USFS approved?

LeFrog · May 31, 2005

Is the stock exhaust on the 01s USFS approved? I'd hate to get yet another citation from a park ranger (esp. after the Moab joke).

Is it possible to add a spark arrestor to the stock exhaust? It does not seem to have one.

Right now in AZ it is a $2500 fine for riding without a spark arrestor. I'd hate to be stopped by a ranger and to have to explain him that my exhaust is USFS approved and that there is no chance a spark could come out of a 3-foot long silencer.

berger · May 31, 2005

It should be USFS approved. Check for the stamp on the muffler.

risky1 · May 31, 2005

I believe that FC models did not have usfs approved spark arrestors. I have the same issue with my 02. Anyone have a FE or FX model pipe that they are willing to part with?

PowerFiend · May 31, 2005

For you round can guys you can try:
Pro Moto Billet Spark Arrestor/silencer end cap

logjump · May 31, 2005

I have the Promoto Billet piece that PowerFiend refers to on my 2002 FE501 and it looks and fits beautifully! Their website lists only FC models but it actually fits all models with the round can.

LeFrog, my bike isn't currently available for me to check but it seems there is a USFS badge on the stock can up behind the side number plate. Should be the same for 01's and 02's.

Log

HusaStarts · May 31, 2005

My '02 fe501e came with a krizman type spark arrester. The can is not stamped but it came with a foil sticker that has a usfs approved number.
Of course the sticker is slowly melting away. My friend also had the same bike with out the sticker but the pipe did have the same spark arrestor as mine.

Phil

Bobzilla · May 31, 2005

The can on your muffler may not say it has a forrest service approved arrestor buy I can tell you that it does. I got a citation in the state of Californacation from a friendly ranger who was being a dick. I had him take a picture or the arrestor and asked him to bring it to court. Ranger Richard explained how he stoped me for no green sticker but then found out I had a street tag and an attitude from Nevada. But he caught me with no arrestor and even took a picture of it. Once it was my turn to talk I took out my trusty cordless drill , drilled out the rivets opened the can and showed the krizman or as some call it turbo type arrestor. Judge said it should have been stamped and I am a smart *** but I did have a approved arrestor on the bike. I was too cheap to buy another piece of crap to add on to the already in order arrestor just because the manufacture didn't stamp the can.
After twenty years behind a badge I really hate ones that are Richard Cabeza's :evil:

LeFrog · May 31, 2005

So if someone places a fake "USFS-Approved" stamp on a pipe, then it's up to him to sustain the claim that is really approved if challenged in court, but as for the ranger, he has to either trust the stamp or waste a judge's time and taxpayer's money (aka his salary) by sending someone to court if he has a feeling the pipe is not legal.

Conclusion: can someone buy such a stamp/badge?

berger · May 31, 2005

OK...I'll spell it out for you. For sure all 01 and up FE and FX models have a USFS approved spark arrestor. It is stamped into the metal from the manufacturer (usually). FC models do not have spark arrestors. I dont know about the SM models(I would guess no). Unless someone removed the spark arrestor from your bike, it's got one. I would be willing to bet that the last owner of your bike would have no part in removing a spark arrestor.

LeFrog · May 31, 2005

Ok but have you dealt with a park ranger. I have. It cost me.

:evil:

tm-enduro · Jun 1, 2005

I've wondered how many 'berg owners (of FE and FX models) have got a ticket because the foil sticker containing the USFS info has come off. Whoever decided to place a SA cerification on a muffler with a sticky, and then hide it behind the number plate (so that you have to remove the fender/ number plate to show it) should have their head examined. I don't know how a non-stamped SA ever got thru through approval onto a bike. The old Acerbis nylon SA/ muffler was the same way, and many guys got tickets or weren't allowed to enter a race!!

berger · Jun 1, 2005

All of the races I have been to, they check for spark arrestors by running a coat hanger into the pipe to see if there is a screen. They dont go by the labels because anyone could just remove the arrestor from the inside of the pipe.I am not really sure how they check th Krizman(sp?) type that are in the Bergs and KTM's. I will find out later and post it.

LeFrog · Jun 1, 2005

We need to do something in Arizona. With a $2500 reward on our heads, and a new headhoncho at the head of Tonto (ask AzRich), they're going to start leaving their air-conditioned offices to go write citations.

Same thing will happen in other states. It started with Kalifornia... It's starting to reach other states... First Utah and Oregon, now us, next New Mexico, Colorado...

Pretty much like West Nile, only backward 8O

berger · Jun 1, 2005

The fine is only if you are caught NOT running an approved spark arrestor. If you are not running an approved spark arrestor in a national forest in this state $2500 is not near enough of a fine.
Talk to a ranger some time. They would be more than happy to never write another ticket again. Fines dont make up 1% of their funding. If you are really that worried you can spend the $125 on a Promoto Billet spark arrestor. I had one on my FC550. They look,fit and work well. It is also stamped USFS approved on the end cap.

LeFrog · Jun 1, 2005

Yes I do talk to them, once a month.

If they catch you riding a bike without a USFS-Approved sticker, they will write a citation.

Don't tell me they're fair and well intended.

I have seen a ranger let a bunch of yahoos who literally trashed a protected area because they were minors and knew he could not write them citations but stopped a group of adults whose only crime was to come after the first bunch and park their bikes in the said area because they would guarantee that the citations quota could be filled for the day.

Yet we did less than 1% of the damage (you had to see how these punks had motocrossed the bottom of Gemini Bridges) and we had to clean up THEIR damages and pay a fine. It could have been your group who would have paid for somebody else's bad behavior. Would you have gone back to Utah to defend yourself in court? What if the judge is anti-dirt riders and supports the ranger no matter what you say?

I just want to avoid going to court to defend myself like Bobzilla did (and remember he is the previous owner) because if I cannot go to court on that day for different reasons then I am done for $2500 although my exhaust is legal.

Sure, citations only represent a small portion of their budget... for the moment.

berger · Jun 1, 2005

That's kind of strange....when I was a kid growing up in Az. I managed to get a few ticket's. I didnt seem to matter that I was a minor. All that meant was that it was double jeapardy 1) the fine 2) the *** kickin from my ole man.
As far as Moab goes I guess the aggrigate IQ of the group I was in was significantly higher than yours. Some how we understood the clearly posted sign that said "Closed to motor vehicles" parked our bikes in the parking space made available and walked over to the bottom of the bridges. Dont think of it as a fine but rather a stupitidy tax. We all got to pay our taxes, some more than others.
As for the other enforcement issues I guess we can just agree to disagree. I have no problems with law enforcement or the rangers as I tend to play by the rules. If I break the rules then I guess I got to pay the tax :wink:

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