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California Emissions Notice

If your motorcycle is registered in California, read this before you order exhaust, tuning or intake parts. California regulates aftermarket parts that can affect emissions, and parts that are perfectly legal elsewhere in the country may not be sold for street use in California.

This page is a plain-language summary of how the rules work, not legal advice. CARB regulations change, and the current regulations and the Executive Order database are published by the California Air Resources Board. You are responsible for making sure the parts you fit are legal where you ride.

The three categories

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) sorts emissions-related aftermarket parts into three groups.

1. Replacement parts

Parts CARB considers functionally equivalent to the stock part they replace, and which therefore do not change the vehicle's emissions. These can be sold and used on motorcycles ridden on or off public highways. For exhaust, there are two cases:

  • If the stock exhaust does not contain a catalytic converter, an aftermarket exhaust part counts as a replacement part so long as it does not remove or replace any emission control equipment attached to the stock system — oxygen sensors, for example.
  • If the stock exhaust does contain a catalytic converter in the manifold section, an aftermarket muffler fitted downstream of the converter (cat-back) counts as a replacement part, again so long as no emission control equipment is removed or replaced.

2. Executive Order (EO) parts

Parts CARB has tested and found not to harm emissions, and has therefore granted an Executive Order permitting their sale and use on specified motorcycles. Any aftermarket exhaust that replaces or interferes with emission control equipment, including a catalytic converter, needs an EO number to be street legal in California. Where a part has one, the EO number is shown on its product page or in the manufacturer's own documentation — and it applies only to the specific models the order names.

3. Competition-use-only parts

Parts that replace or interfere with an emission control device such as a catalytic converter or oxygen sensor, without an EO. These may only be sold for and fitted to motorcycles used exclusively in closed-course competition. They are not legal for street use in California, and it is the buyer's responsibility to keep them off the road.

The same caution applies to fuel tuners and fuel-management systems: some are street legal in California and some are competition-use only. Check for an EO number covering your exact model before you order.

Harley-Davidson models with a factory catalytic converter

A general guide, carried over from our own previous emissions page, to help you work out which category a part falls into. Verify it against your own machine and the part manufacturer's listing — model years and market variants differ, and this list does not cover every year.

  • Touring 2006 and earlier: in the muffler. Slip-ons and headers without an EO number are not permitted for street use.
  • Touring 2008: in the muffler. Slip-ons and headers without an EO number are not permitted for street use.
  • Touring 2009 and later: in the headers. Headers without an EO number are not permitted; slip-on mufflers are acceptable.
  • Softail 2008 and later: in the mufflers. Slip-ons and headers without an EO number are not permitted for street use.
  • Dyna 2008 and later: in the mufflers. Slip-ons and headers without an EO number are not permitted for street use.
  • Sportster 2014 and later: fitted with a catalytic converter.
  • V-Rod: no catalytic converter.

What this means for your order

Exhaust systems, fuel tuners, air cleaners and other emissions-related parts that do not comply with California regulations cannot be sold to customers in California. If one reaches us on an order to a California address, we will cancel and refund that line rather than ship it, and tell you why. The rest of the order carries on as normal.

If you are not sure which side of the line a part falls on, call us before you order — we would rather check than cancel.

Questions about this policy?

We are open Monday to Friday, 9am–5pm Central.

Direct Cycle Parts, 7415 Whitehall St, Ste 124, Richland Hills, TX 76118.

Last updated: September 19, 2026