After reading about all the tanks boiling over, tanks deforming, gas fumes saturating the garage, and so on I am wondering if this would be covered under US emissions laws? I did some searching, but mostly found folks discussing deformed tanks and various class action suits, etc.
OR.. how can every other motorcycle manufacturer (including overseas ones) avoid the same issues and KTM couldn't?
Not really. Plastic tanks do that shit. If you dont want it to happen get back on your R1100 and head back over to gspot
Different manufacturers have different emissions warranties for different vehicles for different amounts of time. The warranty generally only covers verifiable defects, which if unproven, becomes a customer pay situation. Check with a dealer and see what the warranty covers for the 9x0 regarding emissions claims.
"all the tanks..." YMMV but most of us don't have problems with our tanks- my garage doesn't smell like gasoline & I know better than to take full tanks off the bike in the summer & set them in the sun. A few of the earliest versions of our bikes had their tanks replaced due to decal bubbling, but that was a long time ago in LC8 Adventure history If you have legitimate problems with your bike you can call the customer support hotline or send an email to KTM North America & the nice folks will take it from there. If you have a reasonable claim they're known for making a "good will" correction. If you're a flamer & act like a jerk, you're own your own. Honey attracts more than vinegar... If you modify your fuel, intake or exhaust system for whatever reason (performance or curative) you're in violation of Federal emissions laws. not true- warranties covering emissions equipment are not set at the discretion of the manufacturer... we have Federal laws covering that issue. Extended warranties can increase the coverage, that's all it's already here for several states annual vehicle inspection, including the need for being completely stock with all of its original equipment. I used to live in California- was that a shock to a lot of us bringing in cars from out of state trying to get them smog-tested only to find out the guy who threw away a simple charcoal cannister years ago effectively ended your cars life as they won't even hook it up to a gas analyzer. Yeah, let's not add to our troubles...
Little known import reg factoid, motorcycles are required by the DOT to come equipped with METAL gas tanks. I suppose its never been enforced though it does still stand. (edit - tried to look up the regs on the .gov to no avail. Maybe it has changed?) The problem though, is ethanol. Acerbis simply didn't compound their tanks to withstand it, likely assuming that they were for gasoline! Who in their f'n right mind would try to run these things off 15% ethanol? Its craziness I tells ya. Every model that's having deformation issues has an Acerbis manufactured tank...Ducatis, KTMs, early R1100GSs, etc...
not true- warranties covering emissions equipment are not set at the discretion of the manufacturer... we have Federal laws covering that issue. Extended warranties can increase the coverage, that's all I guess my statement wasn't as clear as it could have been. A child's offroad moto has a shorter emissions warranty than the touring model in his father's garage. That will also be different than the utility atv or or dualsport from the same manufacturer. There is a year/mileage timeframe associated with each.
My question is what are you trying to claim? If you're trying to claim that the tanks are leaking, and the leaking of gas violates emissions law, then you might be wrong. Emissions law, I would imagine, covers what comes out the exhaust. It might be better to look under environmental protection law. Everyone is correct in stating that if you do anything to your bike's emissions system you're violating Federal law. That's why whenever you buy an exhaust or something the company states, "For offroad use only". To sell it for use on the street violates that Federal law. Thankfully, we live in a country where we can buy something and then proceed to violate the law, if we so choose. Since we can put an exhaust, lets say, on either a 450 for the street or as a full blown race bike, the supplier has no way of determining what we're going to use it for, so therefore it's legal to sell until the owner decides to use it for its unintended purpose.
So, Ductati and KTM tanks cost over a $1000 each, don't think it is too much to ask that they do what they supposed to, ie. hold fuel, contain fumes, not boil over, seal and vent properly. I believe the Federal law states that it is 8yr/80K miles, but that may be for passenger cars. Not to hijack my own thread, but I call bullshit on the legends and lore of why some bikes are/are not imported. There are tons of examples of US bikes not available in Europe or Canada because of "emissions", and the reverse is also true. The same internet lore goes for cars (can't pass emissions or crash standards). If a manufacturer wants to access the US market they will build it accordingly.
Emissions cover fuel system integrity, all the way from the gas cap to the exhaust. I have no issue about mods an owner makes-- to each their own. But, as they come from the factory they should meet spec. In this case, I am questioning the fuel system integrity. My stock KTM is great, love the thing...but I have had some minor issues with the seal on the left tank, where over-pressuring creates a nice little river of fuel down the left side and onto my leg. Plus, the added bonus of smelling fuel even at highway speeds. I do not consider this a "feature".
The issue with everyone's tanks deforming is because the ones complaining are running Safari tanks. If there's a deforming stock tank I haven't heard about it. If you've got a seal bad and are having problems with the venting, I'd just call KTM and tell them what's happening. They may fix it, thinking it's just a bad tank, or they may help you figure out how to fix it. It might just be a clogged vent that's creating an over pressure situation, blowing out the seal, and leaking fuel.
