[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 147 (Thursday, July 31, 1997)] [Notices] [Pages 41127-41128] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 97-20092] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION National Highway Traffic Safety Administration [Docket No. 97-43; Notice 1] American Honda Motor Company, Inc.; Receipt of Application for Temporary Exemption From Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 122 American Honda Motor Co., Inc., of Torrance, California (``Honda''), has applied for a 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 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. Honda seeks an exemption of one year for its 1998 CBR1100XX motorcycle ``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 wishes to evaluate 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.'' The machine 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 [[Page 41128]] 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. If the CBR1100XX is exempted it will meet ``the stopping distance requirement but at lever forces slightly below the minimum.'' Specifically, Honda asks for relief from the first sentence of S6.10 Brake application forces, which reads: ``Except for the requirements of the fifth recovery stop in S5.4.3 and S5.7.2 (S7.6.3 and S7.10.2) the hand lever force is not less than five and not more than 55 pounds and the foot pedal force is not less than 10 and not more than 90 pounds.'' Upon review of this paragraph, NHTSA has determined that granting Honda's petition would require relief from different provisions of Standard No. 122, although S6.10 relates to them. Paragraph S6 only sets forth the test conditions under which a motorcycle must meet the performance requirements of S5. A motorcycle manufacturer certifies compliance with the performance requirements of S5 on the basis of tests conducted according to the conditions of S6 and in the manner specified by S7. In short, NHTSA believes that granting Honda's petition would require relief from the performance requirements of S5 that are based upon the lever actuation force test conditions of S6.10 as used in the test procedures of S7. These relate to the baseline checks under which performance is judged for the service brake system fade and fade recovery tests (S5.4), and for the water recovery tests (S5.7). According to the test procedures of S7, the baseline check stops for fade(S7.6.1) and water recovery (S7.10.1) are to be made at 10 to 11 feet per second per second (fpsps) per stop. The fade recovery test (S7.6.3) also specifies stops at 10 to 11 fpsps. Test data submitted by Honda with its application show that, using a hand lever force of 2.3 kg (5.1 pounds), the deceleration for these stops is 3.05 to 3.35 meters per second per second, or 10.0 to 11.0 fpsps. This does not mean that Honda cannot comply under the strict parameters of the standard, but the system is designed for responsive performance when a hand lever force of less than five pounds is used. For these reasons, NHTSA interprets Honda's application as requesting relief from S5.4.2, S5.4.3, and S5.7.2. Honda argues 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.'' 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 Section, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, room 5109, 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 2, 1997. (49 U.S.C. 30113; delegations of authority at 49 CFR 1.50. and 501.8.) Issued on July 24, 1997. L. Robert Shelton, Associate Administrator for Safety Performance Standards. [FR Doc. 97-20092 Filed 7-30-97; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 49l0-59-P