Interpretation ID: nht93-8.28

DATE: November 23, 1993

FROM: John Womack -- Acting Chief Counsel, NHTSA

TO: J. C. DeLaney -- Manager, Technical Programs, Motorcycle Industry Council, Inc.

TITLE: None

ATTACHMT: Attached to letter dated 10/18/93 from J. C. DeLaney to John Womack (OCC-9226)

TEXT:

This responds to your request for an interpretation of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 123; Motorcycle controls and displays. You asked whether a motorcycle side stand complies with Standard No. 123 if the stand passes SAE J1587 Motorcycle Side Stand Retraction Test Procedure.

Standard No. 123 specifies at S5.2.4 Stands that: "A stand shall fold rearward and upward if it contacts the ground when the motorcycle is moving forward." Neither S5.2.4 nor any other provision of Standard No. 123 incorporates by reference, SAE J1587. Thus, if a motorcycle side stand passes the SAE J1587 test procedure, it does not automatically follow that the side stand complies with Standard No. 123.

I hope that this information is useful. If you have any further questions, please contact Dorothy Nakama of my staff at (202) 366-2992.