Forum

[stinkwheel]

"Stinkwheel if you buy a NEW motorcycle, that HAS to be Euro 4 emissions compliant, it will have to STAY compliant. So any modification that make is non emissions compliant will mean it is not road legal. This will be tested at MOTs and also roadside checks. The local motorcycle mechanic is grumbling because of the expensive kit he will have to buy to make sure bikes that were delivered as Euro 4 compliant are compliant at MOT. Is that clear now."



No, it's not at all clear because what you are asserting to be the case is news to me and I try to keep abreast of new bits of motorcycle related legislation. Where did you find out about it?



Sorry to bang on about it but you appear to me to be giving out incorrect advice. I think what has happened is you have misinterpreted what you have read in that Bennets online magazine article. Specifically the bit where EURO 4 has introduced an element that a motorcycles design must be sufficiently robust to allow it to meet emissions limits for 35,000km post maufacture. This is a fundamental design requirement placed on the manufacturers at the testing and type approval stage. It has no real world relevance to the owner any more than the actual emissions will in no way reflect what they find on their rolling road tests.



I have seen nothing reported in primary or secondary legislation which allows for roadside or MOT testing of motorcycle emissions after the vehicle has been sold and nothing that would make non-compliance an offence. There has certainly been no change to the MOT testers manual to reflect such a situation. I think your local mechanic is just whinging in the way most motorcycle mechanics whinge generally. He well may be having to buy a load of new computer kit to allow him to effectively service and diagnose new bikes which now need plugging into a computer to do anything to them but it's nothing to do with the MOT, that's all still pinging spokes and checking the horn works.



If I walked into an Enfield dealers tomorrow, bought a brand new himalayan, rode it home, fitted a de-cat exhaust and reflashed the ignition system for max performance (I can't, but imagine I could). What specific law would I be breaking?

[Rattlebattle]

It seems to me that the key issue in this is what, if any, changes to the MOT testing procedures are planned. I have seen nothing on this regarding motorcycles, certainly not in the many articles on what Euro IV means. That is not to say that there won't be any changes, ever; in my opinion it is unrealistic to expect no changes to be made. I can foresee some coming into place for Euro V if not Euro IV (and MOT testing of Euro IV vehicles is still nearly two years away). For one thing I'd be surprised if, now that ABS is compulsory, a lit ABS fault light wouldn't be a fail. Unlike with old BMWs etc on which a lot of owners remove the ABS when it plays up, owners won't be able to do this. (In fact I wonder whether a fault light relating to traction control would also be a fail as it is on a car). The biggie, of course, is whether or not there is any plan to introduce exhaust emission testing as part of the MOT. That could affect bikes with Power Commanders, reflashed ECUs and carb conversions, though a lot would depend on whether if the emissions could be reduced sufficiently to get within the limit a pass would be awarded or whether the fact that a bike had been tampered with would in itself be a fail. I well remember people leaning out the SU carb on the old Minis to pass the MOT, after which the owner retuned the carb. The key point in this, of course, is that it's all speculation. Nothing has yet changed. I am aware of concerns amongst kit car builders about new regulations affecting them and, of course, recently the press has highlighted the fact that many diesel owners have removed the particulate filters on their vehicles, usually because they become clogged and, after a certain point have to be replaced. Being realistic I doubt that the current situation with bikes will remain indefinitely, but I have to say that I feel inclined to stick with pre Euro IV bikes, in the hope that retrospective changes do not occur. Let's face it, the future of the ic engine is in doubt unless something like what Mazda is doing with its hybrid diesel/petrol engine buys more time. (It's worth doing a search on Mazda's Sky-Active technology - very interesting). FWIW we have fairly liberal MOT testing here. I know of an owner of a Triumph like mine who lives in Spain; his bike is modified like mine but he has to put it all back to standard every time the vehicle is tested.