Are you waiting for a 2016 model year motorcycle that hasn’t arrived yet? You might have Volkswagen to blame.

Asphalt & Rubber has been contacted by several motorcycle manufacturers who have said that their new-for-2016 models are being held up by mountainous paperwork requests, both from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the California Air Resources Board (CARB).

The paperwork requests seem to be an across the board effort by the EPA and CARB to check for emission irregularities in the filings from automobile OEMs on their new models, an effort which has included motorcycle manufacturers as well.

But why the fine-toothed comb? The answer is because of the Volkswagen diesel emissions fiasco from last year, the desire not to have another “Dieselgate” scandal.

The news of Volkswagen and Audi playing funny business with their diesel emissions software has been a lightning rod for the EPA and CARB, who have been under intense pressure regarding why they missed Volkswagen’s deceit for so long.

With that scandal galvanizing those regulatory bodies, the aftermath is an intense search for other manufacturers who are running afoul of state and national laws and regulations.

What this has meant in the motorcycle industry is a bevy new models being delayed for several months, as OEMs either comply with the added paperwork requests, or fight with the EPA and CARB over the increased scrutiny.

This news mostly affects enthusiasts, who have deposits down on new machines, as the original arrival dates given may no longer be practical.

On the moto-journalism side of things, we have already seen several press launches pushed back a couple months, because of these delays.

You can expect this situation to resolve itself by the summer time, if you can wait that long. However, this may not be the governmental over-step that you think it is.

There is a strong rumor circulating that more than a few motorcycle OEMs run afoul of exhaust noise restrictions put in place by the EPA and CARB.

This is an issue that has from time-to-time caught out the motorcycle industry – readers will remember the 2011 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R getting a redline reduction and a horsepower decrease in the USA because of noise emission standards.

Are there other motorcycles out there that are louder than they should be, out of the box? It would seem that the EPA and CARB are looking to find out.

Source: Bothan Spies