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New EPA emissions rules may mark end of two-strokes
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is adopting strict
emissions standards that could mean the end of two-stroke
trail bikes and All-Terrain Vehicles (ATVs) by 2006, the AMA
reports.
In announcing the new emissions standards in September, the
EPA said the rules "encourage manufacturers of these vehicles
to switch from two-stroke engines to cleaner four-stroke
engines, beginning in 2006" for trail machines.
The federal agency is exempting racing machines from the
strict emissions standards, so motocrossers won't be affected,
and left the door open for the production of a new breed of
two-stroke engines by creating a special, less-stringent
emissions standard for "certified competition machines" that
could be used for competition and trail riding.
The EPA also scrapped an earlier plan to make ATVs meet even
stricter emissions standards in 2009.
These are the first federal emissions standards created for
off-highway motorcycles and ATVs. The EPA has set requirements
only slightly less stringent than those in place in
California, which have severely restricted two-stroke
off-highway machine use there.
National requirements for road motorcycles have been in place
for more than 20 years and are in the process of being
replaced with stricter standards.
Under the new EPA rules, new trail bikes and ATVs would be
subject to strict emissions requirements that would be
partially phased-in in 2006. Full compliance would be required
by the manufacturers in 2007.
The requirements wouldn't affect machines built through 2005,
but would apply to machines built for the 2006 model year and
thereafter. The EPA said it expects that manufacturers will
meet these new standards for trail machines by using
four-stroke engines.
When the EPA was putting together the new rules, the AMA urged
the agency to avoid regulations that would eliminate
two-stroke machines, which are favored by many off-highway
riders for their light weight and power characteristics.
Instead, the AMA told the agency to consider creating separate
emissions standards for four-stroke and two-stroke motorcycles
and ATVs.
While the EPA rejected the idea of separate standards for
four-strokes and two-strokes, it did create a new
classification called the "certified competition machine,"
which could be used for competition or trail riding. The
emissions standards for a certified competition machine aren't
as strict as those for a trail bike or non-competition ATV.
Theoretically, this could become the standard for two-stroke
trail motorcycles and ATVs.
The AMA also asked the EPA to set specific emissions goals
that must be met by off-highway motorcycle and ATV
manufacturers rather than mandating what equipment must be on
the bikes, such as catalytic converters. The EPA agreed.
The AMA also told the EPA to reconsider an idea to restrict
the sale of "competition-only" machines to professionals. The
AMA noted that most off-highway motorcycle and ATV racing in
the United States involves amateurs. The EPA agreed in its
final rules, saying it would be "inappropriate" to limit
competition machines to professional racers.
Finally, the AMA and others involved in motorcycling presented
data to show that the EPA grossly overestimated the annual use
of off-highway motorcycles and ATVs and, as a result,
overestimated the amount of pollution they cause. The EPA
agreed, and that's at least part of the reason the agency
decided at this time not to require ATVs to meet even stricter
emissions requirements beginning in 2009.
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