Smog the FZ6? Geesh.

[CoFZ6]

Frack. This is such a beautiful place to live but the idiots who govern this state are determined to make it unlivable. Yet another reason to motivate me to move to either Oregon or Texas...

Don't take this wrong Michael, but I sure wish you guys would vote out the idiots and stay there - it seems like every other car here in Colorado has California plates. As they say: Don't Californicate Colorado!

 

[SovietRobot]

Maybe this is because everybody has been gutting their catalytic converters and disabling their air injection systems in an attempt to gain .0001 hp?

I'm just saying, you reap what you sow.

Fred

Yes, that's EXACTLY the cause. California legislators are experts and are browsing motorcycle forums and inspecting every bike on the road and noticed that a tiny fraction of them are disabling the pointless smog equipment, so they're angry and that's exactly why they want to start smogging motorcycles.

Nevermind the fact that the state gets money for smog certificates.
Nevermind the fact that everybody buys into the global warming hyperbole.

Why isn't this a big issue in new york? Oh yeah, because the air from china doesn't drift across the atlantic, it goes across the pacific.

Does anyone seriously think that smogging motorcycles is going to equate to cleaner air? Motorcycles are a tiny fraction of vehicles on the road, and very few of those are even polluting.
Someone in this thread said "Most motorcycles will pass anyways so what's there to worry about?", uh if most will pass then what's the point of doing it?


To the hippies out there, go drive your hybrids and drink your wheat grass smoothies and shove a hose up your ass to clean out the "toxins".

 

[Roadstergal]

Yes, that's EXACTLY the cause. California legislators are experts and are browsing motorcycle forums and inspecting every bike on the road and noticed that a tiny fraction of them are disabling the pointless smog equipment

A fraction of them? I'd say it's the majority, unless someone has some decent evidence otherwise to change my mind.

My hubby and I were out the other day, and I saw a common sight - a cruiser with ridiculously loud pipes, and one that was belching smoke and raw gas from 'performance mods.' I turned to him and said, "That's why we're getting a moto smog law."

As someone said in the thread - we reap what we sow. I kept my FZ stock except for the brake lines and luggage because it's a perfectly good bike for its purpose stock, but most folk I run across in CA do indeed rip off all of the stock emissions hoody for that aforementioned 0.5 hp (or, more likely, -5+ hp for not modding well).

For my part, I got a new two-wheeled commuter recently. Not as sexy as the FZ, but now that I live closer to work, I should take advantage.

Of course, if they smog me after a nice big Mexican lunch, I won't pass.

 

[stryken]

Please don't start that "loud pipes save lives" nonsense. They point back wards making them difficult to locate and just startle\piss off people if they even hear them. People only really hear them when you are next to, or passing their cars. Want drivers to be more aware of your presence? White or yellow helmet, headlight modulator and lane position. Loud pipes are just a vanity.

Tim

I do have to agree with this statement

I do NOT have a problem with loud pipes and have even toyed with the idea myself. If you are honest however you have to agree it is a large part to do with show not safety. I would say maybe 20% safety and 80% cool factor !! Nothing wrong with that as long as your not being the a-hole overreving down streets late at night or just generally being a D*** in traffic trying to get the 15 year old girls to turn there head at you.

 

[Nefilim]

Am I the only one who really likes the way the stock pipes look and sound?

 

[CoFZ6]

From what I've read the problem lies not with the cars, or the motorcycles, but with the trucks. However, it seems much easier to pick on the general population since we don't seem to stand up for ourselves. Case in point - people in your state will protest because they can't marry same-sex partners, meanwhile the government is ripping off everyone (including our descendants that aren't even born yet) and still we have no protests in the streets over that. Where are our priorities?

 

[dean owens]

Am I the only one who really likes the way the stock pipes look and sound?

nope. the exhaust is actually the thing on this bike that caused me to notice it. i was a cruiser guy before this bike. even with those i like a quiet bike.

 

[Motogiro]

Yes, that's EXACTLY the cause. California legislators are experts and are browsing motorcycle forums and inspecting every bike on the road and noticed that a tiny fraction of them are disabling the pointless smog equipment, so they're angry and that's exactly why they want to start smogging motorcycles.

Nevermind the fact that the state gets money for smog certificates.
Nevermind the fact that everybody buys into the global warming hyperbole.

Why isn't this a big issue in new york? Oh yeah, because the air from china doesn't drift across the atlantic, it goes across the pacific.

Does anyone seriously think that smogging motorcycles is going to equate to cleaner air? Motorcycles are a tiny fraction of vehicles on the road, and very few of those are even polluting.
Someone in this thread said "Most motorcycles will pass anyways so what's there to worry about?", uh if most will pass then what's the point of doing it?


To the hippies out there, go drive your hybrids and drink your wheat grass smoothies and shove a hose up your ass to clean out the "toxins".

Wow! This could match the oil thread thing! As long as I can still have an aftermarket exhaust on that hose, why not! LOL!

 

[Motogiro]

I do have to agree with this statement

I do NOT have a problem with loud pipes and have even toyed with the idea myself. If you are honest however you have.agree it is a large part to do with show not safety. I would say maybe 20% safety and 80% cool factor !! Nothing wrong with that as long as your not being the a-hole overreving down streets late at night or just generally being a D*** in traffic trying to get the 15 year old girls to turn there head at you.

There are other reasons to lessen the restrictive exhaust but that will be another thread....

And yes the sound does travel forward and people do notice it (you) sooner and no everyone doesn't do it (after market cans) as a result of identity crisis and we should argue more about you turkeys out there that are texting while driving.

 

[Fred]

Yes, that's EXACTLY the cause. California legislators are experts and are browsing motorcycle forums and inspecting every bike on the road and noticed that a tiny fraction of them

i.e. you

are disabling the pointless smog equipment,

Which is only 'pointless' because you believe it is. Although Yamaha, BMW, Suzuki, Kawasaki, Honda, General Motors, Nissan, Ford, Chrysler and others have a differing opinion about the effectiveness of this equipment.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I think that they've designed a few more engines than you have.

To the hippies out there, go drive your hybrids and drink your wheat grass smoothies and shove a hose up your ass to clean out the "toxins".

Well, who can disagree with a well thought out, levelheaded, reasonable argument like that one?

Fred

 

[dean owens]

oh yippee. i'm going to jump in.

And yes the sound does travel forward and people do notice it (you) sooner ...

this came up a week or so ago on here. and the next day i was driving the family minivan to take my youngest for her 1 year checkup. in the van was my wife, one year old and 3 year old daughters and myself. sadly i can't remember if we had the radio on... but if we did it was my 3 year old's cd and the music was faded to the rear and very soft (those young ears don't like loud music for some reason).

while driving we came up on a v-twin cruiser (don't remember the make) that had straight pipes. it was pretty loud. so i decided to pay a little extra attention rather than spouting off that you can't hear them when they're behind you. again these were straight loud pipes. i could hear the bike very well when it was in front of me. but as i passed i noticed something... as soon as the bike got out of my peripheral vision i could hardly hear the bike. by the time the bike was in my side mirror there was no sound i could hear from it. and this is with me taking the time to pay attention. and our van was not loud. i don't have screaming kids - or wife.

now if this were a car with the stereo loud or kids screaming... forget about it. this is only one bike that i've had the chance to pay attention to since this came up here. i'll keep looking and listening. but as of right now, this doesn't hold any water for me. all it does is annoy neighbors and cause people to want to ban bikes from being allowed in their neighborhoods. personally, i like being about to come in from work at 10:00 at night and know that i won't wake my kids or neighbors.

 

[urbanj]

Check the EGA reading of a new vehicle and compare that to the ones of the past. It's getting to the point where the stuff coming out of the tailpipe is cleaner than the stuff going in. And after all this, these engines are still making ridiculous amounts of power and get good mileage. Highway and off road equipment have come a long way as well. The old crap stays, like anything on the road, but all new engines must meet EPA tests as well. In the last little bit big engines have been subjected to the following emission related equipment - cooled egr , CAT converters, DPF's, SCR (urea injection).
common rail has allowed them to precisely control fueling and timing which continues to make more power with less emissions.

BMW is using what they call valvetrontic which instead of a throttle plate to control the air being ingested, they vary the valve lift. It's all advancing technology. Without it we'd be nowhere.

But why bother with any of it. We should go back to iron big blocks and carburetors.

 

[urbanj]

Oh and putting a set of pipes isn't going to screw anything up. That's a noise pollution problem. They are there to make things quiet. The emissions system is going to continue to take care of HC, CO, NOx

 

[SovietRobot]

But why bother with any of it. We should go back to iron big blocks and carburetors.

I agree.

 

[stryken]

To the hippies out there, go drive your hybrids and drink your wheat grass smoothies and shove a hose up your ass to clean out the "toxins".

Agree or Disagree..... THAT IS SOME FUNNY STUFF. :rof:

colonics for everyone!

 

[Motogiro]

oh yippee. i'm going to jump in.



this came up a week or so ago on here. and the next day i was driving the family minivan to take my youngest for her 1 year checkup. in the van was my wife, one year old and 3 year old daughters and myself. sadly i can't remember if we had the radio on... but if we did it was my 3 year old's cd and the music was faded to the rear and very soft (those young ears don't like loud music for some reason).

while driving we came up on a v-twin cruiser (don't remember the make) that had straight pipes. it was pretty loud. so i decided to pay a little extra attention rather than spouting off that you can't hear them when they're behind you. again these were straight loud pipes. i could hear the bike very well when it was in front of me. but as i passed i noticed something... as soon as the bike got out of my peripheral vision i could hardly hear the bike. by the time the bike was in my side mirror there was no sound i could hear from it. and this is with me taking the time to pay attention. and our van was not loud. i don't have screaming kids - or wife.

now if this were a car with the stereo loud or kids screaming... forget about it. this is only one bike that i've had the chance to pay attention to since this came up here. i'll keep looking and listening. but as of right now, this doesn't hold any water for me. all it does is annoy neighbors and cause people to want to ban bikes from being allowed in their neighborhoods. personally, i like being about to come in from work at 10:00 at night and know that i won't wake my kids or neighbors.

I agree that there's a notable difference in decibels from front to rear. It sounds like your saying that even though we make an increase of say 6 decibels, that doesn't make a difference when some one is going to hear it because they are in front of you? Sound travels at around 1096 feet per second at 70 degrees at sea level... The garbage trucks are louder at 5 or 6 am. I always consider my neighbors. I like my neighbors and they like me and my bike. My wife says the same. She always gets surprised by bikes with stock exhaust. She says they seem to sneak up on her. We drive a lot freeway here and I have to say I always notice the purr of aftermarket cans. I can't count the times I'm surprised by a bike with stock exhaust. I hardly ever hear stock bikes.
On another exhaust note: I was walking in a parking lot one day and just noticed, out of the corner of my eye, something moving toward me. I turned and it was a Prius backing right into me! I jumped and yelled and they hit the breaks. Never heard it....

Have fun out there!

 

[tuningfork]

Is the new law for a basic emissions test or is it a "no-mods" law.

While I don't live in CA, I know that for cars, they do consider the whole system to be "CARB-controlled" ie any modification to exhaust, intake, fuel injection must be with equipment that has a CARB-certified number....not sure if that is what they are alluding to with this law regarding motorcycles.

If it is, then it is important is for manufacturers of aftermarket parts to work with the system... ex: Dynojet makes a carb-approved Power commander which allows higher load modifications but not lower-load (ie the region where they test for CARB). And a track bike can use off-highway equipment.

The OEM in order to be able to sell the bikes needs to follow the laws and also has an eye on manufacturing costs and reliability. So even with emissions laws there should still be room for aftermarket to improve for those that desire the MAX performance.

A properly tuned bike with louder than stock pipes should be just as clean as a quiet pipe at least from a hydrocarbons issue. Incidentally a clean bike is probably also a well-running bike.
Those hogs running straight pipes without re-tuning are for sure running with poor emissions and lost power.

Same could be said for a de-catted FZ6 with drilled exhaust, airbox, and a bunch of CO "tuning".

Noise pollution is another issue...

Personally I wouldn't mind the law because I do agree that even with the emissions equpiment (at least on the newer bikes) you are not giving up much if any power or driveability.

I think for the longevity of our hobby (face it, that is what the average non-rider views it as), riders need to accept some environmental responsibility. Why give these people easy ammunition?

I like how I can ride the FZ6 and not smell of fuel or exhaust afterwards, and I am also a fan of the stock pipes, although a *bit* deeper tone without adding db's would be nice. The clean emissions fits with the "theme" of the bike (as I see it anyway) as a quick and efficient sport tourer.

Bikes (esp. carbureted, no CAT) even though they have small displacement and generally high fuel economy, can produce lots more pollution in relation to their size vs. the latest cars when improperly tuned.

I think CA has a larger # of bikes on the roads vs. other states and for more time out of the year, so it makes sense to look at them as a source of pollution. I believe it will trickle down to other states...in fact some already have a basic emission test as part of inspection (idle and light throttle CO/NOx).

 

[Hellgate]

The only problem with the stock pipes is they are so quiet people cant hear you. Thats why alot of people buy the loud pipes so they can be heard by those cagers blasting music and and being oblivious to the road

With the sound traveling to the direction you came from, and the bike moving away, how does that let the people ahead know you are coming toward them???

Get a bright colored jacket and ride paranoid.

EDIT: Didn't mean to dog pile, should have read the entire thread. Regardless - Loud pipes on the street are very annoying and give all motorcyclists a bad name.

 

[necrotimus]

C'mon this thread is begging for someone to route their exhaust so it points forward!!

 

[Hellgate]

The emmisions from my lawn mower are far worse than those from my cars and bike combined!

Very true, one hour of a lawn mower running = the pollution from 40 cars driving for one hour. Per the City of Austin.