Vance & Hines to Pay $500K Fine

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.

According to the ARB website the “parts were intended for use with, or as a part of, a required motor vehicle pollution control device or system that alters or modifies the original design or performance of the motor vehicle pollution control device or system.  However, the parts were not issued ARB Executive Orders that exempt them from California’s anti-tampering laws.  The Executive Orders ensure that the aftermarket critical emission control parts comply with the applicable aftermarket part regulations, and thus do not reduce the effectiveness of any vehicle pollution control system or cause the vehicle emissions to exceed applicable emission standards.”

The case was settled last month with V&H paying a $500K fine in addition to working with ARB’s Aftermarket Parts Section to ensure that all of its aftermarket critical emission control parts that are sold, offered for sale, or advertised in California obtain the necessary exemptions from ARB.