Hi all. I'm a smog tech out here in California. I have to deal with a lot this similiar problems with cars and trucks in regards to smog testing. I'm looking into buying a buggy here soon and I did some research. Basically, any complete vehicle (with an engine installed)sold in California or sold to a California resident has to receive a Executive Order from CARB stating whether or not the vehicle meets CARB emission standards. Mini buggies, Rails or carts now fit into a new emission group called Offroad
Sport Vehicles or Offroad sand vehicles. This is why you see a lot of superlite and full size buggies sold as kits or a rolling chassis, so the manufactuer does not have to meet CARB regs.
RogerLA,that is also why those vehicles do not have to be registered in California, they are considered an incomplete or homebuilt vehicle not designed to be driven on the street. Ok, if the manufactuer wants their vehicle to meet CARB regs, they submit their vehicle for testing (a fairly complex process involving chassis or engine tailpipe testing & evaporative testing) and that vehicle complies with CARB regs, it gets a E.O. issued that allows the vehicle to be sold in California and be registered with the DMV with a Green sticker. Now a manufactuer can submit a vehicle to CARB that does not comply with CARB regs, and it will still receive an E.O., but the DMV will register it with a Red sticker. I noticed that a lot of manufactuers do that with their vehicles designed for "Closed Course Competition". It sounds like some Chinese manufactuers have not submitted their vehicles for compliance testing, so that may be why Roketas are not being registered in California. CARB also does enforcement visits every couple of years to dealers to check if dealers are selling CARB compliant vehicles, so that really is nothing new. From what I have read, the new CARB regs for ORSVs are a lot more lax than what they were when mini buggies were in the LSI emissions category. The LSI category (Large Spark Ignition) had a lot more strigent durability standards (standards that would keep engines from not wearing parts out quickly and fall out of compliance). Now please don't think I'm some mouthpiece for California tree huggers, (global waming? bring it on!), this is just info I have researched and presenting for your information. Oh, and when you read the CARB statement that OHV vehicles put out 118 times the amount of emissions as current model year cars, consider this: There are over 4 million cars in California, versus OHV numbers in the tens of thousands. Do the math, do OHV's really contribute that much to our air quality problems ?