California to Phase Out Gas Dirt Bikes. What You Need To know
Gasoline-powered off-road vehicles to go to zero-emissions by 2035.

California is at it again, making news with its ambitious energy directives, including an executive action that would ban the sale of new gas and diesel burning passenger cars and trucks, as well as all off-road vehicles, which includes dirt bikes, side-by-sides and ATVs by the year 2035. Purchase of new medium- and heavy-duty trucks (think commercial) would be phased out by 2045.
Note this directive does not challenge ownership of fuel-burning vehicles purchased before 2035.
It also fails to mention the fate of street-legal motorcycles like our beloved adventure and dual-sport models, which has our hopes up that the Golden State, which encourages motorcycle riding to reduce congestion on its busy freeways, is giving a further nod to their inherently small carbon footprint. In any case, the motorcycle industry is already self motivating toward e-power, as we reported last week.
Further evidence the omission of street legal motorcycles from California’s rigorous plan was intentional is a recent report from MCN that states the UK’s Department of Transportation has confirmed it is not including motorcycles in that country’s similar ban on sales of new petrol and diesel passenger vehicles by 2035. On the other hand, the 13 additional countries committed to phasing out sales of non-zero emissions vehicles by 2035, including China, France and Germany, have not made an exception for two wheelers.

So at least for now, as far as two-wheelers go, it looks like it’s only dirt bikes on the chopping block for 2035. Not great news, but imagining electric-or-nothing adventure bikes feels like a far greater compromise.
And while it might seem like this directive came out of left field, it’s hardly idle chatter. “As California goes, so goes the country” is an oft-used adage rooted in fact, especially when it comes to the state’s pollution-bashing measures. Just take a look at the California Air Resources Board’s (CARB) track record. Back in the fifties and sixties the state had the worst pollution in all of the country and much of the world. Fast forward to the eighties and air quality was back at healthy levels, thanks in large part to California’s very strict rules about emissions levels emitted by new vehicles sold within its borders.
Remember when there were “California bikes?” What a bunch of hoops manufacturers had to jump through to create a separate version of each model to conform to California’s demands. Today most motorcycles are delivered as 50-state models. How many civilians even noticed?
The point being, California is once again foretelling the future of what will someday be the entire country’s reality.

Still, California’s plan to phase out our beloved petrol-burning dirt bikes, side-by-sides and ATVs has hurdles to jump, some of them self-implemented, such as the caveat that implementation needs to match with “technological feasibility and cost-effectiveness.”
On this note, the governor’s talking points include how his ballsy directive is intended to spur forth the creation of viable infrastructure to support more growing numbers of zero-emissions vehicles already being purchased in the golden state. Just yesterday, in the California Bay Area, I had to chuckle at a long queue of Teslas waiting for a “quick” charge.
Certainly it’s hard to wrap your head around having enough infrastructure to power just the new vehicles to be sold in the year 2035. For reference, California saw nearly two million new car sales in 2019. And how to make all that juice green enough?
A possible stumbling block is that Newsom’s order could be challenged at the federal level. California has long led the country in emissions standards, having been granted a waiver to set stricter standards than those of the federal government under the 1970 Clean Air Act. California is currently battling the Trump administration in the courts over its desire to remove the waiver, which could block California’s ability to set tougher state-level emissions standards. Whether this attempt to revoke the waiver will happen, remains to be seen.
In the meantime, a decade and a-half is a lot of good days of grabbing that ol’ petrol-igniting throttle until new gas-burning dirt bikes are phased out in the state. And while the visceral elements of the combustion engine make us feel so alive today, motorcycles in the year 2035 are probably going to be pretty fantastic. They may well prove less expensive in cost and maintenance, too.
And besides, no one said we couldn’t keep a real toy or two tucked away in the garage. Measures like this might put the traditional gas station on the endangered list, but it’s unlikely we’ll see a total extinction of braaping in our lifetime.
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Yet ANOTHER reason for residents to leave that disfunctional state.
Just another for wimps to stop bailing and start fighting.
So how’s that fighting worked out for you so far? I left Oregon a couple years ago after 55 years of “fighting”. Life’s too short. I have stuff I want to do and it doesn’t include “fighting” liberal idiocy in that state anymore.
This is great news. Once again California is leading the way. This is completely realistic considering the rate technology is advancing.
There’s enuff emissions restrictions in California the animal farms, fires, traffic, and pot farms generators put out more pollution then all the dirt bikes evermade6. That said 95% of dirtbikes are 4 stroke now, an even the small Amount of 2 stroke Dirt bikes that are,still riding Are probably using the new stuff companies Scientifically studied Tested and tested again that are Specifically designed and made special 2cycle oils, And designed to be not only the cleanest burning efficient ,clean burning , Smokeless oils and synthetics that burn so clean that you can hardly even tell.
And definitely do not put out any more pollution than a diesel big truck or any , which many are still Around for sure driving and creating way more pollution than a few dirt bikes ever well.
But then I guess unless you really Are a doctor Of mechanical and otherCombustion Engines and, Graduated Scientist of Engineering and just really can’t stand something with 2 wheels and a small engine God-bless ya..
In this case I guess the CHP better get rid of all their motorcycles and might as well not allow any motorcycles to ride on the highways either. If this is the case. Nothing wrong with progress and going all electric with motorcycles and what not. But there is nothing like riding a real Combustion engine powered motorcycle or dirt bike.
Your brains are fried and you ignorance shows like the governor this is the reason why we’re having problems with a dry forest : There are over 1,400 named dams and 1,300 named reservoirs in the state of California.! And this is the reason across the nation is what’s causing climate change ! 84,000 dams
The following is a partial list of dams and reservoirs in the United States. There are an estimated 84,000 dams in the United States, impounding 600,000 mi (970,000 km) of river or about 17% of rivers in the nation !
Get these idiots out of CA . Open the dam Gates and let the water flow like it’s supposed to we have solar power now there’s no need to hydro power any longer . That’s our problem not motorcycles or motor vehicles . Plants trees eat carbon monoxide and give off clean oxygen if they are watered probably . These fools cut of their water supply . Your brains are fried and you ignorance shows like the governor this is the reason why we’re having problems with a dry forest : There are over 1,400 named dams and 1,300 named reservoirs in the state of California.! And this is the reason across the nation is what’s causing climate change ! 84,000 dams
The following is a partial list of dams and reservoirs in the United States. There are an estimated 84,000 dams in the United States, impounding 600,000 mi (970,000 km) of river or about 17% of rivers in the nation !
record heat/drought for ten years ,here in cali. your notion of water hogging , causing global warming is insane.
The winter of 2016/17 was the wettest I can remember. Drought schmought.
I’m a native californicater since 1956. one year out of a decade,isn’t a gulley-washer.the water-springs don’t recharge underground fully anymore.the springs that ran year-round,in my trailblazing youth ,have now dried to a trickle.the critters and the fauna suffer.️ obliviously obvious that you care only enough to post negativity.sad.☹️
Plants eat Carbon Dioxide…not carbon monoxide.
I believe you have your biochemistry backwards.WE exit carbon dioxide. Plants release oxygen.
Very well said!!!!!!!!!! I vote you in….
rake the forest and water it! you are nuts.⛈️no roads or human volunteers for that simple task or the infrastructure to implement it.do you not know what a drought is?
What do we do when the sun goes down , lite a candle?
go on “farmer-time”. supper while still light. sleep when darkness falls. rise with roosters
If only it would rain normally ,instead of 10 year of global warming induced DROUGHT and 10 years of record HEAT!
California’s government is faking it with celebrity driven scientism.
you Russians comment everywhere.science-ism isn’t even a real word.
You idiots comment everywhere. This is your second chance to look up the words “scientism”. Are you smart enough to do that?
Why, so they keep coming here. No thank you.
Why cant they just fall into the ocean already and become their own country
(New Atlantis) so we dont have to deal with their bull
I agree
Not with what there doing with dirt bikes I disagree with that!
dual-purpose rules,trackrats drool
Not sure what you thought you heard, but he said ‘internal combustion engines’. That would include street bikes.
I live in the HD motorcycles are a major part of my family’s life. My dad still rides and he is 78 he is one of the lucky ones he won’t be around to see all this crap. Gov. Newsom is the biggest turd that has ever been in office and need to be kick out now.
This law specifically excludes street bikes? Did you not read the article?
I don’t care what they do I’ll still ride mine catch me if u can bitches gas goes lot further then batteries
cali law always starts with one then progress after that. The clean air act was a good example. I was trucker and started at the port then to farming etc.
Let’s do this, get him out
Really? How quickly we all forget about the past. CA smog in the 60s and 70s was absolutely terrible. The only reason the federal government is currently fighting CA is to push more business development and less of nature in the state. I would have thought riders on here would support more nature and wildlife over big industry business.
In the 60s and 70s we didn’t have the clean burning engines and fuels of today. It’s not as if there’s less automobiles on the roads now as was 50 or 60 years ago.
I was stationed at Camp Pendleton in 1975 and I remember my first ride through LA. I was astonished to find by the time I got to my destination I was wearing blackface. The smog was so bad it could cover a face with soot very quickly. That was quite a shock to someone who grew up under the crystal clear skies of the high plains (the orange/brown skies of LA was another shock). But that was 50 years ago. As others have pointed out today engines are a lot cleaner running.
And why do you think all these engines are so cleaner burning now? Because of the fight to think environmentally and not just “bigger, stronger, faster.”
Wow the governor – and his like-minded colleagues – arrogance, sense of entitlement and blatant power mongering have brought them to pretend to believe that they will convince the general public that eliminating the internal combustion engine will bring a clean environment to our planet – at least starting in the great state of California. Never-mind that what makes ALL cars – gasoline, diesel, hybrid and fully electric (AND MOST OF LIFE’S APPLIANCES) even remotely practical – is the harvesting and transport of raw materials by diesel burning heavy equipment. Electric cars are great but they’re not practical for several categories and scenarios of vehicle transportation. If these proponents of the all electric vehicles watched a theoretical video called ” How your Tesla is made” they would slump in their chairs in disillusionment at the overwhelming prominence of fossil fuel burning machinery that is used to accomplish the manufacturing of these vehicles. Not to mention how fossil fuels are used to power the machinery that in turn manufactures the machinery that manufactures the vehicles. These policy makers are in fully conscious denial of how critical fossil fuels are to industry. Dirtbikes and other OHVs don’t amount to a hill of beans.
Actually Beans and most assuredly “hills of beans” will be next on the chopping block. Consuming them may lead to methane gas causing holes in the ozone and massive changes in the environment! 🙂
Speaking of methane, just take a gander at how much of an impact the meat industry has in this world. The amounts of methane produced by the pork chicken and cattle industry is staggering.
They can’t even keep up with the electricity demand Now, how are they supposed to handle a major influx of battery chargers?
With the new solar panels on my roof, I will have no problem charging a bike. There’s 15 years to plan it out.
The arrogance and ignorance is on YOU, not Newsom.
does the “author” mean 2-stroke dirt bikes with gasoline/oil mix??? oh….and H-D hasn’t won a world championship in the dirt since 1975!
2 strokes have been outlawed in XA for a long time now.
Excellent news. Glad to see someone committing to improving our plant instead of destroying it. This is 15 years from now, so it gives manufacturers plenty of time to adapt to what will, hopefully, be a norm a for the rest of the country. There are already a few “decent” electric dirt bike options now…not great, but decent. You can bet that over the next 15 years the technology will improve and the costs start to decrease.
Actually electric vehicles are worse for the environment. Do your homework, the mining process for batteries is terrible for environment and in that battery it’s still energy that they get from mostly fossil fuels.
Thats correct.
Then they find out that recycling batteries.isnt cost efficient.
So people stop recycling them.
Picture a world with batteries tossed in fields.and along the highway. Poisoning the ground water.
Let’s see if you did your homework. Mike, what’s the carbon foot print of an electric battery/motor compared to a gas engine? …especially considering the amount of fuel/oil being used compared to electricity over the life of the bike.
Where in California is/will electricity still produced with fossil fuels?
I love my old bikes, but I’m willing to give electric a chance. We all have to do our part, right? I wonder if California will still allow gas bikes on tracks? …
No matter what. Unless you want to walk everywhere, your vehicle will always produce a sizable carbon footprint. No matter what. Its just how it works. The law of equivalent exchange isn’t going anywhere.. this is a bandaid to the situation at large.
Geez the koolaide stain on you speaks loudly!
Hey, that’s not fair. You’re making a reasonable arguement. Can’t do that in Kalifornia! !
Weirdos
What’s weird about making a sacrifice to do the right thing? I thought that was the American way…
inb4 u want to go electric but your energy is produced by oil and sources that produce large carbon emissions.. *facepalm*
yep……the way he’s a goin’ judas-trump and his bukakke-barbie wife might not be around much longer either!(pence will be a terrible temporary president)!
The state that can’t keep the lights on, wants everyone to plug in their motorcycle.
Now that’s funny.and correct
If you lived in an area where dirt bikes scream through neighborhoods day and night and the sheriff’s dept doesn’t enforce ohv laws, this legislation can’t happen soon enough. Imagine if I drove through your yard and property for ‘fun’ knowing I can ‘get away with it,? If they would ride where it is legal, I would be on their side. But they wantonly destroy private property.
Big freaking deal.stop being jerk.there’s a lot of worst things they could be doing.
Atleast you know were they are.
Mark, I understand your gripe. But those are only a few of the many, many responsible riders that ride in the dirt.
Not sure how changing to electric motorcycles will stop the behavior you are concerned about. The same people can still ride through your property on electric bikes, but you and the police won’t realize it because you won’t hear them.
And in fact with the torque of the electric motor could also easily do more damage to the property. And you would never know until you saw it.
Mark you sound like a big cry baby
…that’s constructive… Thanks for that bit of wisdom,
There are no plans in Germany yet “phasing out sales of non-zero vehicles” including motorbikes in 2035 – yet.
I’d like to pop off many things about Gov. Weasl but instead I’m remembering great times as a kid in the 80’s on my RM80, west of Rosamond.
You might as well bann perfume in public.
Pest control.
Restaurants.
Electric cars.companys mining to get lead & copper.are blasting putting harmfull dust that travel the globe.
Stop building new houses.these trees filter the air.give us and plants oxygen.these people ñeed to live in tents.on a island.all they need is a fishing net.fire pollutes the air.no cooking.eat raw fish.and a recycling center.that’s everything they need.
Sounds good, but right now Calif can’t even provide enough power to supply homes. Add all those vehicles to the grid only makes it worse. “Sorry boss. Can’t come in cause car not charged”.
The 50 state bike is a lie. I tried to bring a so called 50 state 2016 Beta 500 RS into California only for it to get flagged and permanently banned from the state. I contacted Betausa about articles stating it was a 50 state bike and they blamed the media even though their own brochures also stated that they where 50 state bikes. So I got burned and had to sell the bike out of state at a huge loss.
Weird. My family has three Betas in Ca. Including a ’16 500rs. Never had one problem. I even plated a ’13 WR450 a couple years ago. Someone at your DMV must not like you.
Went to 2 different dmvs and was verified by chp. It was marked off as meeting EPA specifications but not California. Check your emissions sticker out should have California listed on it mine doesn’t and neither does any of the other 49 states. The only way they would have allowed it was if it had 7500 miles. After 7500 miles it magically becomes California smog legal. I spent 2 months trying to get it through and it is permanently banned from this state.
Some people do luck out when they bring them in and the DMV misses it. But not many.
Just because you can’t buy a new gas burning vehicle doesn’t mean the current gas burners will simply dissapear, nor will people stop importing them by buying them in other States and then bringing them over the line. I mean, they tried to do this with burdensome regulations on older Diesel trucks, but people simply get around that by getting an address in AZ or NV and registering and insuring those vehicles there, and continue to drive in CA. Nor like a lot of smart pissed off people, they just LEAVE the over reaching State Legislators.
How can they expect this to fly when Cali can’t keep the power going all year. All these electric vehicles and rolling black outs won’t mix well.
Well it’s 15 years away, so there’s time to “figure all this out” for us two-wheelers (dirt, road, adventure or DS). That said, to my knowledge (and I’m a California resident who would love a ZeroDS if I lived in a city or with trials close to home), there currently are no viable mass market alternate power motorcycles for avid motorcycling for anything more than short ranges (<120 miles at best) and the current prices for alternative power motorcycles is prohibitive. Hopefully the new Japanese big four collaboration on a electric battery standard will help everyone, so we can at least "swap out" batteries between many brands of motorcycles without waiting hours for a recharge. Or maybe something entirely better comes along that's lightweight, provides a great power to weight ratio, and makes us grin ear to ear like we did before 2-strokes were "mostly" phased out. Finger's crossed.
Hydrogen
Affordable and mass market.
How the heck is california planing on charging all these vehicles, they can even keep up with electric demand in the summer! Good luck with that!
Not all will be charged at the same time.️
plus, there’s 15 years to figure things out
This comment is inherently wrong. 90% of people when they come home at night will be plugging their cars in. At a rate of 70% of jobs being a 9-5 work schedule that means easily most of the EV’s most definitely will be plugged in and charging at the same times..
humans working from home then?️some of us have no jobs NOW!or “savings”!your figgers are skewed and screwed! (trump loves the under-educated)!
hmmm…..three or four anti-california statements from different entities who may or may not be americans at all! russian or hillbilly trolls?
All this from a State that can barely provide enough water to flush a toilet, let alone provide power through their hydroelectric facilities. On top of that they want you to waste a few gallons of water per day to rinse out a bean can or mayonnaise jar so’s that in can be recycled. They’re already low on water! They’re gonna have to plaster the state with solar panels! Those mental midgets couldn’t organize a party at a brewery.
Are you being dumb intentionally?
FAKE NEWS. They’re banning the sale of NEW GAS BURNING vehicles. They are not banning dirt bikes. Fake news with a sensationalist headline to grab clicks.
I’m ashamed to call myself a Californian. Dirt bikes have virtually no effect on the overarching problems they are trying to address. It’s just dumb.
Keep voting blue my dear friends in California. They will control every aspect of your life !
With the torque that electric bikes are able to produce, I’d jump on an electric dirtbike in a heartbeat.
It’s the direction the market’s headed, anyway – I’m pressed for a reason to fight it.
Politics be damned – It’s not unreasonable to think that new ICE bikes might not even exist in 15 years.
After this nonsense takes affect with in 10 yrs all of Calif will look like Bodie.
Vote Republican!
Why so all of the good land can be closed for mining or development? Don’t think they care about you on your [probably] foreign bike.
Nah… that’s for scared dummies.
Well 7 years ago moved out of cali glad i did before they make it illegal to move out they want your guns your cars an bikes an your life real sad cali has become a place full of eco terrorists they are going to get the rest of the western states to put up walls an not let any of those liberal ass hats out remember escape new york
ride to live.live to ride.i trespass frequently and wirecutter’s are a part of my toolkit.remain calm and just ride!
Keep voting blue…and stay there..don’t move to my state and screw it up too!
Oh dear God… Joe has been drinking again…
Times change! Sometimes by nature others by legislation. I love dirt bikes, I love them but I love Earth more. I can ride an electric bike or an ebicycle. It won’t kill us to change. How many of us used a typewriter? Hum? How many of us had a 454 truck and now we have a 3.5 ecoboost. Stare into the mirror for a minute and look and listen to yourself. It’s the sport, not the machine you do it on. Take some responsibility and don’t blame California for throwing some water in your face and saying WAKE UP.
I still own a truck with a 496. What’s your point? Lol
Oh, and #%$& California!!
does this mean your going back to old mehico also? please take your fellow peons with you.thanx!
Time to drop all your batteries from your electric garage in Newsom’s driveway
Let do it I have 10 batteries ready to go right now
Ban electric and fossil fuels bikes because they had to get there in giant trucks and still devegetated the land
NEXT THEY WILL BAN ALL HUMANS FROM DRIVING AND WORKING ONLY ROBOTS ALLOWED IN C AS CALIFORNIA NO HUMANS
For some people it’s hard to accept change it takes some time but they’ll get used to it everything will be just fine
That is a frightening way of thinking from a free man
Ca needs to ban itself
Federal govt hopefully will provide directives to prevent arbitrary rules like these from taking effect
This is great news. Once again California is leading the way. This is completely realistic considering the rate technology is advancing.
Wait…I thought the planet was gonna be destroyed in 12 years. What good is a 15 year plan? Lmao.
According to AOC, we only have about 7 years left.
human life-span about 100 years. better to plan off that fact.
The earth is being scratched like adog and the flea.the earth is going to be hit by a meteior then what ban meteiors good luck.
(CARB) Is the one starting the California fire’s just put new Law Blame it on the Semis Truck on Bikes and Cars it’s all about the Money thwy don’t care about us it’s Money Money thank u (C.A.R.B)
If the government wants us to have a mission free vehicles they should purchase it for us because the rest of the world don’t care about emissions especially Russia China North Korea all these third world countries even Mexico no one appreciates science so what I suggest is making a new type of vehicle a hydro water powered vehicle which turns into a bong of course thank you for your time
All of the United States could go electric in 15 years but if the rest of the world doesn’t then it’s like throwing a cup of water on a barn fire. Most everything in the world today relys on fossil fuels at some point even the manufacturing and disposal or recycling of batteries. The world won’t stop using fossil fuel until they’ve been used up.
So, I go to the desert for the weekend to ride. First night back in camp I need to charge my bike/atv. Ah, let’s see solar panels barely charge my camp site. Generator is electric too, right? Oh no, hold on, that isn’t right. That wouldn’t work. And Governor Nuisance outlawed a gas Generator. So those guys are out of business too. No generators at all doesn’t sound good! Man, wish I had a 100 mile extension cord to reach my house…now what?
uhhh….bring extra pre-charged battery packs with you?
charge off the support vehicle that you DROVE there, Einstein!
This is another example of leftist extremists ideology. The very idea that gas fueled motorcycles are an environmental threat is baseless. Cars and tractor trailers emit twenty times more ” green house gases/ pollutants. Its time for all “MC Bikers to unite and stand for our freedoms. Live to ride , Ride to live.
Gerald t Freehoffer
Another freedom they take away from us in California first it was our weapons now it’s our motorcycles what’s next anyhow I believe California should be the freest state to have everything that they acquire that they want California is the biggest state budget out of all the United States so why can’t they write dirt bikes think about it whoever is doing this thinking is irrational and should be we thought thank you for your for your thought and your time have a good day go right out at the glamis sand dunes iv county
What is causing global emissions is nuclear testing can’t you see that is melting the global ice stop nuclear testing even a genius knows that the hot temperatures of this atomic nuclear weapons melts hotter than the sun so don’t you think it will melt the ice it’s nothing to do with cars bikes or emissions or aerosols it has to do with nuclear weapon testing no more nuclear testing
gee….. atmospheric testing ended decades ago! (decade=10 years)
newsom needs to be removed from office now.
Yup. Offering laws with pretty sales pitches for people to vote on without fully understanding the consequences that are brought about because they think they won’t be affected. I’m all for saving the environment but these laws are so under-thought that they’re going to cause more harm than good. They plan on this applying to all vehicles not just dirt bikes and who is going to pay for everything? They’ve already restricted 1-ton and larger diesel trucks and so many small companies suffered, wait until it applies to every vehicle residents own.
Considering the black outs and high electricity bills we Californians just experienced this summer, 2020, is this really a good idea?
Please leave our dysfunctional State. The fires, taxes, refs—all if it will undoubtedly just get worse. The great northern states beckon you. The freedom to Brampton, pollute, and be your true self awaits you.
What’s next? Chainsaws? Generators? I can hardly wait to be required to use a battery powered generator that backs up our off grid solar powered home. I’m not in CA but close enough that some of their craziness is adopted here.
Sin city is at it again, put the blame on everything except theirself
It’s an Executive Order so it can be cancelled by a future governor. This has nothing to do with Trump, so save your ammo, but Californians have got to toss those hardcore progressives out of office before there’s nothing left. Besides, as storage gets better, EV’s of all stripes will eventually win in the marketplace. You don’t have to ban them. That’s just an ego trip.
That’s BS!…only in that state. Glad I never even visited it.. another reason too give young generations too end up inside all say, an or letting them get involved in drugs or crime..
Give every kid a dirt bike, an a nearby track or trail too ride, gurentee it’ll change them for the better. Instead of sitting at there computers, being arm chair einstein,know it all trolls..
All well.. lets smoke the legal weed all day then..