The $590 Million Engine Rebuild
The $590 Million Engine Rebuild
Well, not exactly, but that’s how much damage the American Motorcyclist Association estimates will be caused to certain motorcycle engines if the EPA’s proposed reduction of lead in gasoline goes through federal legislature.
The proposal calls for a 91 percent reduction in gasoline lead levels by 1988, and total elimination of lead by 1995. Studies have linked leaded gasoline to health problems, especially in congested areas, where there is a high concentration of automobile exhaust fumes.
The AMA forecasts that half of the two million “at-risk” motorcycle engines will suffer serious damage due to lack of lead-provided valve lubrication, with engine-rebuild costs totaling nearly $590 million. Motorcycles in the “at-risk” category include Harley-Davidsons, pre1979 BMWs, British and Italian machines and pre-1974 Japanese bikes.
In opposing the EPA proposal, the AMA pointed out that the agency did not even test motorcycles when it was determining an acceptable minimum lead level, and it is quite likely that because of their higher-revving, mostly air-cooled engines, bikes will suffer valve failure sooner than the automobiles that the EPA did study. The AMA also charged that the EPA underestimated the total number of motorcycles that would be affected.
