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Kill the cat: legal in Kommifornia?

  • Thread starter Thread starter XL-erate
  • Start date Start date
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XL-erate

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Hi guys & gals!

Recently got a '96 GN125E and see that it has a serious constipation problem: catalytic converter. Anybody give me any tips on California law regarding modifying exhaust to kill the cat, like swapping on a slip-on or performance piece? Is this something that peace officers check? I don't want to do bad things, I just can't help it!

Another question: I put a UNI filter on this bike and started it for the first time after at least a year [former owner said]. Carb looked real clean when I dropped the bowl, spotless & no varnish, so I flushed with cleaner and reinstalled. Well, it doesn't want to rev above 6,000 or so. Could the revs problem be due to the UNI filter, are they THAT sensitive that it needs a re-jet to even rev when parked? Doesn't seem likely...

THANKS for any assist!

XL-erate
 
Are you sure the exhaust has a cat? It would be unprecedented if it did since almost no other 1996 bikes had one.

Regarding changing the exhaust in CA, it's against the law but rarely enforced.

In terms of the running problem, sounds like a dirty carb problem but it's hard to say. Did you pull out the pilot jet and verify if it's open. The installation of a Uni inside the stock airbox will not mess up the mixture settings but if you ditched the airbox you will have to rejet.
 
Thanks for reply!

Not absolutely sure on cat, but today I happened to look at a couple of other mufflers I had, one off a newer Honda and another off a Sportster. Saw that kinda honeycomb cat stuff inside. Stuck a long screwdriver in the Suzi muffler and hit dead end and it felt sorta corrugated, so I thought it's probably a cat. Maybe not, huh? GOOD!

Thanks for stock exhaust legality.

On the air filter I removed the stock airbox and installed a UNI POD. The old airbox/filter is still useable. May use a UNI element in stock box or just leve it 100% stock for now.

Pilot jet? Yep, that's sounds right. The carb only got a wash with spray cleaner, not the usual full tilt cleaning. Inside carb it looked like the bike was parked yesterday, not 12 months ago, so I didn't go crazy on it. I'll go back and do a better job, shame on me. THANKS!
 
It's not legal, but the odds of a cop ticketing you for anything past a loud exhaust in CA are very low. In the right placed, the odds of getting a ticket for that even are low...



In fact, it's illegal on a federal level... just not very enforced.
 
Thanks for the additional info, Daniel. Seemed like it couldn't be much of a problem because I can hear some of the Harleys 3-4 miles away at times! Thought I'd run it out there though....

Do either of you know what general year they started cats on bikes? Thanks!

XL-erate
 
Well, I live in LA California and have aftermarket exhaust on my GS1100ESD and my Yamaha 1700 Warrior and both dont have a cat converter. Come to think of it, I have never seen on on a bike which I think is a good thing. Around here, there has been a problem of people steeling cat converters from truck to get the platimum. Mine got stollen a few weeks back. In Malibu Canyon expecially by the Rock Store, there has been a crack down on loud exhaust and speeders but overall, the police in California do not hassle people for loud pipes. Just a heads up!
 
Not sure exactly which bike was first but the Yamaha RZ350 two cycle had cats back in '84 or so. Two cycle engines are dirty and drastic measures were necessary to make them legal. Four cycle engines are different and cats are very rare until recently. The EPA rules changed and CA has their own even tougher standards - starting in 2004. Cats are pretty standard these days but don't seem to cause much of a performance loss since engines are more powerful than ever.
 
Thanks again guys. I'll have to check the two mufflers I have in storage and see what year they are as both have federal mandate catalytic converters. One's a Honda I think and the other is off a Sportie.

Personally I'm offended by a lot of Harley's wide open exhaust and I'm a guy who loves engines, motorcycles, exhaust sounds, racing, you name it! On a still day with humidity right you can hear a hog from as much as 5 miles away and close up it's downright deafening. Just my opinion....
 
I agree, bikes with an open exhaust are annoying and for some reason changing the exhaust on motorcycles is epidemic these days.

Going back to the subject of cats, only a couple of models had them prior to 2004. After that, it's still not become standard until the last year or so. And cats don't mean reduced performance anyway - in fact, the manufacturers are going to them as a means of improving performance since the mixture can be set richer without pushing them over the line on emissions.

When working in automotive, the OE company I was working for made a change to eliminate the EGR (exhaust gas recirculation) system on one engine family. To get the emissions back where it needed to be the fuel injection system was recalibrated to make it richer, not leaner - this caused the cat to light-off sooner and improve emissions enough to pass the test. Fuel economy went down although they didn't care since this is the customers problem.:( The OE saved about $50 per car which is all they cared about at the time.
 
XL-erate said:
Thanks for the additional info, Daniel. Seemed like it couldn't be much of a problem because I can hear some of the Harleys 3-4 miles away at times! Thought I'd run it out there though....

Do either of you know what general year they started cats on bikes? Thanks!

XL-erate
Click to expand...
As other people stated, not many had them up until the past few years. There were a few in the early 90s though, and by the late 90s it wasn't uncommon (I think all the FI VFRs had them, and many BMWs).


As far as exhaust, it all depends on where... I wanted to see how my bike sounded open header one time. I also didn't have turn signals on it at the time, and had forgotten to put my mirror back on. When I was riding through town, a local cop pulls up next to me at a stoplight. Looks over, nods at me, I nod back. We both continue. So it really depends on your attitude (ie while I had a ****ing loud bike, I was keeping the revs low) and where you are.

No, I didn't do that again though.
 
Thanks again guys. I checked both mufflers I had, Sportster had info hidden under heat shield and the other only gave the Kawie model as KAW 3740600, couldn't locate on a search. So not clues.

I noiced a mention in another post about "...I drilled out the muffler...", any info or recommendations on that?
 
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