Originally Posted by Badjelly
I wasn't thinking about whether they matter to you. Nor do I particularly care whether this thread matters (though I hope it matters more than "Is Harley bashing a jealousy thing?"). What I'm concerned about is whether they matter to the people breathing the exhaust fumes.
One reason airborne hydrocarbons definitely do matter, in some times and in some places, is because they are precursors to photochemical smog, as in Los Angeles. This is why the Californian authorities introduced controls on motorcycle hydrocarbon emissions in 1975, eg see:
http://www.arb.ca.gov/msprog/motcycle/onrdmc.htm
They also tried to control hydrocarbon emissions from a whole bunch of other sources as well as vehicles: dry cleaning, petrol stations, household solvents. I think these were the regulations that killed the old mainstream 2-strokes, the Kwaka 250-750, the Suzuki GT series.
In other places photochemical smog is not such an issue, but there's also the question of the toxicity of some of the hydrocarbons, notably benzene. One of the big problems in assessing the effects of air pollution is the complexity of the chemistry involved. There is good evidence that air pollution is bad for people, but it's very hard to work out which specific chemicals are doing the damage.
But, you don't give a damn? Noted.
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Opinions are like arseholes: Everybody has got one, but that doesn't mean you got to air it in public all the time....
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