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Feb 18, 2008 8:45 pm US/Pacific
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Scooters: Gas Saver Or Major Polluter?
Reporting
Sam Shane
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) ―
A Sacramento man parked his gas-guzzling truck for a fuel sipping scooter to make his local runs to the store and the doctor.
And he was stunned when the state demanded he return the license plate and registration!
Randy Bearup thought he'd found the perfect wheels for his neighborhood trips to the grocery and the pharmacy.
But then the state of California informed him his little bike is not only illegal; it could be much worse for the air than his truck, and part of a much bigger problem!
Randy Bearup has owned a number of motorcycles in his life.
"I've had Harley-Davidson's, I've had Hondas, I've had Yamahas, BSA, ya know."
But when he saw a little scooter on a visit to the grocery store, he says he had to have one.
"I thought it was kinda cute!"
Randy found this Chinese-made Ricardo 150 at a dealer less than two-miles from his home.
He says for a retired guy on a fixed income, it's a dream!
"It's rated 75-miles to the gallon, so you can't go wrong with it."
Randy bought his bike from the Ricardo motors warehouse in south Sacramento, and he says he asked about air quality.
"I asked him, is it meant for California standards? He said everything is fine, everything. It's perfect for California."
The Ricardo Motors catalog & website say Randy's bike is EPA approved, and this tag on the bike says so, too. It also says it's California approved... But that's not true.
In December, Randy got this letter from the DMV, asking him to return the registration and license plate.
"They're tellin' me, more or less, that the motorcycle does not meet California standards as far as smog."
Randy says that's the last problem he expected with his scooter.
"I was shocked! I was shocked."
Randy Bearup called Ricardo Motors about the problem. He's left many messages. But he never heard back from them.
We got a hold of one of the owners of Ricardo Motors. He wants to be called Tony. Tony says the state is picking on him, and his business is essentially shut down right now.
Tony would not talk with us on camera.
Turns out Randy's scooter -- with its engine made in China -- might be a big time polluter. California air quality officials say these little scooters -- that get up to 75 miles a gallon -- can spew out an enormous amount of pollution.
"Realistically, we can see an uncertified motorcycle or scooter, that can emit as much pollution as 100 SUV's or pickup trucks, and that's not an exaggeration."
And state regulators say thousands of of these dirty little engines -- which are made in China and found in everything from scooters to ATV's to chainsaws, to lawnmowers, and even drink blenders -- are pouring into California illegally.
"The numbers of product coming in from out of state are astronomical. And we just don't have the resources to check every product that comes over the border."
"Oh, my gosh! I never knew that."
"If I'd known that, that it didn't meet stuff, I never woulda bought it."
Another dealer told us the real issue is these tags. He said the only difference between Randy's Ricardo, this Eagle Craft and this Znen, is the name Ricardo. The tags on Randy's scooter say it's actually made by Znen, which has a number of bikes approved in California. But the model and engine numbers don't match up exactly with the approved models...and the state has never heard of Ricardo.
Dimitri Stanich says with thousands of Chinese engines pouring into California those mismatched numbers are exactly the problem. On one of our visits to Ricardo Motorsports in the past month we found Tony, and several other guys loading ATV's into a truck.
Tony told us he'd take care of Randy and other customers with the same problem, if they're patient. But when we went back with Randy Bearup this month, Ricardo Motorsports was gone.
"I've been able to leave a couple more messages, but he still failed to call me back."
Randy is not alone. The state says about 300-scooters came in the shipment with his. The air resources board is ramping up to try to deal with what they say is a flood of illegal motors, but they're not there yet.
If you're looking at a scooter, motorcycle, ATV, chainsaw, whatever, and want to know if it meet California air standards, call 1-888-END-SMOG, and someone there can tell you.
(© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)