Subject: Re: Time for Retro talk!
Author: Ian Adkins
Date: Jul 11, 2000, 6:30 AM
Post ID: 1701343150
David said:
I think it would be cool, but how would we get past the EPA, braking requirements, new electrical requirements, (ie; safety and kill switches) all of these would require re-engineering, especially EPA. One way would be |
I never thought about a kit bike :-) I think that the idea would be to get
older bikes and retro them. That way the bike is titled as an older bike and
exempt from EPA stuff. All that would be needed would be a safety inspection
at time of licence. I had a buddy do that with Porsches. He would buy an
older car in europe and ship it over. By being older than 15 years he could
import them without a problem. He would then rebuild them like new and sell
them for less than a new car. Not everyone's cup of tea but there was a
market for a few.
The problem with doing that with the Loopframes is there would be a loss of
conformity (and economies of scale) in the machines built. Unless you could
secure 100 old loopframes....call the factory and order 100 engines....get
the tooling set up to be consisted then each machine would be "custom" and
be too expensive. My buddy had people that were prepared to spend $50 - 60K
for a car. I think that it would be very difficult to sell the bikes if they
were over $15K.
As for the certification.......I can well imagine how tough that would be. I
think that MGNA is still working on their certs for the Canadian markets and
I bet it was much tougher than John Porter ever thought it would be.
All interesting discussion though....and fun to dream about. When I win the
lottery I will become a Loopframe philanthropist :-)
Ian