Motorcycle Smog Check Bill Doused

Earlier this year, Senator Fran Pavley (D-District 23) presented a bill that would require newer motorcycles to undergo smog testing, a suggestion that's been kicking around for some time now. Well, via the fine people at Clutch and Chrome, a motorcycle magazine, one learns that the bill, "which perplexed many environmentalists, angered riders and moved advocacy groups to action has been watered down from mandating smog checks for motorcycles." The magazine runs through all the reasons why motorcycles haven't had to undergo smog tests (they quote a L.A. Times editorial that says there isn't decent motorcycle technology to offset motorcycle emissions, hence the leniency on the part of the EPA). According to Clutch and Chrome, "while the bill drops the smog-test provision, it does authorize law enforcement officers to fine motorcyclists who remove the converters." [C and C]