epa certifications and your responsibility

[double trouble]

Every one of the motors we are buying should include the epa certification sticker affixed or engraved to each motor. I spoke with an enforcement official today and he said that if you are riding a vehicle without the certification that technically you are in violation of the law and subject to the same penalties as the manufacturer or importer , whoever signs the customs declaration. The fine per motor is $35000. The law also says that if the vehicle travels over 25 mph then the vehicle is classified as a motorcycle and subject to different testing standards.
This means that each one of us is in violation of the laws. Now the only way to be charged with a crime is to have an epa official make an example of us, similar to what happened to the cd pirates of the last decade. I would not be bragging about the illegal importations of these motors either. This is why most of the vendors we are using are out of stock and prices are rising. Customs has not been in stopping importation of these motors and may start in the future especially with new , more stringent exhaust standards coming in 2011-2012. Things are going to get tricky because these engines will need to have different carburetors , seals, and exhaust catalysts. More money...
Grubee is the only importer that i could find that even lists being epa certified and I did not see any affixed sticker. Hopefully we will find a happy place to ride our bikes , save valuable resources, and not have our government treat us as criminals.

 

[motorpsycho]

every bike engine kit that i have ever bought had a sticker on it about the epa certifications.
I removed the stickers, AND the "cateletic" exhausts, so i guess i am violating the law.
I hate this stuff because it's just like the people in congress who are trying to make it illegal to drive a car that is more than so many years old due to emissions.
I'm a hot rodder and i have a 1955 pontiac custom and if they think they can make me stop driving it, they better think again.
They want to stop hobbiests from being able to register cars and motorcycles of a certain age, and to me this is just wrong.
if they are going to start picking on these little 2 strokes, they better look elsewhere because i can think of a ton of U.S. factories that have way more emissions issues than these little engines ever will.

 

[Mozenrath]

Maybe I'm wrong, but I doubt anyone is going to get busted for using a 2 stroker without a sticker. Most pigs have a rudimentary understanding of the law, and I doubt they're willing to enforce federal EPA regulations. Depending on what state you're in, it's probably not illegal to run a non-certified 2 stroke engine.

Still, the increasingly bad legal climate for hobbyist motors is something to be worried about. Welcome to the age of left-wing fascist law. The more that people give up the doomsday scenario of global warming, the sooner we can stop these joker politicians from ruining our lives.

If having the pigs track us down for not having a sticker from a Chinee factory is something we should be worrying about, I suggest these engines should be marketed to run on alternative fuel which might make it easier to import them. Then simply switch out the main jet to run them on gasoline.

 

[CroMagnum]

Maybe I'm wrong, but I doubt anyone is going to get busted for using a 2 stroker without a sticker. Most pigs have a rudimentary understanding of the law, and I doubt they're willing to enforce federal EPA regulations.

Actually they can't. EPA are federal regulations, and local police can only enforce state and local laws. By the same token the FBI can't pull you over for speeding.

Depending on what state you're in, it's probably not illegal to run a non-certified 2 stroke engine.

OTOH, some states like CA do have regulations, but a representative from CARB will have to come after you. The bottom line is it's extremely unlikely that the end user will ever get hassled for any non-compliant engine.

Still, the increasingly bad legal climate for hobbyist motors is something to be worried about. Welcome to the age of left-wing fascist law. The more that people give up the doomsday scenario of global warming, the sooner we can stop these joker politicians from ruining our lives.

If having the pigs track us down for not having a sticker from a Chinee factory is something we should be worrying about, I suggest these engines should be marketed to run on alternative fuel which might make it easier to import them. Then simply switch out the main jet to run them on gasoline.

You've hit on the scheme the feds are using to kill the sport - restricting imports. By targeting the importers and resellers with expensive prosecution they are in no position to afford, it will continuously choke off the supply until the whole MB hobby is dead.

BTW, I've bought 3 HT motors from 3 different vendors on eBay, and none of them have an EPA or CARB sticker on them.

 

[willfargo]

Does anyone know of somewhere that has kits in stock in case some of us want to maybe buy a few before they are completely choked off? they've gone up to $350 on ebay

 

[Mozenrath]

Rawmotors.com is still selling kits in the $230 range. $350 on ebay? Really? I thought I looked the other day and found kits that were still relatively cheap.

These kits for $188 come with both a centrifugal clutch and pull start.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/80cc-Motori...0445139112?pt=UK_Bikes_GL&hash=item439fe11ca8

This kit is $140.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/80cc-69cc-P...869?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_2&hash=item3a6b3e3815

This one for $170 comes with an EPA sticker.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/50CC-Bicycl...082?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item415e3cebda


Sure, these aren't Grubees, Raws, or Jets, but I bet as long as you do a mild teardown of the engine and the carb to be sure of quality, you'll probably be fine.

 

[motorpsycho]

Nahhh, you can get em for less than $350.00 on e-bay.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/80cc-Silver...970?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_2&hash=item3a6b3e3492

http://www.ebay.com/itm/50cc-Silver...970?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_2&hash=item3a6b41a762

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-80cc-Bi...Parts_Accessories&vxp=mtr&hash=item3f0eb38061

There all the same sh*t, just different sellers.
even a tear down and re-build isn't necessary.
If you install it right on the bike, replace the junk nuts, bolts & washers with some better ones, and maintain it properly, they'll be just as good as any other engine out there.
customer service on the other hand may be non existent, but the majority of these engines are the same no matter who you buy it from.
they are all china junk and they are all throw away engines.
I have bought 4 generic engine kits off e-bay and i have not had one problem with any of them.
my oldest one is going on 4 years old now and it runs like a top with lots of power.