06 YZ450 - EPA certified?

[AZ Thumpdaddy]

Does anyone know if the new 06 will be EPA certified or will it be exempt for track only? I want it for the desert and will be real dissapointed if it is not certified.

http://www.epa.gov/otaq/regs/nonroad/2002/f02045.pdf

T-Diddy

[YZ400FPower]

Dont count on it

[RADRick]

Yamaha hasn't traditionally put a lot of effort into certifying race bikes. I doubt the YZFs will ever be.

[AZ Thumpdaddy]

Does this mean that the California red/green sticker goes away in 2006 and you are either EPA certified or not? If not does that mean no OHV riding? I don't get it?

T-Diddy

[Scooter426]

I would guess no. It is a race bike for mx or sx.

[Scooter426]

BTW,

I have still never registered a dirt bike, never paid tax on a dirt bike, never titled a dirt bike. I just do not see the reason??? I figure I will ride on private tracks for the most part. I have only been bothered once on the trails and the dude let me go. My bike was still registered in CA (previous owner).

[DaveJ]

CARB has several requirements before a bike can become certified as a green sticker bike.

This includes exhaust, fuel tank and crankcase emissions, as well as durability requirements. See Title 13 chapter 9, or I can send over some grids if anyone wants some fun late night reading. Yawn!

Additionally, there is also the cost of getting the bike certified given the amount of testing that it has to go through.

And to make matters worse, at the last CARB meeting they were planning on adopting 07 EPA standards which call for even less emissions.

In other words, the bikes themselves will never pass, but if air quality improves due to reductions from all efforts, there is a slight chance that they may allow a little more tolerance towards the sport.

Don't take is personally. CARB and the EPA are not the greenies you think they are. There is no bias and they are not out to stop our sport. They just have a job to do and in many ways, we should be thankful now and for the future. It's just going to take some time to get things taken care of.

In the meantime, CARB does allow you to ride on anything designated as a "closed circuit". Meaning any private track or area within the state or country system that is operated by a promoter. This is why there has been a bit of a boom in private tracks. Around here, they are packed.

For a while there was a chance that the governor was going to kill CARB due to the need for cost reductions, but it appears that is not going to happen. Even if it did, the EPA will most likely take over.

There is also the chance the EPA could put a national red/green sticker in place, conditional to any area that has high ozone concerns.

Everything from forklifts to weed whackers are also under attack.

The only other consideration is that it's possible to custom build a bike, in which an assigned VIN (via the CHP) would allow you get a legal green sticker. Long story.

The only other thing I have yet to look into is the legality of "ultra vires", meaning that one could sue CARB if they felt that they had over stepped the authority given to them via the California Clean Air Act (CCAA 1988). But I have some reading to do.

One of these days I'll try and get hold of the General Counsel for Yamaha and Honda of North America and see what their position on the matter is. If I do, I'll post something here.

Till then, find some land.

DaveJ

[WheelsUp]

In the meantime, CARB does allow you to ride on anything designated as a "closed circuit". Meaning any private track or area within the state or country system that is operated by a promoter.

What about areas of public and private land, not a "closed course" track, but also not designated as OHV areas and therefore not listed here?

[AZ Thumpdaddy]

Thanks for your input. I am still not clear on red/green sticker in 2006. It looks to me like that is going away, and your either EPA certified or not. It says that most 4 strokes should be OK so its the 2 smokes that will probably be in trouble. If they continue to use the red/green sticker system then I am OK with a red sticker YZ as it is pretty hot in Ocotillo Wells right now. I just wanted to be able to ride in the OHV areas during the season and if the bike is exempt then its closed course only?

T-Diddy

[old-n-sloow]

Wow, more regulation. Gotta figure this one out before I buy my 06. It might be that the 06s will fall under the current rules because they will all be built in 05. My 02 2 stroke with a green sticker might be in my garage forever.

[AZ Thumpdaddy]

I hope your right. I am going to hang on to my 02 CR250 for the same reason, besides it is a great bike. I don't think the 4 strokes will have a problem but it is not clear.

[DaveJ]

They just changed the code on this.

Let me check later today and I'll post what I find.

DaveJ

[RADRick]

Thanks for your input. I am still not clear on red/green sticker in 2006. It looks to me like that is going away, and your either EPA certified or not.

You are confused by the replies. EPA is federal. CARB is CA only. All vehicles must meet EPA regs or exempt status in order to be sold in this country. Vehicles sold in CA must also meet CARB regs or be restricted based on their sticker status. The green/red sticker is not going away, it is a separate layer of regs for CA only. Currently, none of Yamaha's race bikes will meet green sticker regs.

[RADRick]

Don't take is personally. CARB and the EPA are not the greenies you think they are. There is no bias and they are not out to stop our sport. They just have a job to do and in many ways, we should be thankful now and for the future. It's just going to take some time to get things taken care of.

It is very personal. Recreational riders account for a minute fraction of the pollution in CA, yet they were singled out well before other significant polluters for regulation. Why? Because we are an easy target. The red sticker program is a farce that should be abolished. It makes no sense and does little to reduce emissions. Case in point: Places like Hungry Valley and Hollister have privately-run tracks within their grounds. A red sticker bike can be operated on these tracks during ban seasons. How does this reduce emissions in these areas? It doesn't. There is no real science behind what CARB used to justify the program. For instance, they estimated the amount of pollution in L.A. county from OHVs based on registrations. The reality is that most of the OHVs registered in L.A. county are rarely operated in L.A. There are only two facilities available to riders in L.A., one private and one public. Gorman, the most used facility by L.A. riders, is in Ventura county. Also, CARB used an estimated 8,000 miles ridden per year by the average OHV rider in developing their pollution estimates. How many OHV riders do you know that ride 8,000 miles a year? I don't even put that many miles on my car in a year. Bottom line is CARB singled us out first because we have no organized lobby to protect us, it's easy to get the non-riding public against us, and our own industry dragged their feet in trying to oppose them.

Everything from forklifts to weed whackers are also under attack.

Perhaps, but those products have much stronger lobbyists fighting for them.

The only other thing I have yet to look into is the legality of "ultra vires", meaning that one could sue CARB if they felt that they had over stepped the authority given to them via the California Clean Air Act (CCAA 1988). But I have some reading to do.

Overstepped is an understatement. The time to speak up is now.

[AZ Thumpdaddy]

I stopped at a Yamaha dealer in Orange County this morning and a couple of sales guys hadn't heard anything different for the 06's versus the current sticker program. I asked when they were going to get the YZs in and they said the smaller bikes will be in July and the 450 in November. 05's will be going cheap. The sales guys looked real bored.

T-Diddy