a separate walled off tax advantaged area used to produce items for export from China to gain capital. Very few of the items produced there will ever be enjoyed by the Chinese people. It is designed Western style for the many expatriates that go there with good English speaking schools.

Also Singapore is not part of China, but an independent sovereign nation with ultra low taxes that attracts the wealthy and successful of the world.

I have traveled all over China, and it has their issues. Almost nowhere in the country is the water safe to drink. Even some of the nicest hotels must provide bottled water even to brush your teeth.

The waterways are mostly polluted with filth and industrial waste. They people are hard working and intelligent, and their standard of living is rising rapidly, however they have a pretty tough standard of living. The middle and upper class in the major cities do pretty well, but the stress is incredible.

Went to the beautiful first bend of the Yangzee river, and it was pure and clean. 5 miles down the stream it had human sewage floating on top.

Hong Kong has pretty good air quality, but may not seem like it with it being cloudy much of the time. China even got rid of the smokey diesel double decker busses from the English, and replaced them with clean burning Propane busses.

Beijing is a industrial sewer with horrible air quality, including both industrial pollution and sand being blown in from the huge deserts. People put on surgical masks just to walk around outside during the day. Nice buildings and parks give the illusion of a world class city, but it is pretty unhealthy a place to live.

People spit on the sidewalks, most all the food is produced in pretty unhygienic conditions with few government inspectors. Most of the brand name products are counterfeit, and you never know for sure what you are buying. People must fly to New York or Paris to get the real brand names.

Cars have few emission controls, and bikes even worse. They drive those horrible two stroke diesel "water buffalos" everywhere and stink up the place. The diesel exhaust comes out of the stack right in front of the driver. Two stroke bikes and scooters are also running around spewing blue oil/smoke.

Saw this in person, not on TV.

The USEPA came out with new motorcycle emission regulations in 2003, which were implemented in two phases. The first being the 2006 model year (Tier I) which were met with most of the technology that was already in place. The second was 2010 (Tier II) which lowered the CO and Nox threshold. Those standards could not be met without the use of a catalytic converter on large displacement engines. Prior to 2006, motorcycles were meeting the standard adopted by the EPA in 1978.

Manufacturers are allowed to average their emissions throughout the entire fleet. So as along as they have some vehicles testing below the standards they can some that exceed them.

The California exhaust emission standard is and always has been the same as the EPA standard (save for one year early implementation in 09) however California has a fuel evaporation standard which (at this point anyway) the EPA has not seen fit to require.

At this time there are no new proposed exhaust emission standards for motorcycles. If in the future, they were to come out with new requirements, they would use existing automotive technology and probably adopt an OBDII type system.

'You Can't Handle The Truth' "Have You Always Been An Asswipe". I have to agree with some of what bluehighways had to say. Harley has to follow EPA rules!!!