Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126314
motorcycle model on which that exhaust can be installed. 3) Tampering wit h a regulated motorcycle, or exha ust system so tha t it is loude r than its standard a llows will be illegal. I Aftermarket exhaust systems don't hav e to be as quiet as stock systems if th e original equipmen t ~as quiet er than it had to be . What effec t will q u ieting have on k otor cycl e performance and fuel I econ om y> Quiet ed motorcycles will be heavier and more complex than those of ' tod ay . This may result in less power I and fuel economy for some . The inc re ase in fuel consumption due to th e p roposed standards should be ~>nly three to , four gallons per motorcycle per year. What are these changes going to cost the motorcycl ist ? T he costs of applying quieting techniques vary depending on the ~ype and size of th e motorcycle. Conservative (h igh) estimates 9f th e price in cre ase the consumer can expect to pay as a resul t of these regulations is seven to ten percent. 'It should be noted that these estima tes are based on changes that t ould be made to existing models. As new models are introd uced over the nex t ten years, the purchase price incre ase due to noise control can be expected to be lower tha n the figures quoted here . Can all of the manufacturers meet these proposed standards? What about Harley-Davidson and the Europeans? EPA feels that no curren t m anu fact urer could no t meet the p ro posed standards if they commit their resou rces to the development of new designs and they ha ve eno ugh tim e to bring these designs in to product ion . T he re is no question that th ese standards are ac hieva ble by th e fou r largest manufa cturers. .Ha rley-Davidson is one of a group of manufacturers that, because of the ir sm a ller sales base', may hav e trouble meet ing the s~andards within the time period proposed. In recognition of th is fact , the Agency intends to reexa m ine manufacturer problems with the proposed schedule in preparing the final rule. . Some European firms may drop out of t he U.S. market , not because they are unable to com ply with these stand ards, but because their limi ted U .S. sales wou ld not justify increased expense of t he compliance in the absence of similar European regulations. It should be no ted tha t H arleyDavidson , like BMW and MotoGuzzi , has a t rad itional, unique engine design that depends on two large cylinders. These models have easily id entifiable styling and exhaus t not es. Although th ese firms are expected to be able to com ply with th e regu lation. it is not clear whether th ey ca n ret a in CI rre n t engi ne design th eir ca ncep ts, H ow wil. these proposed regulations affect a ft ermarket m uffler man ufactu rers ? The proposed regulations will have a'sign ificant im pact on afte rmarket man ufac turers . These companies sell ex ha ust systems that featu re perform ance , styling, low cost (Continued to pag e 29) .-. Kenny Roberts wins Italian Grand Prix road race. Kenny Roberts challenges the world on ~ Goodyear racing tires, Kenny Roberts riding his Yamaha VZR500 equipped w ith Goodyear racing tires, has w on the Italian 500 GP. It's another chapter in the 1978 Goodyear worl d challenge. Goodyear mot orcycle tires have helped Kenny w in just about every dirt track and road racing titl e the U.S.A. has to offe r. So, this year Kenny is traveling the world taking on the wo rld's best riders and road courses. And, whe rever Kenny races, Goodyear w ill be there. Goodyear eng ineers w ill be t here test ing, working and learning about how Goodyear racing tires stand up in Grand Prix motorcycle racing. Later, these same engineers will put their experience to use in building championship quality into the ti res you can buy for your mot orcycle. 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