Bikes 'dirtier' than cars.

[onearmedbandit]

From a report in this mornings Press from the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research says that two-wheelers are worse polluters than cars, with hydrocarbon emissions 16 times greater, carbon monoxide emissions 3 times higher disproportionately high emissions of other pollutants. A motorbike used in the city is said by the lab to emit up to 49 times more hydrocarbons than the average car. It goes on to say that in urban conditions that bikes and scooters are even worse due to their engines being particularly inefficient when accelerating quickly. They tested Yamahas, Piaggios, Hondas, Suzukis and BMWs with engines from 50cc to 1150cc.

Anyone here able to draw on their knowledge of engine efficiency able to back up this report or dispute it. I would've thought it would've been the other way, but it seems I am wrong.

[DEATH_INC.]

I'm not really surprised,most bikes are tuned for performance , not emissions....
One thing that has always amused me is the practice of injecting air into the exhaust to cut emissions which of course it doesn't,but it thins it out so it looks good on paper.....

[Motu]

I've said it here before but got ignored or poo pooed,a typical response.Bikes are very dirty by nature - hook one up to a 4 or 5 gas analyser and check out the readings,then hook up a modern car,there'll be no comparison.A carbed bike has short individual inlet tracts,it's the vacuum in a heated inlet maifold that helps vaporise the fuel,bike inlet tracts are low on vacuum,volume and heat.The needle jet on a bike is hopeless at atomising the fuel,so is the main jet,the big droplets of fuel are then harder to vapourise.This is all before we get into combustion chamber design and ign system - bikes use a CDI,these have a very short burn time,less time to completely burn the fuel,fixed advance curves....the list goes on,bikes are very,very dirty.You're better off in a diesel Pajero like me.

[onearmedbandit]

Wow, all in the aim of greater performance then eh? So as the report said 'compared to an average car.', what would we expect to see if we hook a Ferrari 360 or Lamborghini up to the gas analyser. Would the difference between a car of 'comparable' performance intentions be closer to a performance motorcycle?

[Motu]

Depends in which market the Ferarri is being sold - if it's for California it will meet all the same standards as the ''average'' car,and be gutless,if it's coming to NZ it has to meet no standards,so look out bikes!

[Ixion]

Surely everyone knows that bikes are horrible emission-wise ? I thought that was universally accepted. And we care because ? Get them to hook Petal up to their analysers , and watch them all have heart attacks on the spot !.

[R1madness]

Depends in which market the Ferarri is being sold - if it's for California it will meet all the same standards as the ''average'' car,and be gutless,if it's coming to NZ it has to meet no standards,so look out bikes!

Your onto it motu. Bikes have got away with it for years and noone noticed. Cat converters are here now, fuel injection is comonplace. I can see a reduction in Hp for a year or 2 while the companys sort it out and then they will have to go to their drawing boards and devolip a proper engine and make it to decent standard. Hp and torque will follow as long as we dont buy the crap restricted shit they pass off as superbikes. Either that or someone new enters the market and sells a hydrogen powered bike capible of 300mph. Now i would buy that yahoo.

[froggyfrenchman]

So, do any of us care we are killing the world then?
I dont. Give me that extra 5hp anyday

[hazard02]

We use much less precious precious petrol though, so efficiency shouldn't be such a big issue.

[onearmedbandit]

Surely everyone knows that bikes are horrible emission-wise ? I thought that was universally accepted. And we care because ? Get them to hook Petal up to their analysers , and watch them all have heart attacks on the spot !.

Geee, um, surely not.

[miSTa]

Interesting, but I would've thought no worse than a car, just goes to show.

What about in the rural environment (100kmh in top gear), any ideas? I would guess much better?

[Swoop]

Slight error in their report everyone... they left off the "r" at the end of the "bike".
Apparently biker's are dirtier - because of diesel powered road whales...

Please take my contribution of "killer" emissions and direct them to the japanese whalers for "scientific study"!!!

[Deviant Esq]

Is that information so hard to swallow? Because it's true...

But then, how many hundreds of thousands of cars are humming around on our roads (not to mention the beat up delivery vans belting out smoke everywhere) compared to the few thousand bikes around the place?

[Motu]

That's because bikes are now leisure vehicles,not primary transport like they were only a few years ago.Blame the people who buy them for their ego and not for function....bit like 4x4 drivers eh?

[oldrider]

That's because bikes are now leisure vehicles,not primary transport like they were only a few years ago.Blame the people who buy them for their ego and not for function....bit like 4x4 drivers eh?

My bike is definitely a leisure vehicle as much as I prefer it to anything else it is not our primary means of transport.
Guilty as charged I suppose. Does that make me an egotistical areshole?
I did buy it for it's functional capabilities though, does that count? Cheers John.