[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 207 (Wednesday, October 25, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63912-63913]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-26817]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

[Docket No. NHTSA 2000-8090; Notice 1]


Honda Motor Company, Ltd.; Receipt of Application for Temporary 
Exemption From Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 122

    American Honda Motor Co., Inc., of Torrance, California 
(``Honda''), on behalf of Honda Motor Company, Ltd., of Japan, has 
applied for a temporary exemption from the fade and water recovery 
requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 122 
Motorcycle Brake Systems. The basis of the application is that an 
exemption would make easier the development or field evaluation of a 
new motor vehicle safety feature providing a safety level at least 
equal to the safety level of the standard.
    This notice of receipt of an application is published in accordance 
with the requirements of 49 U.S.C. 30113(b)(2) and does not represent 
any judgment of the agency on the merits of the application.
    Honda seeks an exemption of one year for its 2001 CBR1100XX 
motorcycle ``from the requirement of the minimum hand-lever force of 
five pounds in the base line check for the fade and water recovery 
tests.'' Honda has previously received exemptions totaling three years 
from this requirement for the 1998-2000 model year CBR1100XX (See 
Docket No. 93-47). The brake system of the 2001 model is said to be 
identical to the system on vehicles previously exempted. In 1997, Honda 
filed a petition for rulemaking to amend Standard No. 122 to 
accommodate the braking system of the CBR1100XX. NHTSA granted the 
petition and published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on November 17, 
1999 (64 FR 62622); however, a final rule had not been issued as of 
September 1, 2000, when its exemption expired.
    Honda has been evaluating the marketability of a motorcycle brake 
system setting which is currently applied to the model sold in Europe, 
and has sold 3,600 exempted motorcycles as of the date of its 
application. The difference in setting is limited to a softer master 
cylinder return spring in the European version. As Honda said in its 
initial application in 1997, using the softer spring results in a 
``more predictable (linear) feeling during initial brake lever 
application.'' Although ``the change allows a more predictable rise in 
brake gain, the on-set of braking occurs at lever forces slightly

[[Page 63913]]

below the five pound minimum'' specified in Standard No. 122. If on-set 
of braking is delayed until the five pound minimum is reached, a 
feeling results that the brakes come on suddenly or unpredictably. 
Honda considers that motorcycle brake systems have continued to evolve 
and improve since Standard No. 122 was adopted in 1972, and that one 
area of improvement is brake lever force which has gradually been 
reduced. However, the five-pound minimum specification ``is preventing 
further development and improvement'' of brake system characteristics. 
Honda reports that many who try the system ``feel that they have more 
control with independent front and rear brake systems,'' and that ``The 
European version setting has shown greater consumer acceptance.''
    The CBR1100XX is equipped with Honda's Linked Brake System (LBS) 
which is designed to engage both front and rear brakes when either the 
front brake lever or the rear brake pedal is used. The LBS differs from 
other integrated systems in that it allows the rider to choose which 
wheel gets the majority of braking force, depending on which brake 
control the rider uses.
    According to Honda, the overall braking performance remains 
unchanged from a conforming motorcycle and from Honda cycles previously 
exempted. If the CBR1100XX is exempted it will meet ``the stopping 
distance requirement but at lever forces slightly below the minimum.''
    While Honda's application did not cite applicable sections of 
Standard No. 122, its previous applications asked for relief from the 
first sentence of S6.10 Brake application forces, which reads:

Except for the requirements of the fifth recovery stop in S5.4.3 and 
S5.7.2 (S7.6.3 and S7.10.2) the hand lever force is not less than 
five and not more than 55 pounds and the foot pedal force is not 
less than 10 and not more than 90 pounds.

    However, NHTSA determined that Honda required relief from different 
provisions of Standard No. 122, although S6.10 related to them. 
Paragraph S6 only sets forth the test conditions under which a 
motorcycle must meet the performance requirements of S5. A motorcycle 
manufacturer certifies compliance with the performance requirements of 
S5 on the basis of tests conducted according to the conditions of S6 
and in the manner specified by S7. In short, NHTSA provided relief from 
the performance requirements of S5 that are based upon the lever 
actuation force test conditions of S6.10 as used in the test procedures 
of S7.
    These relate to the baseline checks under which performance is 
judged for the service brake system fade and fade recovery tests 
(S5.4), and for the water recovery tests (S5.7). According to the test 
procedures of S7, the baseline check stops for fade (S7.6.1) and water 
recovery (S7.10.1) are to be made at 10 to 11 feet per second per 
second (fpsps) per stop. The fade recovery test (S7.6.3) also specifies 
stops at 10 to 11 fpsps. Test data submitted by Honda with its 1997 
application, and which it has incorporated by reference in its 2000 
application, show that, using a hand lever force of 2.3 kg (5.1 
pounds), the deceleration for these stops is 3.05 to 3.35 meters per 
second per second, or 10.0 to 11.0 fpsps. This does not mean that Honda 
cannot comply under the strict parameters of the standard, but the 
system is designed for responsive performance when a hand lever force 
of less than five pounds is used. For these reasons, NHTSA interprets 
Honda's application as requesting relief from S5.4.2, S5.4.3, and 
S5.7.2.
    Honda argues that granting an exemption would be in the public 
interest and consistent with objectives of traffic safety because it

* * * should improve a rider's ability to precisely modulate the 
brake force at low-level brake lever input forces.
    Improving the predictability, even at very low-level brake lever 
input, increases the rider's confidence in the motorcycle's brake 
system. We feel that improvements in braking, even those of an 
incremental nature, are in the public's interest and consistent with 
the objectives of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act.

    Interested persons are invited to submit comments on the 
application described above. Comments should refer to the docket number 
and the notice number, and be submitted to: Docket Management, Room PL-
401, s40 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20590. It is requested but 
not required that 10 copies be submitted.
    All comments received before the close of business on the comment 
closing date indicated below will be considered, and will be available 
for examination in the docket at the above address both before and 
after that date. To the extent possible, comments filed after the 
closing date will also be considered. Notice of final action on the 
application will be published in the Federal Register pursuant to the 
authority indicated below. Comment closing date: November 24, 2000.

    Authority: 49 U.S.C. 30113; delegations of authority at 49 CFR 
1.50. and 501.8.

    Issued on October 12, 2000.
Stephen R. Kratzke,
Associate Administrator for Safety Performance Standards.
[FR Doc. 00-26817 Filed 10-24-00; 8:45 am]
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