98-21299. American Honda Motor Company, Inc.; Application for Renewal of Temporary Exemption From Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 122  

  • [Federal Register Volume 63, Number 153 (Monday, August 10, 1998)]
    [Notices]
    [Page 42661]
    From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
    [FR Doc No: 98-21299]
    
    
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    DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
    
    National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
    [Docket No. NHTSA 98-4275; Notice 1]
    
    
    American Honda Motor Company, Inc.; Application for Renewal of 
    Temporary Exemption From Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 122
    
        American Honda Motor Co., Inc., of Torrance, California 
    (``Honda''), has applied for a renewal of its temporary exemption from 
    the fade and water recovery requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle 
    Safety Standard No. 122, Motorcycle Brake Systems. The basis of the 
    application for renewal is 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.
        This notice of receipt of an application is published in accordance 
    with the requirements of 49 U.S.C. 30113(b)(2) and does not represent 
    any judgment of the agency on the merits of the application.
        The agency 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 has applied for an extension of its 
    exemption to September 1, 1999, to cover the 1999 model CBR1100XX 
    motorcycle, and ``all unsold 1998 model year'' CBR1100XX vehicles. 
    However, it was unnecessary for Honda to have included unsold vehicles 
    in its request. NHTSA's temporary exemptions apply as of the date of 
    manufacture and certification of an exempted vehicle, and continue to 
    cover that vehicle even if it is sold after the expiration date of the 
    exemption.
        Honda's original and renewed request concerned 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.'' It is evaluating 
    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.'' 
    Although ``the change allows a more predictable rise in brake gain, the 
    on-set of braking occurs at lever forces slightly below the five pound 
    minimum'' specified in Standard No. 122. 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. As of 
    June 19, 1998, when Honda applied for a renewal of its application, 
    NHTSA had not yet decided whether to grant the petition. The agency 
    notes that it anticipates granting the petition and commencing a 
    rulemaking proceeding this fall.
        The 1999 model of the CBR1100XX ``will be nearly identical'' to the 
    1998 model ``with two notable exceptions: the engine air/fuel delivery 
    system will change from carburetors to electronic fuel injection, and 
    the brake system will also have a minor change.'' This change involves 
    characteristics of the pressure control valve, but is ``limited to high 
    input force range, and it will not affect the baseline check result nor 
    other test results in FMVSS 122.''
        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 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.
    
        This year Honda repeats those arguments and submits 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.'' Honda has produced about 1200 motorcycles under Exemption 
    97-1, and anticipates that it will produce about 1,500 vehicles under a 
    renewal.
        Interested persons are invited to submit comments on the 
    application described above. Comments should refer to the docket number 
    and the notice number, and be submitted to: Docket Management, Room PL-
    401, 400 Seventh Street, SW, Washington, DC 20590. It is requested but 
    not required that 10 copies be submitted.
        All comments received before the close of business on the comment 
    closing date indicated below will be considered, and will be available 
    for examination in the docket at the above address both before and 
    after that date. To the extent possible, comments filed after the 
    closing date will also be considered. Notice of final action on the 
    application will be published in the Federal Register pursuant to the 
    authority indicated below.
        Comment closing date: September 9, 1998.
    
    (49 U.S.C. 30113; delegations of authority at 49 CFR 1.50. and 
    501.8)
    
        Issued on August 4, 1998.
    L. Robert Shelton,
    Associate Administrator for Safety Performance Standards.
    [FR Doc. 98-21299 Filed 8-7-98; 8:45 am]
    BILLING CODE 4910-59-P
    
    
    

Document Information

Effective Date:
9/9/1998
Published:
08/10/1998
Department:
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Entry Type:
Notice
Document Number:
98-21299
Dates:
September 9, 1998.
Pages:
42661-42661 (1 pages)
Docket Numbers:
Docket No. NHTSA 98-4275, Notice 1
PDF File:
98-21299.pdf