From: hackenbe@Informatik.TU-Muenchen.DE (Rudi Hackenberg)
Subject: Re: Fascist EC is at it again (EC bans tuning)
Originator: hackenbe@sunbode9.informatik.tu-muenchen.de
Organization: Technische Universitaet Muenchen, Germany
Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1993 11:52:40 GMT


In article <51883@seismo.CSS.GOV>, tiberio@seismo.CSS.GOV (Michael Tiberio) writes:
|> In article <1993Jan20.183130.22767@rti.rti.org>, jbp@rti.rti.org writes:
|> > Although I do not own a motorcycle (and never will), *if* I did and
|> > lived in an EC country, I would feel an honor-bound obligation to
|> > intentionally tune, modify, and tamper with my motorcycle.  What a sad 
|> > state of affairs.  I commiserate with those affected.  We live in rather
|> > "thin" times.  Apologies for the non-racing diversion and commentary, 
|> > but this is too much to bear in silence.
|> > John "glad it hasn't happened here (yet)" Posthill
|> 
|> 
|> Reminds me of the woe is me hand wringing that was heard back in 1972
|> or there abouts when significant pollution controls, and anti tampering
|> laws were first mandated (oops here in the US).  For a while you saw
|> the muscle cars disappear from our roads (the arab oil embargo helped
|> this along as well). But as we all know people still modify their cars,
|> few get the $40000 fines that we were "scared off" with (I know of only
|> one person) and now adays with the advent of FI, all it takes is a
|> chip, tough technology to control. As our german posters have mentioned
|> anti modification laws have been in effect there for a while. Has
|> anyone ever seen the list of aftermarket Guzzi frame shops out of

I believe you can get pretty much every aftermarket part / tuning stuff
for Guzzis and Ducatis, you can imagine. Especialliy since Italy is close,
there is no big trouble going shopping. There are many little 
bike shops in Germany and particularly in Italy (close by the factory),
selling really interesting parts - from cams to carbon fiber -.
My experience is limited to italian bikes, so I dunno japonese. 

|> Germany? Who are they selling them to? Can they get the stuff
|> approved?  Who does it the TUV? How thin the "chopper" ranks would be


Customers are people doing some kind of racing on tracks as well as the
average Guzzi/Ducati fanatic. In order to satisfy strict noise and emissions guidelines, both companies provide theire models with approved equipement,
(mufflers, airfilters, noise absorbing pads...) for homologation purposes
only. They don't put lots of effort in that and hence screw up the potential
power and torque. I assume they expect the owner of such a bike, to take care
about those things (which I wouldn't call tuning - simply Normalization :)
Sometimes, if you would buy a new Guzzi/Ducati, you get the bike with an
"approved title". 
That's the point where the "TUV" (comparing to DMV) comes into play.
Fistly, it is the owner's, resp. driver's responsibility to take care about
mounting approved parts - some are (but don't serve the purpose), most are not.
You can try to get things approved by means of an inspection at the TUV,
but thats, expensive, complicated du to Mega Laws - Red Tape.
For the other option you have to consider the regular inspections, where
you have to show up every two years at the TUV. Therefore you might wanna
keep your stock pipes, carbs, rims...basically all that things which makes
it look original - and swap them with the non-approved stuff. 
I think you are pretty save with the inner parts, like cams, pistons, valves
and so on. Usually they don't put you on a dyno, except some insurance company
orders an "autopsy" in case of a (heavy) accident.  Sometimes they pull you over
and take your noise level...:(
 

|> in this country if such laws existed, would sort of separate the poser
|> outlaws from the real ones, no?
|> 
|> When modified bikes are outlawed, only outlaws will have modified bikes...
|> 
|> mtiberio@bbn.com


Take care,

Rudi


--
| Rudolf G. Hackenberg,  Department of Computer Science    TU Muenchen |
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| Phone: +49 89 2105 8247                              8000 Muenchen 2 |
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|"Motorcycles transport the Body - Ducati transports the Soul" - IDOA  |

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