Yamaha to Pay California $2 Million for High Emissions Motorcycles

Last week, a ruling found that Yamaha Corporation, USA and South Seas Cycle Exchange of Honolulu will have to pay over 2 million dollars to the state of California in order to settle a 2005 lawsuit over the importation of motorcycles that failed to meet California emissions standards.

The California Air Resources Board is the "clean air agency" in California, and given California's track record for high levels of air pollution, the organization was established to maintain healthy air quality; to protect the public from exposure to toxic air contaminants; and to provide innovative approaches for complying with air pollution rules and regulations. As well, the CARB is also the agency responsible for banning ozone air purifiers by the year 2009 in the state of California.

With that said, the CARB began an investigation into Yamaha’s case back in 2002, and they concluded that Yamaha had imported over 400 illegal motorcycles, registered them to Yamaha in California, obtained state license plates, and eventually sold the vehicles to California residents.

Air Resources Board Mary Nichols stated that the reason why Yamaha was targeted was because of California’s already poor air quality and she stated that "too many parts of California still fail to meet federal health levels for air quality." She also noted that due to the high levels of emissions, the Yamaha motorcycles in question "could well have contributed to Southern California’s already fouled air."

Other California motorcycle dealers had already settled this case with the Air Resources Board, but Yamaha and South Seas Cycle apparently held out until the end. In addition to paying 1.2 million dollars to the Board, the company will also be forced to pay $500,000 to fund a project to test the impact of ethanol fuel blends on emissions from off-road gasoline engines, and $300,000 to the Office of the Attorney General for attorneys' fees.

Yamaha and South Seas Cycle will also have to begin a vehicle purchasing program to buy back, remove, or destroy any motorcycles not certified for use in California. California motorcyclists can find out if their bike is illegal by looking at the emissions label, and if it does not state "California," the bike has only met federal, but not California, emissions standards.