The inspection system is a business opportunity, so I personally welcome it.
In recent years, inspectors have been getting younger (or maybe I’m just getting older), and the scary, unfriendly types from the old days are nowhere to be found.
That’s just the way times change.
Lately I get the impression that more meticulous inspectors are showing up. *Is that a good thing?
They seem to take their time and really dig into anything they can’t immediately judge during the inspection process.
Back in the day, it was more like “Yeah, yeah, okay, go on.”
Motorcycles are subject to all sorts of regulations these days, and I think that’s influencing the inspections too.
Emissions-regulated bikes are pretty tough.
If you adjust things with an aftermarket sub-controller (depending on how you tune it), it can get pretty strict.
Whether you have a gas report matters too, and as time goes on, noise levels can cause you to fail, so I sometimes turn down inspection jobs on very new bikes altogether.
I guess the message is: keep new bikes stock?
I think this is one reason why classic bikes have become so popular.
Things that used to go unchecked are now being checked.
For example:
• Handlebar lock
• Vehicle dimensions—width is absolute, plus height and length
• Key cylinder ON/OFF/P/LOCK positions
• Secondary air reduction system
• Reflector area
• JWL
• Belt to chain conversion
• Drum to disc conversion
And the list goes on and on.
I want to avoid risk, so I turn down bikes that seem like they’ll be impossible to pass. Well, it’s kind of self-inflicted, but…
Inspections aren’t easy these days.
