99-13065. American Honda Motor Company, Inc.; Receipt of Application for Second Renewal of Temporary Exemption From Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 122  

  • [Federal Register Volume 64, Number 99 (Monday, May 24, 1999)]
    [Notices]
    [Page 28025]
    From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
    [FR Doc No: 99-13065]
    
    
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    DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
    
    National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
    [Docket No. NHTSA 99-5698; Notice 1]
    
    
    American Honda Motor Company, Inc.; Receipt of Application for 
    Second Renewal of Temporary Exemption From Federal Motor Vehicle Safety 
    Standard No. 122
    
        We are seeking comments on the application by American Honda Motor 
    Co., Inc., of Torrance, California (``Honda''), for a second renewal of 
    its temporary exemption from the fade and water recovery requirements 
    of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 122 Motorcycle brake 
    systems. Honda asserts that an exemption would make easier the 
    development or field evaluation of a new motor vehicle safety feature 
    providing a safety level at least equal to the safety level of the 
    standard.
        We are publishing this notice of receipt of the application in 
    accordance with the requirements of 49 U.S.C. 30113(b)(2). This action 
    does not represent that we have made any judgment on the merits of the 
    application.
        The discussion that follows is based on information contained in 
    Honda's application.
    
    Why Honda Needs Again To Renew Its Temporary Exemption To Make 
    Easier the Development or Field Evaluation of a New Motor Vehicle 
    Safety Feature Providing a Safety Level at Least Equal to the 
    Safety Level of Standard No. 122
    
        We previously granted Honda NHTSA Temporary Exemption No. 97-1, 
    expiring September 1, 1998, from the following requirements of 49 CFR 
    571.122 Standard No. 122 Motorcycle brake systems: S5.4.1 Baseline 
    check--minimum and maximum pedal forces, S5.4.2 Fade, S5.4.3 Fade 
    recovery, S5.7.2 Water recovery test, and S6.10 Brake actuation forces 
    (62 FR 52372, October 7, 1997). This exemption covered Honda's 1998 
    CBR1100XX motorcycle. Honda later applied for an extension of its 
    exemption to September 1, 1999, to cover the 1999 model CBR1100XX 
    motorcycle. This request was also granted (63 FR 65272, November 25, 
    1998). Now Honda has applied for the exemption to continue for another 
    year to cover the 2000 model CBR1100XX motorcycle. The 2000 model of 
    the CBR1100XX will be mechanically identical to the 1999 model. Under 
    Temporary Exemption No. 97-1, Honda has sold far less than 2,500 
    exempted 1998 and 1999 model CBR1100XX motorcycles.
        Honda's original and renewed requests concern exemption ``from the 
    requirement of the minimum hand-lever force of five pounds in the base 
    line check for the fade and water recovery tests.'' The company 
    continues to evaluate the marketability of an ``improved'' motorcycle 
    brake system setting which is currently applied to the model sold in 
    Europe. The difference in setting is limited to a softer master 
    cylinder return spring in the European version. Using the softer spring 
    results in a ``more predictable (linear) feeling during initial brake 
    lever application,'' and ``allows a more predictable rise in brake 
    gain.'' Honda considers that motorcycle brake systems have continued to 
    evolve and improve since Standard No. 122 was adopted in 1972, and that 
    one area of improvement is brake lever force which has gradually been 
    reduced. However, the five-pound minimum specification ``is preventing 
    further development and improvement'' of brake system characteristics. 
    This limit, when applied to the CBR1100XX ``results in an imprecise 
    feeling when the rider applies low-level front brake lever inputs.''
        On November 5, 1997, Honda submitted a petition for rulemaking to 
    amend Standard No. 122 to eliminate the minimum brake actuation force 
    requirement. We granted Honda's rulemaking petition on March 16, 1999. 
    Honda interprets this action as ``signifying that the agency believes a 
    further review of the issues raised in the petition appears to have 
    merit.''
        The CBR1100XX is equipped with Honda's Linked Brake System (LBS) 
    which is designed to engage both front and rear brakes when either the 
    front brake lever or the rear brake pedal is used. The LBS differs from 
    other integrated systems in that it allows the rider to choose which 
    wheel gets the majority of braking force, depending on which brake 
    control the rider uses.
        According to Honda, the overall braking performance remains 
    unchanged from a conforming motorcycle. Exempted CBR1100XX vehicles 
    meet ``the stopping distance requirement but at lever forces slightly 
    below the minimum.''
    
    Honda's Reasons Why a Temporary Exemption Is in the Public Interest 
    and Consistent With Objectives of Motor Vehicle Safety
    
        Honda argued in 1997 that granting an exemption would be in the 
    public interest and consistent with objectives of traffic safety 
    because it
    
        * * * should improve a rider's ability to precisely modulate the 
    brake force at low-level brake lever input forces. Improving the 
    predictability, even at very low-level brake lever input, increases 
    the rider's confidence in the motorcycle's brake system.
    
        Honda repeated those arguments in 1998 and 1999. It has asserted 
    that a renewal allows further refinement and development of the LBS. It 
    believes that the LBS has ``many desirable characteristics--especially 
    during emergency braking--that could reduce the number of rear brake 
    lock-up crashes.''
    
    How To Comment on Honda's Application
    
        If you wish to comment on Honda's application, please do so in 
    writing, referring to the docket number and the notice number, and send 
    two copies to: Docket Management, Room PL-401, 400 Seventh Street, SW, 
    Washington, DC 20590.
        We shall consider all comments received before the close of 
    business on the comment closing date indicated below. All comments will 
    be available for examination in the docket in Room PL-401 both before 
    and after that date. To the extent possible, we shall also consider 
    comments filed after the closing date. When the Administrator has made 
    a decision, we shall publish it in the Federal Register pursuant to the 
    authority indicated below.
        Comment closing date: June 23, 1999.
    
    (49 U.S.C. 30113; delegations of authority at 49 CFR 1.50. and 
    501.8)
    
        Issued on May 18, 1999.
    L. Robert Shelton,
    Associate Administrator for Safety Performance Standards.
    [FR Doc. 99-13065 Filed 5-21-99; 8:45 am]
    BILLING CODE 4910-59-P
    
    
    

Document Information

Effective Date:
6/23/1999
Published:
05/24/1999
Department:
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Entry Type:
Notice
Document Number:
99-13065
Dates:
June 23, 1999.
Pages:
28025-28025 (1 pages)
Docket Numbers:
Docket No. NHTSA 99-5698, Notice 1
PDF File:
99-13065.pdf