[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]
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