California Emission Sticker WTF?!

[sauldgold]

So I was thrilled to become the new owner of a 1978 G5 just in time for summer, that is until I went to the DMV to register it...

Since it has an out of state title, the third world socialist shithole of Kalifornia-stan will not register it in my name without an emission sticker.  Of course since the bike is nearly 40 years old and has been repainted multiple times, there is no such sticker.

Oh and as for the fact that the bike was originally sold and titled here from new until the year 2000?

Why that's simply irrelevant !!   No sticker, no registration, no exceptions !!   

As you might expect, I am beyond furious. 

I have my fingers crossed that some of you here have a work around for this situation...

[canuguzzi]

Very simple. Get the vehicle history from DMV, they will charge you for it. Then get the California emissions approved list from the year it was originally sold and titled. They will give you that for asking.

Then register the vehicle stating that the sticker was lost, the DMV will schedule an inspection. If the bike doesn't have the proper hoses, canister etc, you need that on the bike.

They will register it.

It works.

Walk in with an attitude and they will not register it. Be courteous (not implying anything) and get it done.

I would go to a different office than the one you tried already.

[guzzisteve]

Good luck w/sticker, no such thing in IL where I grew up. I do have lots of stock jets if you need them. Did you have charcoal cans then? I just threw out a big box of them.

[ken farr]

Very simple. Get the vehicle history from DMV, they will charge you for it. Then get the California emissions approved list from the year it was originally sold and titled. They will give you that for asking.

Then register the vehicle stating that the sticker was lost, the DMV will schedule an inspection. If the bike doesn't have the proper hoses, canister etc, you need that on the bike.

They will register it.

It works.

Walk in with an attitude and they will not register it. Be courteous (not implying anything) and get it done.

I would go to a different office than the one you tried already.

+100

[sauldgold]

Very simple. Get the vehicle history from DMV, they will charge you for it. Then get the California emissions approved list from the year it was originally sold and titled. They will give you that for asking.

Then register the vehicle stating that the sticker was lost, the DMV will schedule an inspection. If the bike doesn't have the proper hoses, canister etc, you need that on the bike.

They will register it.

It works.

Walk in with an attitude and they will not register it. Be courteous (not implying anything) and get it done.

I would go to a different office than the one you tried already.

Thank you for the advice.  I just checked the California Air Resource Board Website for approved vehicles for given model years. Unfortunately their records of approved motorcycles begin in 1982. (I have a '78) 

I assume this is the same database the DMV would access.  Any thoughts?

[groundhog105]

Go to AAA.  Much easier to deal with than the dmv nazis.

[Scud]

AAA is easier and more friendly, but they still need to see the stickers and follow the law.

Do you know what part the sticker was originally on? Maybe you can buy that part, with sticker, from a salvage yard. Or if you know someone who has that part you could temporarily install it on your bike.

If you can find an image of the correct sticker (or one that is close enough), you can make a "reproduction" sticker for your "restoration." This, I believe, will be the easiest thing for you to do. None of the inspectors knows what the correct OEM sticker looks like - they just need to see the right language for the right era. Search Google Images for a sticker for your motorcycle or something similar.

Check the rules too - to make sure your 1978 vehicle is required to have a sticker. I recently registered a 1997 Ford Diesel truck in CA (was previously titled and originally sold in WA). AAA agent was inspecting truck and ready to deny registration, but I explained that 1997 was the last year of SMOG-exempt. She verified, and I got it registered. Proving it is exempt (if it is) would be even easier than printing a new sticker.

[canuguzzi]

Making a sticker is fraud, why risk that for some motorcycle. All you need to finish run up against the one person takes some time and you are hereby hosed.

Anyone saying to make up a sticker ought to also be the first one called if it goes wrong.

Forget ARB, use the DMV. They have the info, I've done it before, going back to 1972 models. You just need to go to another office and walk in like everything is holiday. Get your number and wait. Then register as if nothing is amiss. When presented with a barrier politely provide the details of the original registration and sale.

When they go out and look, explain the repaint/restoration. If they ask about the sticker, say the PO was a real clown and ruined it when the old paint came off. Engage is some small talk, thanking them for working the thankless job (they don't make the rules, stupid voters allow that).

This is easier than it sounds. You might need to visit more than one office. Just make sure the bike is emissions legal. If it isn't, any decent inspector can tell in seconds.

For every rule or regulation there is an exception pathway. Perseverance will find it.

[pehayes]

Ask here to find someone with a similar vintage bike that still has the sticker.  I will presume it was on the fuel tank.  BORROW a tank from someone, even if it doesn't fit.  No need to hook up any hoses.  Just tell the inspector it still doesn't run and you want to be ready when you finally get the spark working.  After it is registered, give the tank back to its lender.

BTW, where are you in California?  There are norcal and socal Guzzi groups and someone might have a similar vintage bike.

Patrick Hayes
Fremont CA

[Scud]

Making a sticker is fraud, why risk that for some motorcycle. All you need to finish run up against the one person takes some time and you are hereby hosed.

Anyone saying to make up a sticker ought to also be the first one called if it goes wrong.

Forget ARB, use the DMV. They have the info, I've done it before, going back to 1972 models. You just need to go to another office and walk in like everything is holiday. Get your number and wait. Then register as if nothing is amiss. When presented with a barrier politely provide the details of the original registration and sale.

When they go out and look, explain the repaint/restoration. If they ask about the sticker, say the PO was a real clown and ruined it when the old paint came off. Engage is some small talk, thanking them for working the thankless job (they don't make the rules, stupid voters allow that).

This is easier than it sounds. You might need to visit more than one office. Just make sure the bike is emissions legal. If it isn't, any decent inspector can tell in seconds.

For every rule or regulation there is an exception pathway. Perseverance will find it.

I did not know it was illegal to reproduce a sticker that would have originally been on the bike. Obviously, it would be illegal to put one on a bike that didn't meet the requirements at the time. If it's against the law, I retract that portion of my post. 

I agree with NorgePilot - you can work within the system. But sometimes you have to be creative (such as parts-borrowing). My LeMans was FL registered, but had the right stickers. Being out-of-state, it needed to show more than 7,500 miles. But the ITI odometer broke well before that (shocking, I know...). The PO said the bike certainly had more than 7,500 miles on it. So I bought a new speedometer and had the odometer set where I wanted it. Much easier than explaining the situation and risking getting caught in the bureaucracy.

Get the check-mark and move on if you can do it honestly.

[sib]

Why the urgency to register it now?  Wait one more year and it will be classified as an antique.  Much slacker rules for those in CA.

[rocker59]

Making a sticker is fraud, why risk that for some motorcycle. All you need to finish run up against the one person takes some time and you are hereby hosed.

Have you got a link to the Kalifornia law that says applying a duplicate placard to a vehicle which originally had the placard is illegal, immoral, or fraud ?

Cars are repaired and restored everyday and stickers/decals/placards replaced as was original to the vehicle...

[Chuck in Indiana]

Have you got a link to the Kalifornia law that says applying a duplicate placard to a vehicle which originally had the placard is illegal, immoral, or fraud ?

Cars are repaired and restored everyday and stickers/decals/placards replaced as was original to the vehicle...

Motorcycles, too.

[canuguzzi]

Have you got a link to the Kalifornia law that says applying a duplicate placard to a vehicle which originally had the placard is illegal, immoral, or fraud ?

Cars are repaired and restored everyday and stickers/decals/placards replaced as was original to the vehicle...

Just avoiding stupidity, foolishness and general ignorance.

Got a link to prove making your own is legal?

Tell you what though, you make the guy a sticker and send it to him. Hey, while you're at it, why not start a business printing them, just to help people out.

Duplicate is not making one up.
He isn't placing the original sticker back on.
There is a process to get the bike registered.

Only fools try to game the system when there are simple and effective ways to comply.

Some laws are generic in nature so they can be applied to various circumstances but yet some people insist on childish nonsense and play the show me the law that says game. The rest are trolls.

 

[Curtis Harper]

The decal was part of the sidecover when it was sold new, so when you lost yours and had to replace it with a new one, you remembered to check that the sticker was on the one you bought from someone who knew what they were looking for.

[rocker59]

Just avoiding stupidity, foolishness and general ignorance.

Got a link to prove making your own is legal?

Tell you what though, you make the guy a sticker and send it to him. Hey, while you're at it, why not start a business printing them, just to help people out.

Duplicate is not making one up.
He isn't placing the original sticker back on.
There is a process to get the bike registered.

Only fools try to game the system when there are simple and effective ways to comply.

Some laws are generic in nature so they can be applied to various circumstances but yet some people insist on childish nonsense and play the show me the law that says game. The rest are trolls.

 

NP,

Go on.  Admit it.  You made that shite up.

In The USA, if something is not illegal, it is legal.  There don't have to be laws on the books making things legal.

Automobiles and motorcycles and airplanes are crash repaired and restored every day in this country, Kalifornia included.

In the process of repairing and restoring those machines, decals and stickers for EPA, CARB, et al, are replaced to bring the machine back to "original".

You're talking out your ass, again, and just can't handle it when someone calls you out.

Boo!

[rocker59]

The decal was part of the sidecover when it was sold new, so when you lost yours and had to replace it with a new one, you remembered to check that the sticker was on the one you bought from someone who knew what they were looking for.

In Norge Pilot's world, a lost side cover (which includes losing the complance sticker) would mean the bike is not ever going to be legal in Kalifornia again for road use, and may as well be sent to the crusher.  Or Mexico, I guess... 

LOL!

[canuguzzi]

NP,

Go on.  Admit it.  You made that shite up.

In The USA, if something is not illegal, it is legal.  There don't have to be laws on the books making things legal.

Automobiles and motorcycles and airplanes are crash repaired and restored every day in this country, Kalifornia included.

In the process of repairing and restoring those machines, decals and stickers for EPA, CARB, et al, are replaced to bring the machine back to "original".

You're talking out your ass, again, and just can't handle it when someone calls you out.

Boo!

Oh for crying out loud, an emissions sticker taken off can be replaced , no kidding.

Making one up yourself is not OK. All those people restoring vehicles are making up their own stickers? I can't stop laughing.

Why don't we all start printing our own license plate annual stickers too?

This is so easy to remedy only those without a little bit of common sense and some perseverance can't get it done. Yeah, lets all start printing our own emissions stickers, registrations, license plate tags, smog certificates and all that.

Talk about pulling stuff out of places.

[rocker59]

Oh for crying out loud, an emissions sticker taken off can be replaced , no kidding.

Making one up yourself is not OK. All those people restoring vehicles are making up their own stickers? I can't stop laughing.

Why don't we all start printing our own license plate annual stickers too?

EPA sticker and annual license renewal stickers are not the same.  That's a straw man argument.  Again, talking out your ass.

Someone is making the replacement stickers.  They're not handed out by EPA and CARB.  They're just printed information sheets.  For f***'s sake, you're a dense old coot.

[canuguzzi]

Rocker, why don't you just print out the sticker and offer to send it to him?

Put up or...

[rocker59]

Rocker, why don't you just print out the sticker and offer to send it to him?

Put up or...

I'll put up, if you'll shut up... 

[rocker59]

http://www.autodatalabels.com/

"Auto Data Labels has made the ordering process very simple: Just take a photo of the label to be manufactured, insert it an email along with your shop name, address, contact person & phone number, and send it. its that simple. Within 1-3 days the label will arrive!"


 

[normzone]

You two can have a pissing contest any time you like, but I have a question...Curtis, they had stickers as early as 1978? Damn, do you know when that practice began?

I remember my mom driving around a smog inspection roadblock in the sixties because my dad had disconnected the vacuum advance from the radiator thermostat or some such doodad.

[canuguzzi]

http://www.autodatalabels.com/

"Auto Data Labels has made the ordering process very simple: Just take a photo of the label to be manufactured, insert it an email along with your shop name, address, contact person & phone number, and send it. its that simple. Within 1-3 days the label will arrive!"


 

He doesnt have the label. Read the OP. Really?

He doesn't need it. You think because it was asked here that the whole world just found out? It has been discussed for years on other forums along with the solution.

No one has to print anything. A simple explanation along with the info easily obtained get the bike registered.

All this printing of emissions stickers is foolishness.

[Curtis Harper]

You two can have a pissing contest any time you like, but I have a question...Curtis, they had stickers as early as 1978? Damn, do you know when that practice began?

I remember my mom driving around a smog inspection roadblock in the sixties because my dad had disconnected the vacuum advance from the radiator thermostat or some such doodad.

I'll happily prove my age and say I was still just assembling them from the crate and putting them on the floor for sale in 78. I got my license the next year, so I was not paying attention to when they actually started. I know they weren't applicable to Missouri at that point so it was only a side note that I even spotted them. I do remember that being about the earliest. Like many other decals they could have been a purchasable spare part.

[canuguzzi]

Specifically, Vehicle Code 4463 VC prohibits all of the following:

"Altering, forging, counterfeiting or falsifying vehicle registration materials;
Displaying or possessing blank, canceled, revoked, forged or counterfeit vehicle registration materials with fraudulent intent; and
Passing or attempting to pass as true and genuine any false, altered or counterfeit vehicle registration materials.2
Examples

Here are some examples of behavior that could violate California's car registration fraud law:

Creating forged registration certificates and selling them on the black market;
Stealing a registration sticker from another car and displaying it on your own to avoid having to pay the hefty fees for vehicle registration renewal; and
Creating fake �smog test� certificates for submission to the DMV."

That can mean anything used to obtain a registration and it is not a sticker, it is a manufacturers certification.

Why anyone would want to risk it disregards common sense. Take the bike to the DMV, explain it, talk to the CHP officer who has the discretion to check the little box and be done with it.

Thousands of people have probably gotten their stickerless motorcycles registered without making it a big deal.

[oldbike54]

 Hell , back when Oklahoma still did yearly safety inspection requiring a new sticker , I drove around for several months with part of an old Salem package taped to the windshield of a 1963 Chevy II , simply waved at every cop coming towards me . Damn , didn't realize doing so was gonna get me sent to jail , of course I wasn't faking a sticker , it was obviously just a Salem wrapper 

 Dusty

[Curtis Harper]

Hell , back when Oklahoma still did yearly safety inspection requiring a new sticker , I drove around for several months with part of an old Salem package taped to the windshield of a 1963 Chevy II , simply waved at every cop coming towards me . Damn , didn't realize doing so was gonna get me sent to jail , of course I wasn't faking a sticker , it was obviously just a Salem wrapper 

 Dusty

Dang, all this time I thought there were no advantages to smoking

[redrider90]

Thank you for the advice.  I just checked the California Air Resource Board Website for approved vehicles for given model years. Unfortunately their records of approved motorcycles begin in 1982. (I have a '78) 

I assume this is the same database the DMV would access.  Any thoughts?

If their data base starts in 1982 and yours is a 78 model then the emission standards wouldn't apply would they? Seem if the data base starts after this bike was made then there data base emissions standards are not applicable: are they?
Am I interpreting this incorrectly? How can they apply standards to a bike they do not have standards for?

[oldbike54]

Dang, all this time I thought there were no advantages to smoking

 Actually Curtis , the Salem pack was free , dog , I am a natural born Guzzi owner 

 Dusty