Motorcycle emissions limits and fuel economy estimates

[xcel]

Insight into a bikes emissions and fuel economy estimates.

Wayne Gerdes - CleanMPG - August 3, 2008

Yamaha’s XT250 provided to CleanMPG as an introduction to the motorcycle.

Thanks to details provided by Mike Schmitt, EPA Emission compliance officer for the Yamaha motor cycle corporation, there are some interesting aspects to bike emissions and fuel economy measurement. Bike emissions are less stringent than automobiles but are still controlled and are becoming cleaner as years go by.

Bike Emissions

From 2004 through 2007, all larger bike manufacturers’ average HC + NOx emissions levels across their entire model lineup could not exceed 1.4 g/km HC+NOx with any single model emitting above 2.5g/km. For 2008, bikes of all sizes will have to achieve HC+NOx levels of .8 g/km over a useful life of 5 years or 30,000 km. The bikes are driven for between 1,550 and 2,170 miles before initial testing with lab results showing even lower emissions as the bikes wear and age up to and including the 30,000 km final distance criteria.

The current EPA Tier II/Bin 5 automobile emissions program allows just .1 g/km of HC+NOx so there is a ways to go before bikes will meet the requirements of the std. automobile. We are also speaking of only a few hundreds of thousand bikes vs. millions of automobiles with the overall impact of the lower standards haveing an effect to the local environment. With this, bikes like the XT250 will be fuel injected within 2 years to reduce their emissions even further with the larger displacement bikes receiving Catalytic converters.

Fuel Economy Measurement

Motorcycle fuel economy is measured on just one test. That being the EPA’s Urban Dynamometer Driving Schedule (UDDS) city test. While your car is driven on the same test cycle, it is only one of 5-tests to determine a 2008 or newer automobiles fuel economy.

LA-4 or UDDS EPA City test cycle.

Just like the automobile, fuel economy is not measured by the amount of fuel consumed during the fuel economy test cycle but by the CO2 concentration in the emissions through the entire test cycle. From the CO2 concentration, a given fuel consumption can be estimated and a fuel economy rating determined.

Another item with regards to the results of the motorcycle EPA city test… Our automobiles were given a 10% offset to better match the real fuel economy achieved by drivers from 1985 through 2007. Bikes are not. An example. On the FTP75 city test cycle, a 2004 – 2008 Toyota Prius achieves 66.6 mpg on the city test but its city FE rating as posted on the pre-08 Monroney sticker (new car Fuel Economy data sticker) was 60 mpg. A motorcycle that achieves 73 mpg like the XT250 on the same test cycle has no offset applied so unlike an automobile whose actual was reduce by 10%, a bike’s Fuel Economy rating is what it achieved on the test. No offsets are applied although if they were, the Fuel Economy rating of the XT250 would be rated at 65.7 mpg.

What good would a Bike fuel economy and emissions article be without fuel economy ratings

Fuel Economy Ratings of the entire 2008 Yamaha US model lineup

Model	Estimated MPG (mpgUS)		Model	Estimated MPG (mpgUS)		Model	Estimated MPG (mpgUS)
YW50	123		CP250	56		YZF-R6	40
XF50	115		YP400	51		FZ600	40
XC50	110		XV650	49		FJR1300	39
YJ125	96		XVS1100	44		XV1700PC	39
TW200	78		XVS1300A	42		XV1700A	36
XV250	78		XV1900	42		FZ1000	35
XT250	73		YZFR6S	42		YZF-R1C	33
WR250R	71

[fireflyfarm]

A friend of mine recently bought a 2007 Suzuki GSXR1000. This is a great speed machine, one of the fastest on the market. He immediately took the exhaust off, and put a custom one on. It made the bike somewhat louder, but not obnoxious, and took 20+ pounds off. The issue, however, is this bike had a catalytic converter, which was removed with the mufflers. My dad and I were discussing this, and dad said he hopes the guy keeps the stock parts, because he may be in for a nasty shock in a few years, when emissions inspection becomes a requirement on bikes. It's coming. Bikes have been getting bigger and bigger (I rode a Triumph Rocket 3 with a 2300cc engine producing 140 BHP. By comparison, my CAR's engine is 2000cc!), and the complaints about unfairness in manufacture and testing are rolling in. There are also record numbers of motorcycles on the roads, and the impact is starting to build.
My 2001 Triumph Sprint still has its stock exhaust- it's Stainless, looks good, and is VERY quiet, which I love!

[xcel]

Hi FireFlyFarm:

___Even if there are never any emissions inspections in PA, by removing the CAT, he increased his smog forming NOx emissions by over 900%! To lose 20 pounds from a vehicle that can already do the 0 – 60 dance in under 3 seconds, what is the point

___Good Luck

___Wayne

[xcel]

Motorcycle smog check proposed for California

A 2008 study of after-market activity by the ARB found that 85% of motorcycles 280_cc and larger had modified exhausts. “Most” of those systems were illegal.

Susan Carpenter – LA Times – May 3, 2009

2009 Honda XR650L – 0 – 60 in 4 seconds and OEM emissions are well within in spec.

Anything to reduce emissions to OEM certification is a win-win for all of us. -- Ed.

Motorcycles account for 3.6% of registered vehicles in the state, and they make up just eight-tenths of a percent of vehicle-miles traveled, yet they account for 10% of passenger vehicles’ smog-forming emissions, according to the California Air Resources Board, which backs the measure. Although fuel-efficient bikes emit significantly less carbon dioxide per mile than cars, the ARB says they are, on average, 14 times more polluting per mile when it comes to emissions of oxides of nitrogen and hydrocarbons – smog-forming pollutants that have been shown to trigger asthma attacks and worsen respiratory and cardiac illnesses. (See above article for details).

Introduced in late February, Senate Bill 435 targets bikes with illegally modified exhaust systems and would go into effect in 2012 if passed and signed by the governor. The measure has won support from health and environmental groups that say the move is critical to reducing the state's smog pollution. It has angered motorcycle-rights groups, dealers and manufacturers, which say it’s bad for business and an infringement of riders’ freedoms...

“Five tons of smog out of 5,691 tons emitted daily from all statewide sources is so minuscule," said John Paliwoda, executive director of the California Motorcycle Dealers Assn. in Lake Elsinore. "Our feeling is that fewer people will want to buy motorcycles if they’d have to go through a smog check where no smog check is required right now." Already, the industry is aching from the freezing of consumer credit and plummeting personal wealth, which have led to a 30.5% decline in new motorcycle sales for the first quarter of 2009 versus the same period last year, according to the Motorcycle Industry Council...

In pursuing bikes of 280 cc and above made in the 2000 model year and beyond, SB 435 attempts to home in on the size of motorcycle that is more likely to have a modified exhaust system, and an era of bikes equipped with catalytic converters. Motorcycles that employ catalytic converters are more reliant on them to reduce emissions and are at greater risk of becoming gross polluters when those systems are removed...

Not all modified exhausts are illegal; some comply with the state emissions requirements that allow particular makes and models to be sold in the state. But many modified exhausts remove the bikes’ catalytic converters, causing them to emit twice the legal limit of hydrocarbons and oxides of nitrogen... [Read More]

[xcel]

Hi All:

___And of course even more details regarding the SMOG forming emissions testing for bikes from the CA Senate Bill 435.

This bill would require the department to include Class III (280 cc and greater) model-year 2000 and newer motorcycles in the smog check program beginning January 1, 2012.

Because violations of smog checks for motorcycles would be a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.


(a) Beginning January 1, 2012, the department shall include model-year 2000 and newer Class III motorcycles, registered for on-road use in California, in the inspection and maintenance program established pursuant to this chapter. The department, in cooperation with the state board, shall adopt regulations to implement this section, including prescribing test procedures for motorcycles, by July 1, 2011.

(b) Motorcycles subject to testing under this section shall be inspected using appropriate procedures as determined by the department in consultation with the state board.

(c) As used in this section, “Class III motorcycle” means a motorcycle containing an engine with a displacement of 280 cubic centimeters or greater.

___Good Luck

___Wayne

[Taliesin]

Originally Posted by fireflyfarm

I rode a Triumph Rocket 3 with a 2300cc engine producing 140 BHP. By comparison, my CAR's engine is 2000cc

That's been going on for ages.

The original Geo Metro engine was 1000cc (60 cid), and the standard Harley engine of the time was 80 cid (1333 cc).

[Right Lane Cruiser]

Yeah, some lawnmowers have bigger engines than my Insight (0.9L) !

[PaleMelanesian]

Mine is nearly there. 781cc 24hp V-twin with 48" cutting width. Even with that machine, it takes me 5 hours to mow my 3 acres, and I have to do it weekly. During the mowing season (now ) it uses more gas than my car.

[psyshack]

I know for a fact motorcycles are cleaner than they have ever been. 4 stroke outboard marine power plant's have been leading the way IMHO. Maybe I'm wrong.

Riding a one lunger does nothing for me unless it's a massive raw thumper. But a big bore stump pulling V-Twin in a alum frame with massive brakes and ditch digging torque,,, that can be fun. Or the screaming quad loafing at 6k rpm just waiting for the trigger to be pulled. That's better than sex.

My problem concerning bikes is they never stay stock. The more fuel they drink the better.

I know I'm sick. Deal With It

[xcel]

Hi Jeff:

___The 09 XR650L I rode a few weeks back with do the 0 - 60 dance in under 4 seconds. Most 600 cc crotch rocket will do the same in under 3. You have to ramp up to the ridiculous to get that kind of performance from a car.

___Unfortunately, bikes do emit a lot more HC and NOx then any car on the road manufactured in the last 15 + years and even with the latest bike manufacturer average at .8 g/km, your HCH-II is more than 100X's cleaner. Of course the HCH-II's emissions are so low as to be in the realm of the ridiculous as well

___Good Luck

___Wayne