Acting preemptively in light of the European Union's recent push towards limiting motorcycle horsepower to 100, Congress has quietly passed a transportation bill that will cap motorcycle engine output at 75 hp.
At a press conference today, DOT spokesman Melvin P. Meyers announced that "We can't lag behind Europe's progressive stance towards two-wheeled moderation." The bill not only limits the horsepower of current and future motorcycle models, it retroactively applies to any registered bike on the road, and will take effect as early as January, 2011. "In the interest of public safety," Meyers explains, "law enforcement officials will clamp down on any and all motorcyclists who violate the law."
The bill outlines numerous electronic and mechanical implements that reduce engine output. For instance, fuel-injected powerplants will be fitted with revised engine management chips and/or throttle bodies, while older carbureted bikes will have a reduction gear attached to the throttle assembly. In instances where owners choose to retain the mechanical authenticity of their motorcycles, a banana can also be slipped into the exhaust pipe(s). At the discretion of state police, mobile dynamometers may be utilized for field tests.
Both the Motorcycle Industry Council and the American Motorcyclist Association have lobbied against the bill, in addition to most manufacturers including Aprilia, BMW, Ducati, Honda, Kawasaki, KTM, Suzuki, Triumph, and Yamaha.
There has been no comment from Harley-Davidson, though Forbes reports that Harley stock has jumped 12 percent on the announcement.*
Related:
- Motorcycle Chrome to be Banned by January 1, 2010
- DOT to Make Wheelies Legal
- Ford unveils world's first disposable car, on About.com Cars
* In other news, Happy April Fool's Day!
Photo © OCC; Click to enlarge
Glad to hear someone finally got their head screwed on straight! These damn powerful motorcycles are a hazard to navigation and a menace to life & limb!
They terrify little old ladies and piss off guys in 5L Mustangs!
Also quietly passed by Congress this week was HR 1300(cc), legislation to mandate leathers, full-face helmets, gauntlet-style Kevlar gloves and knee boots for anyone who rides any kind of two-wheel vehicle, including motor scooters. In addition to the previously mentioned 75 hp limit, all motorcycles would lowered so that lean angles could not be greater than 5 degrees from vertical. Included in this “leaning mandate” is a requirement that motorcycle tires eliminate their current rounded profile, and have tread only on the flat, bottom side. This new federal law will take effect immediately and will supersede all state laws concerning motorcycle safety.
The AMA did not oppose this legislation, and their lack of opposition puzzled many reporters. When the AMA was asked by a Dallas Morning News reporter to comment about their inaction on HR 1300(cc), an AMA spokesman responded, “We didn’t oppose it because we were told that the alternative was a law that would require motorcycles to have four wheels, a non-crushable safety cage for the rider, and bumpers attached to a controlled-collapse frame.”
But can you still wear leather chaps over your full leathers?
Harley Stock jumped because they quietly put a trademark on “75″ a few months back. They will be the only company who can successfully market their bikes as having the most horsepower on the market.
Be prepared to see The Sportster 75, the FXLMNOP 75, etc…
Did you have to put the part about HD Basem?? You cut me deep, real deep Basem!!! LOL
Basem, that’s not funny. With the way congress is taking control of everything else in our lives, I actually though it was true.
Funny joke, but this is not the best time to pull something like that.
Date at the top of this article says it
Happy 4/1/10.
Rion…You OK??
That’s a good one, Basem. Thanks for helping me kick off April with a chuckle.
April fools!!!
Jesus… I forgot it was April’s Fools day!
Good one! The hair on the back of my neck was standing up. Well done!
pretty lame blog post—seriously.
I started reading it thinking “those guys are idiots.. i hate them, but dont live there so… poor buggers that do..” then as i read it more i was thinking “wait a minute… surely this cant be true… for the love of god dont let it be true” then it clicked what the date is a franticly looked for a “happy april fools or something” luckily i found out… boy was i caught on this one ! ! ! (but would we be suprised if the US government came up with something like this??)
This is wrong on so many levels, and it comes as a complete surprise to me.
Let me get this straight: Motorcycles get better gas mileage than cars, reduce traffic and impart virtually no wear and tear on roadways, so let’s kill them off?
Why not mandate proper motorcycle rider training instead? I’ve seen enough herky jerky stops and starts and wobbly moves from riders to make me wonder why they haven’t fallen over already.
We’re always trying to fix things that have gone wrong by legislating the end result. Why not work on the root cause? Too logical?
I’m sure it’s going to get worse, in terms of restrictive, intrusive and pointless laws. The U.S. is officially a nanny state.
We’ve become a bunch of sheep. You’ve asked for it; now eat the grass and shut up.
Doug needs to relax and enjoy life a little!! Jeeez! Mr. Serious…..
Gotcha :>
David and Doug,
You can always join me in my demonstration. http://forums.about.com/n/pfx/forum.aspx?tsn=1&nav=messages&webtag=ab-motorcycles&tid=33617
Paste the link into your browser to find out how. It leads to Basems motorcycle forum.
Fortunately I saw the date the second time I read the article!
But seriously — think the feds are gonna go after bikes someday? Now that the feds are getting in the healthcare business, what’s going to keep them from going after bikes? All of the arguments that apply to cigarettes and certain foods can apply to bikes; they cost the health care system, they eventually cost other drivers money, etc. I mean, I don’t buy it, but then again, 15 years ago I never expected the feds to go after smokes or New York City to ban salt in restaurants.
Just askin’
I never saw that coming because you sent it to me on 4/7…..
That stupid “holiday” was last week.
Get a grip on the limiting the HP on bikes. Lets just put the nails in the coffin of the Motorcycle industry.
Better yet, lest all drive mopeds like third world countries! The day you limit my Horse Power is the day you will see not purchasing a new bike. This is the biggest bunch of Political BULL S*** to date!
This is one angry B****!!!!!
It’s not Republican or Democrat, it’s STUPIDITY!
~~~VOTE ALL NEW~~~
Ha ha.
Funny thing is it is unlikely the government do this anyway. More power mean more deaths. More deaths means lower medical spending. Just look at CAFE. Every increase in the CAFE MPG mandate has resulted in increased crash fatalities. Now they are pushing it to 35MPG. Still more deaths. Crash fatalities cost less than crash survivors.
I THINK YOU ARE FULL OF S___ AS A CHRISTMAS TURKEY.
F*** YOU PETE, THIS IS AMERICA WHERE EVERYBODY HAS THE RIGHT TO RISK IT ALL ANYWAY THEY CHOOSE. F*** YOU D.O.T. YOU CAN’T LEGISLATE SAFTEY MY HEAD MY CHOICE. FINALLY TO YOU GOVERNMENT, YOUR JOB IS TO PROTECT THE PEOPLE AND THEIR INTERESTS NOT SLAUGHTER THEM IN THE NAME OF NATIONAL SECURITY. YUOU HAVE FAILED THAT JOB AND THE PEOPLE NEED TO FIRE YOU. RE-ELECT NO INCUMBENTS AND GET NEW BLOOD IN THERE AND IF THEY DON’T WORK GET THEM OUT NEXT ELECTION. IT’S TIME WE SENT A REAL MESSAGE TO THOSE FAT CATS ON CAPITOL HILL. YOU DON’T WORK FOR US YOUR OUT OF A JOB.
Man I got so fooled by this – a month later !
I told my flatmate I was going to kill myself if this happened in New Zealand hahaha
I had taken the bait and was actually trying to jump into the boat until I got to the banana part…..then I noticed the date!!! Well played sir….unfortunately, this is just the type of thing that this government would try to do, so a lot of people didn’t have a hard time believing it.
What brand of banana? Does it have to
Be imported to work or can home grown bananas be used?
Oh man, you got me good for a second there.
Okay, this may have been a pretty good April Fool’s joke back in 2010. (If you’re a motorcycle enthusiast; for a casual reader it comes off as something of an inside joke.)
Today is September 12, 2012. If you Google for “motorcycle engine horsepower,” this page is the first result, proudly displaying in the headline that motorcycle engines are, in the US, limited to 75 hp.
Yeah, okay, you “got me” until I read to the very end of the article, searched for the italicized footnote, et cetera, et cetera.
At this point, it’s no longer an April Fool’s joke. It’s misinformation. Again, this is the TOP RESULT IN GOOGLE for searches on motorcycle horsepower.
Please take this article down, it’s served its purpose.