[38500]

Minimal differences at best. I think we have the evaporative something canister, which might add all of one pound to your bike (and can be taken off, if you only use the bike on track days (eheheh). By now, most makers build for a global market and Euro 4 emission standards are pretty stringent, so almost any bike will come awfully lean, etc. I think the differences between non-CA and CA bikes are not as significant as they used to be.

I might be wrong, though...

 

[Buzglyd]

There's tax encumbrances that detract from performance!

 

[49223]

If you are a California resident, make sure any 49-state bike you consider has at least 7,500 miles. If not, the DMV will refuse to register it and you’ll have to sell it out of state.

 

[52425]

The first few years of carburated Suzuki SV650's, the California model equipped with extra emmision controls were actually very slightly faster that the 49 states models. Several print mags verified this but couldn't give a reason why. The Calif, models also had a .2 gallon smaller gas tank to make room for the extra equiptment.

 

[23063]

There certainly was with my '92 Harley - it had pointy cams.



My Triumph was the same.



The CA bikes have emissions cans on them. Yank it out and plug the tubes.

 

[37372]

One more detail - I bought a new bike in Nevada and paid sales tax on the sale price minus the trade-in allowance. After moving to California I looked into registering it there, only to find I'd have to pay the differential between CA sales tax, (based on the full price of the bike), and what I'd paid in NV (around $800 in my case, plus registration). If I'd paid sales tax on the full amount in NV, I'd have had to pay any difference if the CA tax rate was higher (I doubt they'd have offered a refund if the previous state's tax rate was higher).



I resolved this by keeping my bike's NV registration, along with my NV driver's license, until I sold the bike (I was able to receive registration updates in NV by using my mother's address).

 

[srmyerson]

thank you for sharing the experience--I will actually be relocating to Reno but will probably buy the bike here in CA just over the state line from Reno. I think I'll ask them to deliver it to either my home in Reno or the State line so I can register it in NV and forget about the CA tax issues. I just wanted some expert advice as to whether it might be better to buy the "all other States" version of the bike.

 

[bbtowns]

The answer to your question is going to depend on make and model, but regardless of whether it has additional environmental restrictions, there will be unlimited aftermarket advice about removing it. I have a V-Strom I bought in CA, and the difference appears to be an evaporative cannister, that I removed as soon as I got home to OR. 30 minutes work including beer time.

 

[49223]

A handful of other states with high sales taxes rates do this too. Basically if you buy a new vehicle (one less than 365 days old), and move to one of those states, you'll have to pay the difference in sales tax at registration if your previous state's tax rate is lower.



It's an easy way for California, New York, and others to extort $$$ from new residents with new vehicles as they know your previous state's tax rate is almost always lower.



Prior to California's 7,500 mile policy for 49 state vehicles, the DMV charged a $300 "smog abatement fee" to new residents if their cars/motorcycles didn't have a 50 state emissions label.



This was declared unconstitutional as it was discriminatory and the DMV was ordered to refund the $300. The catch was you had to fill out a special form. So if you forgot, the DMV kept your $$$.