The Honda NSS300 Forza scooter has received approval from the California Air Resources Board. The 279cc scooter was first announced at the 2012 EICMA show for the European market and Canada, and it looks like it will be available for sale in the U.S. The Forza still needs to get a certificate of conformity from the Environmental Protection Agency, but that should not be difficult after getting the O.K. from CARB.

The Forza is powered by a liquid-cooled fuel-injected 279cc single-cylinder engine based on the engine used in the SH300i. According to Honda, the Forza’s engine produces 25.5 hp at 7500 rpm and 19.2 ft-lb. at 5000 rpm. Honda also claims fuel economy of 72.4 mpg which, with a 3.06-gallon fuel tank, should translate to a range of about 222 miles between fill-ups.

The chassis consists of a steel underbone frame with a lower floating link for the engine mount to improve rigidity balance and reduce vibrations. The Forza has a tw0-level seat with separate fold-out footpegs for passengers. The rider’s seat is positioned at a fairly low 28.2 inches above the ground and lifts up to reveal a compartment Honda claims will hold two full-faced helmets. Continue Reading »

Anti-lock brake technology has become fairly commonplace for motorcycles now, and it sometimes comes as a bit of a surprise when a major manufacturer does not offer ABS as an option on certain models. The European Parliament making ABS mandatory by 2016 has helped push things along, as manufacturers work to equip their models with the technology ahead of the deadline, not just for the European market but also for other markets including the U.S.

New documents released by the California Air Resources Board reveal Kawasaki will offer an ABS version for its 2014 Vulcan 1700 cruisers and tourers for American consumers. The only current Vulcan 1700 with ABS in Kawasaki’s 2013 U.S. lineup is the Voyager. The ABS-equipped Voyager uses Kawasaki‘s K-ACT (Kawasaki Advanced Coactive-braking Technology) technology which disengages ABS when braking at already low speeds.

For 2014, U.S. consumers will have an ABS option for the rest of Kawasaki’s Vulcan 1700 lineup including the Nomad, the Vaquero and the Classic, in addition to Voyager. The CARB executive orders for the Vulcan 900 lineup however still do not include ABS options. Continue Reading »

The California Air Resources Board has agreed to settlements with Suzuki and Piaggio for selling motorcycles that the companies did not disclose could be modified to exceed the state’s strict emission standards.

Suzuki was hit with the larger of the two penalties, agreeing to a fine of $3,020,000, though the amount could be reduced by $1,812,000 if Suzuki follows certain provisions. The penalty is in addition to the previous fine of $885,000 levied by the Environmental Protection Agency for selling 25,396 LT-R450 ATVs and 62 RMX450Z dirtbikes with a racing map programmed into their ECUs that was not certified or tested. This racing map is not initially accessible to customers, unless they buy aftermarket devices to unlock the higher-performance engine mapping.

Under EPA and CARB regulations, manufacturers are required to disclose any such engine modifications when seeking approval to sell its vehicles. CARB did not specify the models involved in its own case, so other models besides the ones in the EPA case may be involved. CARB does say engine mapping significantly increases smog-forming emissions and therefore should have been disclosed. Continue Reading »

The KTM Freeride 350 has cleared emission certification testing in the U.S. including the state of California, getting approval from both the Environmental Protection Agency and the California Air Resources Board. A leaked powerpoint slide from KTM’s North American dealer meeting in 2011, listed the Freeride 350 for 2013 and they may still happen.

The lightweight entry-level off-road model has been certified by both bodies for the 2013 model year though the Freeride 350 has yet to be officially announced by KTM for the U.S. An announcement may soon come now that the Freeride 350 has completed testing.

Unveiled at the 2011 EICMA show in Milan, the KTM Freeride has been available in Europe since April 2012. One of its most notable features is the claimed weight of 222 pounds, without fuel. The fuel-injected engine is based on the powerplant of the KTM 350 EXC-F, but ditches the kickstarter and adds a new lightweight die-cast aluminum engine case. The exhaust and airbox have also been modified to provide more torque. Both the EPA and CARB list the KTM Freeride 350 as producing 22.8 hp at 7500 rpm. The electronic engine management system offers multiple mappings, allow riders to choose to optimize fuel economy or performance. Continue Reading »

New documents released by the California Air Resources Board reveal the existence of a new model from Triumph to be called the America Horizon for the 2014 model year.

As its name implies, the 2014 Triumph America Horizon will likely be based on the existing Triumph America (the 2012 America is pictured above with touring accessories as an illustration.) The CARB documents confirm it will use the same 865cc parallel-Twin engine as the America as well as the Bonneville, Scrambler, Thruxton and the Speedmaster. We predict a claimed output of 60hp at 6800rpm and 53 ft-lb. at 3300 rpm as found on the Triumph America.

The documents reveal little other details about the new Triumph America Horizon though we can make some conjectures based on how it will likely fit into Triumph’s lineup. Continue Reading »

The California Air Resources Board levied a fine of $500,000 against aftermarket exhaust manufacturer, Vance & Hines, for a 2012 violation of a regulatory provision for the exemption of aftermarket critical emission control parts on highway motorcycles. CARB adopted the new regulatory provision in 2009. Continue Reading »

Norton Motorcycles has received approval from the California Air Resources Board for its Commando 961 lineup. The 2013 Norton Commando 961 SE, Café Racer, Sport and SF (Sport Factory) are now certified for the state of California.

All Norton Commando models are powered by 961cc parallel twin engines. The air-cooled SE, Café Racer and Sport models claim 89 hp at 7700 rpm and 59 ft-lb. at 6000 rpm while the air/oil-cooled SF model recently unveiled at the NEC Motorcycle Live Show in the U.K. claims 89 hp at 6500 rpm and 66 ft-lb. at 5200 rpm.

All four models use twin 320mm front disc brakes from and four-piston calipers from Brembo, but all except the Sport model use radial-mount calipers. Brembo also supplies a 220mm disc and two-piston calipers for the rear brake. Continue Reading »

American Suzuki has agreed to a number of sanctions including an $885,000 penalty for importing ATVs and off-road motorcycles that do not meet the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency‘s emission control standards.

The EPA and Suzuki negotiated the monetary penalty as well as other sanctions for the 25,396 units of the 2006-2009 LT-R450 ATV and the 62 units of the 2010 RMX450Z. While the models in question were tested and certified by the EPA, the testing was done on the electronic engine control module’s standard map.

What Suzuki did not disclose in the certification process was the RMX450Z and LT-R450 also had a racing map that would push emissions outside the accepted control standards. These racing map were only accessible from a third-party aftermarket product known as the “Cherry Bomb“, but because the map was pre-programmed into the stock machine, Suzuki was required to disclose the ability to adjust the air-fuel mixture through engine mapping when filing for the certificate of conformity. Continue Reading »

Documents released by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the California Air Resources Board confirm the existence of a new member of BMW‘s F800 lineup, the F800GT.

The 2013 BMW F800GT will likely be a more touring-oriented replacement for the F800ST (pictured above) which was conspicuously absent from the CARB document. The new model is likely the same bike that appeared in spy photos published in the U.K.’s MCN in January.

The F800GT will be powered by the same Rotax-produced engine as the F800R, F800GS and F700GS. According to the EPA’s documents, the 798cc parallel-twin engine produces 62.5 kW (83.8 hp) at 8000 rpm. Continue Reading »

The bulk of the 2013 Harley-Davidson model lineup has been revealed in documents released by the California Air Resources Board. While this is a fairly lengthy list of models, it may not be complete as Harley-Davidson sometimes saves a couple of new model announcements for later in the year.

Most of the models revealed are returning models but there are a couple of omissions as well as several additions, including new anniversary models celebrating Harley-Davidson’s upcoming 110th anniversary.

The list includes three new models, including two additions to the Custom Vehicle Operations line. The Road King gets the CVO treatment next year as does a new model called the CVO Softail Breakout. There isn’t any information on the Softail Breakout except that it will use the 110ci (1802cc) engine like all the other CVO models. Another addition is the Street Bob NGP which also gets Harley-Davidson’s 103ci (1687cc) engine while the regular Street Bob will use the 96 ci (1584cc). Beyond that, it’s not clear what separates the NGP from the base version. Continue Reading »